Country music icon Dolly Parton, whose career spanned more than six decades and created enduring classics such as Jolene, Coat of Many Colours and 9 to 5, has died aged 80.
The loss of the dazzling music star has shocked and saddened the entertainment world, after her nephew shared the news in a touching tribute.
The video statement was shared from Parton’s official Instagram account, in which her sister’s son Bryan Seaver shared the news with her fans.
Seaver said he was speaking on behalf of the Parton and Owens family to announce that Parton had died.
‘This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,’ he said.
‘As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.’
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He continued: ‘It is an honour. An honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.’
‘Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens,’ Seaver added, referring to Parton’s late husband Carl Dean, who died last year.
Seaver went on to recall going on the road with Parton as a child, when he got a taste for the life of a touring musician in the 1980s.
‘Dolly opened doors, not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible,’ he said. ‘Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent.’
He continued: ‘By her example, we believed that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn’t open and the doors she opened made and changed history.
‘My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you. She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family, whether you liked it or not.’
Seaver went on to say that their family and the team entrusted with her legacy will work ‘diligently’ to ‘ensure her spirit will live with us forever’.
‘Dolly was a farmer, just like her daddy,’ he continued. ‘He farmed the soil; she farmed songs and happiness.
‘Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton, because after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.’
He signed off by saying ‘rest in peace’ to his Aunt Dolly, movingly adding: ‘She will always love you.’
Parton was open about her health issues in the lead-up to her death, most recently pulling out of a fan event earlier this month due to ‘dizziness and dehydration’.
Just last week, she acknowledged ‘health issues’ which she did not tend to while caring for her husband Carl, who died last month.
She told People: ‘This isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health.
‘But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago. I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI!
‘Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’! You know me — as I’ve often said — I’ve dreamed myself into a corner and I still have so many things I want to achieve, so I’m gonna keep on working as long as I can to see everything come to life.’
Parton rose from poverty in the Great Smoky Mountains to become one of the most prolific and influential singer-songwriters of her generation.