Dolly Parton: Tributes pour in for music legend

Tributes poured in on Tuesday as the news spread about the death of country music legend Dolly Parton.

The 80-year-old, who had 25 No. 1 country hits and two chart-toppers on the Billboard Hot 100, was a singer, actress and philanthropist. Her loss was felt inside and outside of the entertainment business.

Miley Cyrus, Parton’s goddaughter who covered the sionger’s 1973 hit “Jolene,” tweeted that her “heart aches.”

“I can’t believe we just lost the purest soul,” read the tweet from Cyrus’ official X account. “Rest in Glory, Dolly.”

Fellow country singer Reba McEntire tweeted that “There will never ever be another you.”

“Thank you, Lord, for Dolly,” McEntire wrote. “She’s gonna have a blast in heaven singing all her favorite songs with all her family and friends who have gone on before her.

I’ll never forget the first time I met you and I’ll never forget our last conversation. I hold it with love in my heart."

Country singer Blake Shelton, who worked with Parton on “The Voice,” tweeted that “I can say with absolute certainty that we are all feeling the same heart brokenness today.”

“I want everyone to know that she was the EXACT person that you think she is,” Shelton tweeted. “It was like being with the funnest, most loving, most caring and closest member of your family. Truly a loss for the entire world. We love you Dolly.

Actress Sally Field, who starred with Parton in the 1989 film “Steel Magnolias,” wrote in an Instagram post that the world “had lost an angel.”

“There will never be another,” Field wrote. “I adored her with all my heart and will always cherish our time together.

Actor Seth MacFarlane called Parton’s death “devastating” and said that the world was “a dimmer place” without her.

“I had the extraordinary experience of working with her on The Orville, and it was a joy to discover that she really was exactly the person we all hoped she was,” MacFarlane tweeted. “Her kindness, generosity, and authenticity were evident from moment one, and the benign yet assured command she maintained over her empire was obvious from the genuine love and trust you could see from everyone who worked for her.”

The U.S. Department of the Interior tweeted that “while we may no longer see her working 9 to 5, we will always love her.”

“Here’s to Dolly, who made our world a little more beautiful.”

In Parton’s home state of Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee wrote on X that the Volunteer State has “forever been changed – enhanced” by her.

“Rare is the one who climbs to the pinnacle of fame, then scoffs at its allure, only to retain the genuine humility that defines them,” he said. Parton was “one of a kind, who loved people, her work, her family, and her Lord.”

President Donald Trump said he is ordering flags lowered to half-staff to honor Parton.

“This is a true loss for millions of people,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said that Parton “was an American icon who brought people together and spread joy.”

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn wrote in a Facebook post that Parton’s passing “leaves a void that no one can ever fill.”

“There are no words to adequately express the sorrow our family and indeed, all Tennesseans, feel in the loss of Dolly Parton,” Blackburn wrote. “An iconic leader who loved our great state and nation.”

Former President Bill Clinton praised Parton as a great songwriter and performer “who told the stories of everyday Americans with honesty, humility, and heart.”

“She rose high from her East Tennessee roots and never forgot where she came from,” Clinton wrote.

Even professional wrestlers paid homage. Sixteen-time heavyweight champion Ric Flair wrote that he was “a huge fan of her music.”

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