On the morning of Tuesday, August 25, country music icon Dolly Parton, passed away announced by her family. Parton was 80 years old.
The “Queen of Country” grew up in Locust Ridge, Tennessee. Her final years were spent living in Nashville.
Parton’s had been open about her health declining over the past several years, and it came after cancelling a Las Vegas show in May 2026.
“Her death comes after Parton announced in May that she was canceling a Las Vegas show and had been undergoing treatment for kidney stones for several years,” Corky Siemaszko wrote on NBC News.
Denver Broncos legend and University of Tennessee alum Peyton Manning shares a tribute to Parton on his Instagram.
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Peyton Manning Says Tennessee Will Not Be the Same Without Dolly Parton
After the news broke out that Dolly Parton passed away, Peyton Manning took the time to honor the Tennessee native on his Instagram.
“There was only one Dolly and I feel lucky to have known her,” Manning wrote on his Instagram. “We’ll miss you, Dolly. Tennessee won’t be the same without her!”
Manning explains how he was lucky to know Parton. The last time they publicly were seen together in 2023 at the Georgia-Tennessee football game.
Manning walked her to the field where she sang one of her top hits, “Rocky Top” with the Pride of the Southland Band at the end of the first quarter.
The SEC Network posted her 2023 performance on Facebook in her honor.
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Dolly Parton Performs At the 2023 NFL Thanksgiving Game For the Dallas Cowboys
In the same year Dolly Parton performed in Knoxville at Neyland Stadium, she performed at the NFL Thanksgiving halftime show between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium.
Parton took the stage in front of about 90,000 people dressed like a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.
“I thought, ‘Well at my age, if I can pull it off, it’s going to be good. And if I don’t, I can just pass it off as an old woman doing a stupid ass thing,'” Parton told USA Today after her performance at 77 years old. “I’ve always said my desire to do something is greater than my fear of it.”
Broncos Legend Peyton Manning Pays Tribute to Musical Icon Dolly Parton