Dolly Parton, Country Music Legend, Dies at 80

Dolly Parton, one of the greatest country music artists of all time, has died at the age of 80. During her seven-decade career, she sold more than 100 million records worldwide, wrote over 3,000 songs, and won 10 Grammy Awards. Her most celebrated songs include Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, and I Will Always Love You. Born in 1946 in Tennessee as the fourth of twelve children in a poor farming family, Parton showed extraordinary musical talent from an early age. She sang in church from the age of six and performed at the Grand Ole Opry at thirteen, where she was introduced by Johnny Cash and received three encores. She moved to Nashville at eighteen to pursue her music career. Parton is also remembered for Dollywood, the theme park she opened in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 1986, which became a major tourist attraction and employer in the region. She is survived by her husband Carl Thomas Dean, whom she married in 1966.