Dolly Parton, the best-selling female country music artist of all time, died Tuesday, Aug. 25, at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville after a brief battle with cancer.
She was 80.
Parton performed at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands in 1992, one of several Houston-area stops across a career that spanned more than five decades. Her nephew Bryan Seaver announced her death in a video posted to her social media accounts.
"Dolly was a farmer, just like her daddy; he farmed the soil, she farmed songs and happiness," Seaver said in the video. "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."
Parton was admitted to the Nashville cancer center on Friday, Aug. 21. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis to People magazine but did not disclose the type.
Houston-area concerts
Beyond her 1992 Pavilion appearance, Parton played the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on March 5, 1978, Toyota Center in December 2004 and NRG Arena on Dec. 6, 2016, her last Houston-area concert, according to CW39.
With 55 Grammy nominations and 10 wins, Parton ranks as the third-most nominated woman in Grammy history, behind only Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. Her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, died in March 2025.
Houston Symphony tribute concert
The Houston Symphony had already scheduled "Dolly Parton's Threads: My Songs in Symphony" for Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 at Jones Hall before her death. The concert, part of the orchestra's Vitol POPS Series, features Parton on a big screen leading audiences through her songs and life stories, according to the symphony's website. The symphony has not announced changes to the format.
Imagination Library active at Harris County libraries
Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995 as a tribute to her father, who was unable to read. The program has gifted more than 318 million books to children from birth to age five across five countries.
Harris County Public Library participates in the Imagination Library of Greater Houston. Families with children from birth to age five can sign up in person at any HCPL branch to receive a free book by mail each month.
Parton's family has asked that memorial donations be directed to the Imagination Library.
What's next
- Houston Symphony tribute: Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 at Jones Hall, Houston
- Imagination Library sign-up: In person at any Harris County Public Library branch
