Country musician, philanthropist and actress Dolly Parton, 80, passed away Tuesday. Her family announced her death.
A native of Pittman Center, Tennessee, she released her first album "Hello, I'm Dolly" in 1967. The Tennessee native began performing as a child, and by age 10 she performed on WIVK Radio and WBIR-TV on "The Cas Walker Show." She later performed on "The Porter Waggoner Show" in a music career that lasted more than six decades.
Parton performed at the end of the first quarter of the Tennessee-Georgia football game on Nov. 18, 2023 at Neyland Stadium, singing a rendition of "Rocky Top," alongside the Pride of the Southland Band and the University of Tennessee choir. She was escorted on to the field by former Tennessee quarterback Peyton
Manning.
Parton also served as Tennessee's commencement speaker for College of Arts and Sciences in 2009 when she received an honorary doctorate of humane and musical letters. She was recognized by the university for her musical career, philanthropic work with the Dollywood Foundation and the Imagination Library, and her status as a cultural ambassador.
Parton was also awarded a honorary doctorate from Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee in 1990.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Remembering Tennessean Dolly Parton
