Dolly Parton Mourns Death of Mac Davis, One of Her ‘Dearest Friends’

Dolly Parton paid tribute to her late friend Mac Davis on Wednesday, sharing a message after the singer/songwriter died earlier this week at age 78. Parton used Twitter to share a photo of the two together, along with a message for Davis and his family.

“Many hearts are broken today, including my own, with the death of one of my dearest friends, Mac Davis,” she wrote. “We lost one of the world’s greatest writers, singers, and entertainers. My love and sympathy goes out to Lisë, his precious wife, his children, and his grandchildren. Rest in peace, my friend. I will always love you, Dolly.”

Parton was one of many members of the country community who mourned Davis, some sharing their memories in statements and others using social media.

“I was saddened to hear about Mac Davis’ passing,” Ricky Scaggs said in a statement. “He was a great talent and a lot of fun to be around. I got to know him while producing the ‘White Limozeen’ album for Dolly Parton. Condolences to his family for their loss.”

Alabama’s Jeff Cook shared, “Mac was a great singer, songwriter and all-around entertainer. He will be missed by many.”

“So saddened with the loss of Mac Davis and my heart is so heavy for his family, friends and fans,” Jeannie Seely said. “I have never heard of anyone who didn’t love Mac….everything about him. I just recently featured him on my SXM show and talked about his humor as well as his writing and that, like Roger Miller, he had a way of putting it all together. He will be remembered with love and laughter.”

Davis died after becoming critically ill following heart surgery. Davis’ manager, Jim Morey, confirmed the musician’s death in a statement on Tuesday and wrote that Davis died “surrounded by the love of his life and wife of 38 years, Lise, and his sons Scott, Noah and Cody.” The musician was known for writing songs for artists like Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra and also enjoyed a successful career of his own, releasing a number of crossover hits including “Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me” and “Stop and Smell the Roses.”

He earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2000 and the National Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York in 2006.