Dolly Parton is paying tribute to a fellow country music icon. On Tuesday, Oct. 4, “Coal Miner’s Daughter” legend Loretta Lynn died at the age of 90, the news sending shockwaves through the world of country music and prompting an outpouring of reactions online, with Parton leading the tributes as she remembered her “sister” and “friend.”
In a tribute shared across her social media platforms just minutes after Lynn’s family confirmed her death, Parton wrote, “So sorry to hear about my sister, friend Loretta.” Parton went on to reflect on her and Lynn’s close relationship, writing, “We’ve been like sisters all the years we’ve been in Nashville and she was a wonderful human being, wonderful talent, had millions of fans and I’m one of them.”
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Together, Lynn and Parton are recognized as some of the most prominent women in country music, and they are both known as trailblazers for women in country music, leading the way for other female musicians of today. Throughout their storied careers, both women pulled from their life experiences – Lynn drawing from her life in poverty, in the remote Appalachian mountain village of Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, and Parton from her pre-fame days living on the outskirts of the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Once they both found fame, their paths intertwined more than once.
Back in 1988, Lynn made a guest appearance on Dolly, the variety series that aired on ABC from 1987 through 1988. During the appearance, the two country music icons performed a medley of Lynn’s biggest hits – “Who Was That Stranger,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” “Blue Kentucky Girl,” “One’s on the Way,” and “The Pill.” Just years later, the pair reunited to collaborate on 1993’s “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” with Tammy Wynette for the album Honky Tonk Angels. Earlier this year, as Lynn marked her 90th birthday, Parton led the birthday tributes with a rendition of “Happy Birthday.” The pair’s bond was so strong that Lynn once even said, per Southern Living, “I get along with all the women singers, but especially Dolly Parton. We talk the same hillbilly language.”
Lynn’s family confirmed in a statement Tuesday morning, “Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, Oct. 4, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills.” The Country Music Hall of Famer – whose biggest hits came in the 1960s and ’70s and include “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “The Pill” and “You’re Looking at Country” – was 90. Lynn’s cause of death was not disclosed. Her family requested privacy and confirmed a memorial will take place at a later time.
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