No, Dolly Parton has not passed away, but she has released new music
Yes, Dolly Parton is still alive. (Getty)
Despite what some social media posts might claim, Dolly Parton has not passed away. The star is very much still alive and has recently released new music.
Aside from lending her infamous track “Jolene” to Beyoncé for her Cowboy Carter album and appearing on Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion album with their duet, “Have the Heart”, the staunch LGBTQ+ ally has more where that came from.
The 78-year-old is set to release a new album in November, titled Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA – Family, Faith & Fables which looks back at her family’s origins from the UK to Tennessee, US.
On 23 August, the icon released her new track “A Rose Won’t Fix It”, featuring her niece Heidi Parton as the lead vocalist, with Parton providing backing vocals. The track was originally recorded for her 1998 album Hungry Again, but was never released – until now.
Heidi took to Instagram to commemorate the upcoming project, writing: “I’m so honoured to be a part of this incredible family project. To have the song I got to be a part of as a single release is one of the greatest moments of my life! And our family is so talented and I can’t wait for you all to hear that talent.
“I sincerely hope you love this song as much as I do,” she concluded.
Parton has also announced a Broadway musical based on her life, after revealing that she had been working on the production “for several years”, as well as releasing a recipe book with her sister Rachel Dennison, titled Good Lookin’ Cookin’ set for release on 17 September.
Has Dolly Parton passed away?
False social media posts and obituaries for years have claimed that Parton passed away, but the “9 to 5” hitmaker is alive.
The false rumour resurfaced in June 2023, when Parton’s songwriter Cynthia Weil died at the age of 82, whom the music legend called “one of the greatest writers of all time”.
This could have caused some confusion among fans, but the star penned her tribute to Weil on 4 June, confirming that she was alive and well at the time of the rumours.
More recently, Parton took to Instagram on 26 August to proclaim that despite having “good food all year round, summertime is always the best”.
In honour of her and Dennison’s upcoming cook book release, the pair have released five further recipes for those who pre-order the book.
