Legendary singer-songwriter and country superstar Dolly Parton died Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, surrounded by loved ones. She was 80 and had reportedly been battling cancer. News of Dolly Parton’s death sparked tributes around the world honoring a musical legacy that spanned decades. Dolly Parton won multiple Grammys and numerous other awards. Dolly Parton also starred in the 1980 film “9 to 5” with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. During a reunion with her co-stars in 2006, Dolly Parton did an impromptu version of her hit song from the film.

Dolly Parton: “Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’ / Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’.”

Dolly Parton is also remembered as a champion of the working class, an advocate for children’s literacy, education, LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, healthcare, and for her commitment to philanthropy. Dolly Parton created the Imagination Library, inspired by her father’s inability to read and write. The library has gifted more than 300 million books to children over the last three decades. She grew up in extreme poverty in the Great Smoky Mountains of rural Tennessee and became one of the most influential artists in American history. This is Dolly Parton in her own words, speaking when she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001.

Dolly Parton: “I do know that I’m so honored and so proud to be here. And I’ve been writing songs all of my life, and this beats the heck out of standing up on the hill above the barn, singing to the cows and the chickens and the pigs, practicing all the new songs.”