It’s hard to think of an artist whose death has elicited the kind of unadulterated love, grief and heart-swelling emotion as Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday (Aug. 25) at age 80. The beloved Queen of Country charmed the world over a six-decade career with her 50 charted albums on the Billboard 200 chart, featuring such indelible hits as “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You,” and brought joy to millions of children around the world with her Imagination Library, which has distributed more than 200 million books over the past 30 years.
And while everyone from President Trump to the Library of Congress and Nashville politicians lined up to pay homage by ordering flags at half-staff, honor her good works and push to have the Nashville International Airport renamed in her honor, many of Parton’s peers and musical admirers paid tribute in the most fitting way: by playing her songs.
Since it was announced that Parton had died following a brief battle with cancer after several years of health issues, everyone from Harry Styles and Chris Stapleton to Jack White, John Mayer, Kesha, Jon Batiste, Orville Peck and even Vin Diesel have poured their hearts into covers of some of Parton’s biggest, most beloved hits, with the majority of them focusing on the song that will forever be in our hearts: “I Will Always Love You.”
The 1974 song written by Parton to mark her split with her musical mentor and duet partner Porter Wagoner topped the Hot Country Songs chart in 1974 and then again in 1982, but it is perhaps best known for Whitney Houston’s soaring The Bodyguard cover, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks in 1992-93.
Check out some of the best covers of Parton songs and live tributes to the Queen of Country since her death.
