On Tuesday, the world mourned the loss of Dolly Parton, who died peacefully at age 80 in Nashville, Tenn. The beloved American treasure left behind her own inspired legacy in music—as for sports, well, no one could forget her lifelong ties to the Tennessee Volunteers athletics program, nor her dazzling performance at the Cowboys-Commanders game on Thanksgiving in 2023.
Befitting for the all-American holiday, Parton donned a cropped blue-and-white Cowboys cheerleader outfit and put on a wildly entertaining show at AT&T Stadium, belting hits from her own discography like Jolene and 9 to 5 as well as Queen’s We Are The Champions. At 77, she was a total tour de force, as she was for most of her trailblazing career.
