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Legendary Musician and Philanthropist Dolly Parton Dead at 80. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 25, 2026 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

TONY POTTS, FORMER CO-HOST, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD: I am celebrating her today. I am forever grateful I got to spend time with her.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, I mean, like you said, when you're one of 12, you've got to figure it out. And she spoke, when she was speaking to our Jake Tapper just a few years ago, she basically said that, that what she'd tell her younger self was, you're going to have to take a lot and you're going to have to give a lot, which is certainly what she did in life.

You know, I just wonder as you're reflecting on her contributions, and I'll start, I'll tell you what my favorite movie is. I could watch Steel Magnolias over and over. And the more I even learn about behind the scenes, how she and Sally Fields stuck up for Julia Roberts.

I know that it was -- there was, for what a great movie it was, it was actually kind of, I think, a tough situation on set -- and we're watching a little clip of it here. It was amazing to hear about how this female cast banded together and supported each other. But I wonder, you know, what is your favorite film as you're thinking about that and remembering her today?

POTTS: Well, I love Steel Magnolias and Nine to Five. One of the things that people don't realize about movies and stuff in Hollywood is that the attitude is set from the top. I've walked on many movie sets and I'm like, oh Lord, there's something going on here.

This isn't good. I've gone to other ones where you have, it's like a Tom Hanks, whatever. And Tom Hanks and those stars will have this great demeanor on set where everybody feels protected.

They feel that they can be creative. And that's one of the things I think Dolly did extraordinarily well, you know, for young artists, but also on a movie set as well. What has she not done?

What has she not been through? What has she not fought for, right, in her life? So she saw injustice or something not right.

And so it's really important on films like that, that somebody like Dolly is there and can champion the lead, set the tone for the rest of people. You get a better movie out of it, but you also get better life experiences as you go down the road. She was amazing. I mean, I just, you know, it's interesting when I heard the news today, the first thing I thought of, it's like, oh, so Kenny Rogers is up there probably saying, all right, come on, let's go sing a duet. That's the first thing that hit my brain because that duet was incredible. So, amazing woman.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: You talk about her championing and sticking up for folks on a movie set, but she also across culture and across demographics that were fans of hers stood up for a lot of people and tying it all together. You talked about her songwriting by banging on a dashboard.

She also famously talked about her ability to write songs, you know, scraping her acrylic nails together. We actually have a clip of her with Patti LaBelle from 1987 sharing some of that. Let's play it now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOLLY PARTON, MUSICIAN AND PHILANTHROPIST: You know, I write a lot of songs when I don't have my guitar, you know, I beat around the dashboard of my car when I'm riding around writing songs, but then I have a little rhythm that we can do with these acrylic nails. Can you do that?

PATTI LABELLE, SINGER; Yes.

PARTON: Oh, good. You want to play a little song for him? Get up close to your microphone.

We're mic'd right down in here. Get up, get up close to him. OK.

LABELLE: That's cute.

PARTON: Can you hear that?

LABELLE: See, we did plan this, but we didn't know how it was going to sound.

PARTON: Well, we were planning to see if we could do something like --

PARTON AND LABELLE: Mama's little children love shortening, shortening, Mama's little children love shortening bread. Mama's little children love shortening, shortening, Mama's little children love shortening bread.

PARTON: Play it, Patti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Unbelievable, right, Tony?

POTTS: Incredible. And just two icons, creativity and the acrylic nails. She always had them on. Always looked fabulous. And just helped people so much.

One last thing real quick that I thought was amazing was, and still is to this day, her Imagination Library. I guess they gave books to more than 300 kids, 300 million kids, 300 million books to the kids. And I believe also her X account, Twitter account, the family published something on there that talked about in lieu of flowers, please give to the Imagination Library.

So even though she's gone, she's still giving. Incredible.

KEILAR: Yes, making a big difference for kids all over the country, especially low-income kids who do not have those book hours as they're going into school. Her library really closing that gap for them.

Tony Potts, thank you so much. Really great to have you.

We're joined now by Diane Warren, Grammy award-winning songwriter. Diane, thank you so much for making time for us. We're sort of in this state where we are remembering Dolly, which is amazing to do. What a beautiful life and legacy.

And yet the sadness of what feels kind of unbelievable that she is gone.

DIANE WARREN, GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING SONGWRITER: I think the whole world is sad right now.

KEILAR: Yes. How are you feeling?

WARREN: Unbelievable. Really sad. When I heard the news, I cried.

[15:35:00]

And I just think it's, you know, around the world, it's just everyone's so heartbroken. I mean, a light has gone out in the world. I mean, for sure.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: What memories --

WARREN: A lot darker. It was dark anyways. We needed her light.

SANCHEZ: What memories of her stand out to you, Diane? What will stay with you?

WARREN: Well, I mean, personal memories. I did a song with Dolly. I couldn't believe she said yes to record my song, Going to Be You.

It was 2023 for the movie 80 for Brady. And I was just so shocked and honored. And that's a great memory.

Also, years ago, I was inducted in the Songwriter Hall of Fame. And my mom came there. My mom passed away the next year.

And my mom was so excited. She was kind of excited for me a little bit. But when she met Dolly Parton, her excitement went through the roof.

She was so happy. And just, I'm so sorry to be on here talking about this. Who would ever thought this would ever happen? It's just, yes. And just, she's such a beautiful person. Not just her music.

Not just the great songs that she, by the way, wrote by herself. Dolly Parton wrote these amazing, amazing songs all by herself. And they'll last forever.

KEILAR: Diane, talk to us about that. Because I think you come to this with a very important perspective that not many people can understand. Which is as a songwriter.

And she was such a prolific songwriter. You touched on it. As you were saying, she wrote these all herself.

But I imagine the conversations that you two had about that. Can you give us a little insight into that?

WARREN: Yes. Well, the fact that it's such a rare thing. Especially when Dolly came up, you know.

Country music, you know, that's a man's world. Or it was a man's world when she came in.

And here she comes in writing these undeniable songs. I think I'm one of the only people that writes songs by themselves in 2026. There's usually a room with 10 writers.

But you know, Dolly would write these songs like Jolene. Or Code of Many Colors.

Or of course, I Will Always Love You. Just by herself. Or 9 to 5.

I mean, these are just iconic, classic songs. So as a songwriter, she was as great as it gets. As brilliant as it gets.

SANCHEZ: You actually posted on social media what you were talking about a moment ago. Celebrating Dolly's 80th birthday. And it featured a picture of your mom with Dolly the night you were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

I want to share that with our viewers now.

WARREN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Part of that impression that she left on your mom is something that she did for generations of women. With a message of empowerment.

WARREN: yes. No, not just women. Not just women. Not just women, everybody.

And the fact that my mom, this was in 2021, felt that way about Dolly then. And young kids feel that way about Dolly. Dolly is forever.

Dolly reached every age group. Everybody. That's why everybody is devastated today. You know, everybody.

KEILAR: And also, Diane, like you said, it's really hard to imagine that we're here. I mean, why do you think that is? Why is it that Dolly Parton has such an immortal quality that the idea that she's gone is hard for us to wrap our heads around?

WARREN: And no one can wrap their heads around this. Because she was so full of light and life and never stopped. She was always working, Dolly.

She never stopped. And her light touched everybody. Her light shone so bright.

You know, now it's needed more than ever. And her music will light the world forever, you know. But it's a really sad day.

In the post, I said it's not just a sad day for the world of music, which is a devastating day. But it's also a sad and devastating day for the entire world.

SANCHEZ: Diane Warren, thank you so much for sharing your experience of the legend, Dolly Parton. Thanks for joining us.

WARREN: Thank you.

KEILAR: Tributes are pouring in for country music queen and humanitarian hero, Dolly Parton. We'll have more when we come back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNY ROGERS & DOLLY PARTON: Islands in the stream That is what we are No one in between How can we be wrong? Sail away with me To another world And we rely on each other, ah-ah

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A huge loss today as we follow our breaking news here. Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80. The legendary singer and songwriter was unabashed about her big hair, her acrylic nails, the remembrances pouring in today, all about her authenticity and her natural talent, including music great Linda Ronstadt, who said just a short time ago, "I'm deeply saddened by the passing of my friend Dolly Parton. One of the most extraordinary musical experiences of my life was recording with her. The world is a poorer place without her."

[15:45:00] SANCHEZ: We want to take a look now at Parton, nearly 21 years ago when she spoke to Larry King on the anniversary of her amusement park empire, Dollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, HOST, LARRY KING LIVE: It's a great pleasure to welcome to Larry King live, one of my favorite people. It's been over two years since she's been with us.

The wonderful Dolly Parton, the entertainment superstar, singer, songwriter, actress. Her latest album is Those Were The Days. We're going to talk about that in a couple of minutes because it's extraordinary album. She didn't write one song in it. And she comes to us from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Why Pigeon Forge tonight?

PARTON: Well, I'm in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee tonight because I'm up here at Dollywood and we, like you, are celebrating an anniversary, and it's my 20th anniversary at Dollywood, and so I'm up here celebrating with my partners, Jack and Pete Herschend and their family, and so we're getting ready to do concerts over the weekend for the Dollywood Foundation and for Imagination Library, so we've got a lot of good reasons to be in Pigeon Forge today.

KING: You mean you and I are both celebrating 20 years?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Obviously, an iconic site, Dollywood. Dolly Parton also famous for her duets with other top artists, one of them Dionne Warwick. She collaborated with Parton on the 2023 song Peace Like a River.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOLLY PARTON AND DIONNE WARWICK DUET: Use me as You think You should And may I be a great reflection Of the things that's right and good Mmm (peace like a river) Peace like a river

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And Dionne Warwick is joining us now. What a beautiful song. I wonder how you're remembering your friend Dolly Parton today.

DIONNE WARWICK, AWARD-WINNING SINGER AND ACTRESS: Wow. Oh, with a great deal of love, of course. She was very dear to me and was an instant friend.

The minute that we said hello, we became friends. I'm going to miss her an awful lot. She was probably one of the sweetest and kindest people I've had the pleasure of meeting.

I told her, too, that she never met a stranger. And she said, Oh, I love how you look at me. I'm looking at you.

You just know that you're going to become whatever it is.

KEILAR: All right. I think we have you reestablished there, Dionne. Can you hear us all right?

Can you hear us? All right, we are going to work to reestablish this signal with Dionne Warwick, an icon in her own right, talking about Dolly Parton. Obviously, they did this duet together, Peace Like a River, in 2023, which, Boris, is such an important part of Dolly Parton's legacy, and that's her faith.

It informs so much of what she did.

SANCHEZ: No doubt, as you heard in the announcement of her passing from her nephew, talking about her essentially going home, going to be with her husband, Carl, who passed away years before her, and joining millions who wanted to meet with her and to be with her. We're going to take a quick break, and we'll be right back with more on the life and legacy of a legend, Dolly Parton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOLLY PARTON AND DIONNE WARWICK DUET: And may I be a great reflection Of the things that's right and good Mmm (peace like a river) Peace like a river Oh yeah (peace like a river)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: OK, So we're not going to go to break, because Dionne Warwick was able to get back online with us.

Dionne, thank you so much for being with us. We're so sorry about these technical issues. Please continue in talking about your fast friendship with Dolly Parton and the fact that you recorded that gospel duet with her, Peace Like a River, what was it like to collaborate with her?

WARWICK: It was absolutely wonderful. I got a call from Dolly, and she said, hey, I said, hey yourself, who am I talking to? She says, Dolly, I said, oh, OK.

She says, I just wrote a song, I want you to sing it with me. I said, really? She said, yes, I might as well keep it in the family.

[15:50:00]

I said, all right. She said, come on down to Nashville, we're going to record this thing. And I flew into Nashville. We recorded the song called Peace Like a River.

Now there's an old hymn called Peace Like a River. I said, oh, I know this song. She said, oh, I don't think you know this song because I just wrote it. I said, oh, OK. Well, we recorded it and then went into the studio to do the video. I must say that I think we probably laughed a lot more than we sang in the studio.

She was the funniest woman I've ever met. I mean, just her way about her was so pleasant and so easy to be around. I'm going to truly, truly miss her, you know?

And the phone calls that we would make to each other. And she was just a wonderful, wonderful lady. Going to miss her a lot.

KEILAR: And Dionne, I think watching you two sing that song is really special because on this day, as we reflect on how faith informs so much of Dolly's life, she would talk about it. It was very clear that that was the path she walked, right? She would, as she talked about her decisions in life, she was clearly informed by her faith, and she was not shy about it.

And it just was very natural as she discussed it. How do you see that?

WARWICK: Absolutely. No doubt. Dolly was a child of God, totally.

And that made me feel very good because I know I am. And when we sat and talked, God was always part of the subject matter, which made me feel very good. You know, me coming from a gospel singing family, my grandfather being a minister, God meant an awful lot, not only to the family, but also to me and still does as it did with Dolly.

I feel that she is now in the right hands. Whatever it was that took her life has now been given back to her. Our Heavenly Father is a powerful, powerful being.

And what He wants, He gets. And He's been collecting a lot of folks these days, but I think He chose the right one this time. He's going to have a good old time with Dolly, trust me.

I know because I did.

SANCHEZ: Dionne, one of the things that stood out to me when you recorded that duet with Dolly was that she made a statement to Billboard saying that you were one of her idols, saying, I've loved her since we were younger and getting to sing with her was one of the highlights of her career. How are you reflecting on that? What does that mean to you?

WARWICK: I had no idea she said that. It's wonderful to be thought of that way. And she felt that way about me.

I must say, it absolutely showed she didn't have to say it when we were together. She was completely Dolly. And that is how I happen to be.

And I am always Dionne. You find me to be the same person on and off. So there was no problem with her.

She was just always herself. And it pleases me to know that I meant that much to her.

KEILAR: And Dionne, I have a question for you. And admittedly, as someone who sang a duet with Dolly, this might be an easy question for you to answer, but what is your favorite Dolly Parton song?

WARWICK: I think everybody knows the 9 to 5 is the best song she ever wrote.

SANCHEZ: Really? What is it about 9 to 5 that stays with you?

WARWICK: What a way to live a living. And she meant it.

KEILAR: What a way to make a living.

WARWICK: Yes, yes.

KEILAR: That's right. Dionne, when you were thinking of her impact, her legacy, what is the most lasting impact of Dolly's going to be on the music industry?

WARWICK: I think outside of the industry, more than anything else, she was one of the most benevolent people I've ever met. Her thoughts were always for and with others. People who could not do for themselves, she certainly tried to help them. Make children that could do for themselves.

Her love of children, the way she supported children. Dolly was just a giving person.

[15:55:00]

And I think that's something that we all have to take measure of, that she really healed.

SANCHEZ: She left so much for so many to aspire to. Dionne Warwick, thank you so much for sharing part of your story alongside Dolly Parton. We very much appreciate hearing from you.

What an afternoon covering the loss of a legend like Dolly Parton, passing away at 80 years old, known not only for amazing music, like I Will Always Love You, but for her work in elevating young people.

KEILAR: That's right, and everyone, as we heard our guests talking about young people, women, and championing so many people. And we will leave you with this. Dolly Parton, her words, her voice, as we say goodbye to a legend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PARTON: That's all I am taking with me Goodbye, please

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END