Randy Parton has died after battle with cancer
Dolly Parton has paid tribute to her younger brother
Last updated 11th May 2021
Dolly Parton has paid tribute to her younger brother Randy after it was announced he had passed away.
Country star Dolly, who turned 75 earlier this week, released a statement revealing her beloved brother Randy Parton had lost his battle with cancer.
Randy, who himself was a talented musician and songwriter, worked with Dolly throughout his career and even played guitar and bass in his older sister’s band for many years.
In a statement, Dolly wrote, ‘My brother Randy has lost his battle with cancer. The family and I are grieving his loss but we know he is in a better place than we are at this time.’
‘We are a family of faith and we believe that he is safe with God and that he is joined by members of the family that have gone on before and have welcomed him with joy and open arms.’
Dolly added: ‘You are my Christmas’, our duet on my latest Christmas album, joined with his daughter Heidi, will always be my favourite. It was his last musical recording and he shined on it just like he’s shining in heaven now.’
The 67-year-old was also a regular at Dolly’s theme park Dollywood in Tennessee with his own music show and he was last heard singing with Dolly on a duet for her recent Christmas album, ‘A Holly Dolly Christmas’.
One of Randy’s most famous songs was ‘Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)’ which made it to number 1 with band Alabama just two years after Randy recorded it. However, he had a number of chart records of his own, including ‘Hold Me Like You Never Had Me’ and ‘Shot Full of Love’.