Dolly Parton pays tribute to her longtime friend Loretta Lynn: ‘We’ve been like sisters’

Dolly Parton pays tribute to her longtime friend Loretta Lynn: ‘We’ve been like sisters’

Dolly Parton is showing support to Loretta Lynn, after the country music icon died at 90.

“So sorry to hear about my sister, friend Loretta,” Parton wrote on Instagram. “We’ve all been like sisters all the years we’ve been in Nashville and she was a wonderful human being, wonderful talent, had millions of fans and I’m one of them. I miss her dearly as we all will. May she rest in peace.”

Earlier Tuesday, Lynn’s family shared the news with Fox News Digital, writing, “Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills.” The family asked for privacy as they grieve and said a memorial will be announced later.

LORETTA LYNN, COUNTRY MUSIC ICON, DEAD AT 90

Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn have been friends for decades. In 2019, Parton shared an old image with Lynn on Facebook, which she captioned, “Friends forever.”

Lynn left a comment at the time that read, “Love you honey!”

That same year, Lynn congratulated Parton on her 50th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member.

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“Congrats to my dear friend Dolly Parton, for celebrating 50 years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. She’s my mountain sister. I love her music and I will always love her,” Lynn wrote alongside an image of the duo on Twitter.

Throughout Lynn’s career, which spanned 60 years, she won every music award known to musicians, and was inducted into the County Music Hall of Fame in 1988.

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Lynn knew her songs were trailblazing, especially for country music, but said she was just writing the truth that so many rural women like her experienced.

“I could see that other women was goin’ through the same thing, ’cause I worked the clubs. I wasn’t the only one that was livin’ that life and I’m not the only one that’s gonna be livin’ today what I’m writin’,” she told the Associated Press in 1995.

Dolly Parton paid tribute to Loretta Lynn following her death. The country music icon was 90.
(Photo by Ron Davis)

The Country Music Hall of Famer wrote fearlessly about sex and love, cheating husbands, divorce and birth control and sometimes got in trouble with radio programmers for material from which even rock performers once shied away.

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Her biggest hits came in the 1960s and ’70s, including “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “The Pill,” “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” “Rated X” and “You’re Looking at Country.” She was known for appearing in floor-length, wide gowns with elaborate embroidery or rhinestones, many created by her longtime personal assistant and designer Tim Cobb.

Lynn had a very large family. She married Oliver Lynn in 1948 at the age of 15, according to court records.

Loretta Lynn performs during the 2011 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on June 11, 2011.
(Photo by Erika Goldring/WireImage via Getty Images)

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Lynn and her husband were married nearly 50 years before he died in 1996. They had six children: Betty, Jack, Ernest and Clara, and then twins Patsy and Peggy. She had 17 grandchildren and four step-grandchildren.

Fox News’ Lauryn Overhultz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.