Dolly Parton turned 75 on Tuesday, but the week has become a somber one for the country music icon. She announced on social media Thursday that her brother Randy, 67, has died of cancer, reports Page Six. The younger Parton, a country singer in his own right, was one of Dolly's 11 siblings. "The family and I are grieving his loss but we know he is in a better place than we are at this time," she wrote on Facebook. In the post, Dolly called attention to her duets with her brother, including "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" and "You Are My Christmas." She called the first one in particular a "highlight of my career." Randy also had modest solo success on the country charts in the 1980s with the singles "Hold Me Like You Never Had Me" and "Shot Full of Love," per a Taste of Country.
ABC News, meanwhile, notes that Randy Parton was the first to record "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)," which later became a hit for the group Alabama. "Randy was a great singer, writer, and entertainer," wrote his sister in her tribute. "He sang, played guitar and bass in my band for many years," and he also had his own show at her Dollywood attraction since its 1986 opening, she wrote. "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." Their brother Floyd died in 2018 at age 61. (In brighter news, Tennessee might immortalize Dolly at the state Capitol.)
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