"I'm sure they'll be playing 'I Will Always Love You' when I die, just like they did with Whitney Houston," she said in a 2015 interview -- but she had a different pick.
Dolly Parton at the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Red Carpet held at the Microsoft Theatre on November 5, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Christopher Polk/Variety
Dolly Parton spent her life turning her own experiences, memories and emotions into music. Even after death, her songs will continue to tell her story — including two that show just how thoughtfully she considered her musical legacy.
The country music icon, who died Tuesday (Aug. 25) at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer, had already decided what song she wanted played at her funeral more than a decade before her death. And, in true Dolly fashion, she also left behind another song that she specifically instructed would not be heard until her 100th birthday in 2046.
