Dolly Parton Mourns ‘Great Loss’ of Friend Kris Kristofferson: ‘I Will Always Love You’

Mar. 15, 2025

Dolly Parton and Kris Kristofferson in 2012.Photo:Alamy

Alamy

Dolly Partonis remembering her “great friend"Kris Kristofferson.

On Sunday, Sept. 29, the “9 to 5” singer, 78, shared a heartfelt tribute onInstagramin honor of Kristofferson, whodied on Sept. 28at age 88. Touching on his prolific and wide-ranging career, she wrote, “What a great loss, what a great writer, what a great actor, what a great friend.”

“I will always love you,” she concluded, signing the message “Dolly” with a butterfly graphic.

Dolly Parton’s tribute to Kris Kristofferson.Dolly Parton/Instagram

Dolly Parton/Instagram

The fellow country music legends were longtime friends and shared many duet performances through the years, to songs such as “From Here to the Moon and Back” and “Put It Off Until Tomorrow.”

On Sept. 19, Parton shared a nostalgic clip onFacebookof herself and Kristofferson singing the whimsical song “Ping Pong” — fromThe Winning Hand— together.

“There’s noting like making music with friends!” she wrote in the post’s caption. “It brings me so much joy to have sung with so many talented artists over the years. @KrisKristofferson ❤️ Which one of my duets is your favorite?”

Kristofferson reshared the post on his ownFacebookpage, writing, “Thank you for sharing this Dolly Parton.”

Dolly Parton and Kris Kristofferson.Jason Kempin/Getty; Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

Jason Kempin/Getty; Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

In June 2019, Parton took a moment to send her well-wishes to Kristofferson on his birthday. She shared a throwback photo of the pair onX(formerly Twitter) with the message: “Wishing my pal Kris Kristofferson a very happy birthday!”

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“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28 at home. We’re all so blessed for our time with him,” his family said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all.”

source: people.com