See the Best Dolly Parton Musical Tributes, From Harry Styles, Katy Perry, John Mayer, Jack White & More

Even Vin Diesel got in on the outpouring of love for the late country icon, who died Aug. 25 at age 80. 8/27/2026 Dolly Parton performs at the Academy of Country Music Awards held at Allegiant Stadium on March 7, 2022, in Las Vegas. Christopher Polk/PMC It’s hard to think of an artist whose death has elicited the kind of unadulterated love, grief and heart-swelling emotion as Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday (Aug. 25) at age 80. The beloved Queen of Country charmed the world over a six-decade career with her 50 charted albums on the Billboard 200 chart, featuring such indelible hits as “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You,” and brought joy to millions of children around the world with her Imagination Library, which has distributed more than 200 million books over the past 30 years. And while everyone from President Trump to the Library of Congress and Nashville politicians lined up to pay homage by ordering flags at half-staff, honor her good works and push to have the Nashville International Airport renamed in her honor, many of Parton’s peers and musical admirers paid tribute in the most fitting way: by playing her songs. Since it was announced that Parton had died following a brief battle with cancer after several years of health issues, everyone from Harry Styles and Chris Stapleton to Jack White, John Mayer, Kesha, Jon Batiste, Orville Peck and even Vin Diesel have poured their hearts into covers of some of Parton’s biggest, most beloved hits, with the majority of them focusing on the song that will forever be in our hearts: “I Will Always Love You.” The 1974 song written by Parton to mark her split with her musical mentor and duet partner Porter Wagoner topped the Hot Country Songs chart in 1974 and then again in 1982, but it is perhaps best known for Whitney Houston’s soaring The Bodyguard cover, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks in 1992-93. Check out some of the best covers of Parton songs and live tributes to the Queen of Country since her death. Harry Styles While Styles didn’t perform “I Will Always Love You” at the kick-off of his 30-show Madison Square Garden residency on Wednesday night, he did play a recording of the song over MSG’s speakers and gave thanks to “all the musicians who have inspired me over the years,” singling out Parton for her major impact on him. The “Apeture” singer played two verses and choruses of the song and asked the audience to sing along to the first chorus. Jack White Nashville native White was one of the first to honor Parton just hours after her death when covered her indelible hit “Jolene” with ferocious rocking fury at London’s Eventim Apollo on Tuesday night. He posted a snippet of the performance on his Instagram after the show, beginning with the appropriate lyric: “Your beauty is beyond compare.” John Mayer We all grieve in our own way, as evidenced by Mayer’s moving, instrumental tribute. The guitarist and former Dead & Company member honored Parton Hendrix-style with a note-bending, majestic electric guitar cover of “I Will Always Love You.” Katy Perry At Perry’s show in San Luis Potosí, Mexico on Tuesday, the singer acknowledged Parton’s passing by telling her fans that, “Dolly Parton was an icon … who defied the odds, ‘cause she had both big boobs, big brains and a big voice in one body. And on top of that, the biggest thing that she did was that she was constantly kind. She was kind to everyone. And it’s not always easy after you’re in the spotlight for decades, and decades, and decades. So I just wanna send a little love to Miss Dolly Parton.” She encouraged her fans dive deep into Parton’s impressive catalog of hits, emphasizing that she was one of the most accomplished songwriters of all time. “It’s where all songwriters — we learn how to write music is through a songwriter like her,” Perry said. Jon Batiste Like Mayer, pianist/singer Batiste stuck to what he’s best at, posting an emotional tribute to “I Will Always Love You,” performed on piano while rocking a black cowboy hat and blue jean overalls. Kesha Kesha leaned into her personal connection to Parton through her mom, Pebe Sebert, during her show at Pavilion Star Lake in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. She performed Parton’s 1980 hit “Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle To You),” a country tune co-written by Sebert and Hugh Moffatt, telling the audience, “We literally lost an angel. But through her art and through her kindness and through her love, she will live forever,” noting that Parton’s cover “bought us a house, like a roof. That song put me through school.” Chris Stapleton One of the most moving versions of “I Will Always Love You” came from country soul giant Stapleton, who performed the song with aching beauty at his show at Jones Beach Theater on Wednesday. Singing the song’s longing lyrics with a cry in his heart and a twangy hitch in his voice, Stapleton added an elegiac electric guitar solo in a version that had the audience singing along in reverence. Orville Peck Masked country interruptor Peck also took on “I Will Always Love You” on Tuesday night during his show at Rough Trade East in London. Before his hushed, acoustic cover of the twangy original, he noted what a “mess” he was about the news and spoke of how loud and proud friend of the LGBTQIA+ community Parton stood for “kindness and I think that’s something that is really lacking in the world these days … I feel we can always remember what she stood for.” He added, “as a gay man coming into country music and feeling sort of alone, the thing that always felt comforting is, like, just knowing Dolly existed in country … made me feel like maybe I had a friend there.” Pitbull One of the more unexpected tributes came from Mr. 305, who paused his show at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, N.Y. on Tuesday night, to shout out someone he said was, “very special to me and showed me love and believed in me when a lot of folks didn’t and gave me an opportunity.” Pit then took a swig from a Champagne bottle and toasted Parton, shaking his hips alongside his dancers to her iconic 1981 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “9 to 5” as the screen behind him filled with a giant image of the unlikely musical duo smiling for a picture from the time they teamed up in 2024 and Parton recorded new vocals and a rap verse on his song “Powerful Women,” which sampled “9 to 5.” Vin Diesel Speaking of unexpected, Fast & Furious star, and occasional crooner, Diesel caused a stir when he posted his unique “I Will Always Love You” cover. The actor began his version in a hushed, fragile voice, singing the intro a cappella à la Houston’s version, before emoting over a Spanish guitar-spike karaoke backing, his voice nearly cracking with sorrow. Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up