Willie Nelson Says He Had “No Idea” Dolly Parton Was Sick Before Her Death

Willie Nelson is recalling the last time he saw Dolly Parton. Speaking to Anderson Cooper on CNN, the country music legend revealed that he did not know of Parton’s cancer battle before her death.

“I had no idea,” he said. “I did an interview with her shortly before that, and she seemed fine.”

It was only after Parton’s death that her team revealed that she’d been fighting cancer for a short time.

As for his feelings about Parton, Nelson said, “She was great. I loved her.”

In thinking back on a favorite memory with the late star, Nelson spoke fondly of Parton’s time The Porter Wagoner Show.

“All the way back to the Porter and Dolly show… I was a big fan of that show,” he said, before lamenting the fact that he never got to appear on the program as a guest.

Cooper went on to note that Parton famously wrote “I Will Always Love You” for Wagoner when she departed the series. That statement prompted Nelson to reveal that he recently recorded his own version of the iconic track.

“That’s a great song,” he said. “It’s a great song, great, positive song.”

What to Know About Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson

The interview marked Nelson’s first comments about Parton since her death.

However, the singer previously acknowledged Parton’s passing by sharing a clip of them singing together. In the 1984 clip, the longtime friends teamed up to sing ” “Everything’s Beautiful (In Its Own Way).” 

The pair worked together many times over the years, and were not shy about sharing their affection for one another. During a 2014 interview with Salon, Parton called Nelson “a joy.”

“I’ve loved him since my first days in Nashville. We came here about the same time and we both worked with Combine Music and Monument Records and RCA,” she said. “We were like little pals in the early days in the ’60s. Trying to sing with him is almost funny. He’s just so hard to catch because he’s so different.”

Photo by Katherine Bomboy/NBC via Getty Images

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