Grammy winner and queen of country music Dolly Parton dies at 80

Dolly Parton was around six when she wrote her first song: "Little Tiny Tasseltop," an ode to her corncob doll with corn-silk hair. Her mother stored it preciously in a shoebox.

But the quality that gave her enduring star power was her ability to connect with people. Coming from a self-described "dirt-poor" family, Parton often stood in as a symbol of the working-class American and regularly threw her name and money behind causes she believed in.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Parton donated $1 million to vaccine research ​at Vanderbilt University in 2020, making her an early sponsor of Moderna's vaccine development.