Dolly Parton recently honored the late Kenny Rogers in a heartfelt tribute. Just ahead of the three-year anniversary of his death, Parton is missing her long-time friend, telling People magazine, “I miss him so much.”
“I’ve lost so many wonderful people in my life in the last few years. But Kenny – he was very, very dear and special and I never get tired of hearing us sing, all the years that we were on stage together.”
Donny Parton honors her longtime late friend Kenny Rogers
The popular country singer died in March 2020 from natural causes at the age of 81. At the time, Parton shared a tearful video to social media, saying, “I loved Kenny with all my heart. And my heart is broken. And a big ‘ole chunk of it has gone with him today.”
In regards to her interview with People, she asked the magazine interviewer, “You know how sometimes you get tired of singing something because it just becomes routine?”, referring to her song with Rogers, “Islands in the Stream.” She continues, “I would always lighten up when that particular song was due in the set-list. It just always made everybody feel so good in the audience and the audience always loved singing it. I never got tired of Kenny’s voice.”
Another song that Parton loves is their 2013 hit “You Can’t Make Old Friends,” which was inspired by their longtime friendship. “[We recorded that song] just in time too, honestly,” recalls Parton, recalling that Rogers would later retire for health reasons. “And now I can’t hardly sing it.”
“You can make new friends that feel like old friends, but there’s just something about the people that have spent years together … You have a history, and you learn about each other, inside and out. I knew Kenny very well. We’re very similar. We’re like brother and sister really.”
After taking a beat, Parton says, “He’s up there singing. I know that.”
