Country music star Dolly Parton turned 80 on Monday, and to celebrate, she dropped a fresh take on her 1977 hit, Light of a Clear Blue Morning. According to Vanity Fair, the track teams her with Lainey Wilson, Reba McEntire, Queen Latifah, and her goddaughter Miley Cyrus.
All money from the song and video goes to pediatric cancer research, the singer announced on her Instagram. The funds will directly support research at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.
"I wrote Light of a Clear Blue Morning during a season when I was searching for hope, and 50 years later that message still feels just as true," Parton said in a statement, as reported by Vanity Fair. "As I celebrate my 80th birthday, this new version is my way of using what I've been blessed with to shine a little light forward, especially by sharing it with some truly incredible women." The original hit No. 11 on Billboard Hot Country Songs and it came from her album New Harvest...First Gathering.
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Health hurdles, enduring spirit
Due to health issues, Parton skipped the "Opry Goes Dolly" event earlier this month. She sent a video message instead. "I just wanted to say how much it means to me that you're all coming together again this year to celebrate my big ol birthday," she said, according toFox News. "I wish I could be there in person, but I'll be sending you all my love for sure."
She also reportedly pushed her Las Vegas shows to September 2026. In October, she calmed fans online. "I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, where I'm kind of having a few treatments here and there," she said. "But I wanted you to know that I'm not dying."
Ahead of her book Star of the Show: My Life on Stage, Parton reflected to People magazine. "People say, Well, you're going to be 80 years old. Well, so what? Look at all I've done in 80 years," she said. "I feel like I'm just getting started."
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