“She’s Great”: Dolly Parton’s Longtime Producer Shuts Down Health Scares, Confirms She’s Back In The Studio

Courtesy of Dolly Parton

Back and better than ever… praise the Lord. Just a little over a week ago, Dolly Parton turned 80 years young, and in typical Dolly fashion, she thanked her fans for all of the birthday wishes, and she also joked that if she lives another 80 years, she has her “plastic surgeons in line,” because she has “outlived so many plastic surgeons”:

“Anyway, thank you for all the birthday wishes. And I hope I live another 80 years, but I hope I’ve still got my plastic surgeons in line. Oh Lord, I’ve outlived so many plastic surgeons. Well, happy birthday to me!”

Spoken like a true queen… she is a national treasure:

But of course, at the end of last year, Dolly had to cancel plans for a Las Vegas residency due to health issues, which certainly got blow out of proportion in the media, in some part thanks to her sister asking for “prayers,” leading many to think the health issues were more serious than Dolly was letting on.

She has said before she has issues with kidney stones, and her procedure was likely related to that, but in addition, she lost her husband of nearly 60 years at the beginning of 2025, so surely that has been weighing on her, and the woman deserves a break… I don’t think she has stopped working since she first set foot in Nashville at 18 years old.

And in a recent interview with Parade, Dolly’s longtime producer Kent Wells said that Dolly is doing “great,” adding that she was recently at his studio, and she was singing and looking just like the Dolly we know and love:

“She was over here at my studio last week. And she seems great. She’s singing great, she looks fantastic and seems perfectly fine.”

He added that he didn’t know exactly what was going on last year, but he felt it had to be “fairly serious” considering she canceled quite a few things, which was definitely not like her. Though she is very much back to normal now, and he says Dolly told her there is “no issue,” and it has been “taken care of”:

“I feel like she’s great. She says she’s great. She says there’s no issue. They got it all taken care of, and that’s all I know.”

It’s great to hear, and I think the huge reaction to just the thought of something being seriously wrong with Dolly just goes to show how truly beloved she is by people all over the world… she really is one of the last universally beloved celebrities, and rightfully so.

He says she us back to “100%,” and she is once again hitting the ground running, so to speak, already in 2026, as she’s already putting out new music. In fact, just a few days before her birthday, Dolly put out the aforementioned new version of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” which features Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah, and Reba McEntire on the 50th anniversary of Dolly writing the song.

Dolly wanted to continue that incredible giving spirit that has guided her career by donating all net proceeds from the song and its accompanying music video to the pediatric cancer research program at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, a longtime partner and cause close to Parton’s heart.