Dolly Parton is kicking off her 80th birthday celebration early.
The country icon, 79, released a new version of her classic song “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” on Friday, January 16, featuring guest vocals from Reba McEntire, Queen Latifah, Lainey Wilson and her goddaughter Miley Cyrus.
“I first wrote this song back in 1976 when I needed a little hope,” Parton said in an Instagram video on Thursday, January 15. “This time around, I’ve invited some very special women, some real shining lights, to help me bring that hope to life again, and I can’t wait for you to hear what we’ve created together.”
The Grammy winner previously revealed that proceeds from the new song will benefit pediatric cancer research at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.
“So excited for y’all to hear this 🤩,” Wilson, 33, teased in an Instagram comment on Tuesday, January 13.
“Light of a Clear Morning” originally appeared on Parton’s 1977 album New Harvest … First Gathering. Before appearing on the new version, Cyrus, 33, put her own spin on the song for a 2021 episode of Saturday Night Live that aired the same weekend as Mother’s Day.
“Happy Mother’s Day to my godmother Dolly Parton and my mom, Tish,” Cyrus said after finishing her performance.
Parton described “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” as her “song of deliverance” after the demise of her professional relationship with the late Porter Wagoner.
“I felt like I was trapped in a situation and needed to be free, because God was calling me, life was calling me, to something bigger,” Parton wrote in her 2020 book, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. “When I finally said, ‘I have to go,’ I remember walking out the door of Porter’s office that day. As I was driving back to my home with [my husband] Carl in Brentwood, I was thinking, ‘It’s been a long, dark night.’ I was almost to Brentwood, and all of a sudden the clouds started parting and the sun was coming out. I thought, ‘Well, if that ain’t a sign, I don’t know what is.’”
Miley Cyrus and Reba McEntire. Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Maya Dehlin Spach/Getty Images
She added, “I started saying the song’s words. By the time I got home, I pretty much had the song done, in my head.”
Parton will turn 80 on Monday, January 19. The Grand Ole Opry is marking her milestone birthday with a star-studded celebration on Saturday, January 17, featuring Wilson, Vince Gill and Rhonda Vincent, but Parton herself will not be in attendance.
“Well, hey there, Grand Ole Opry family. 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 with some of my songs,” the “Jolene” singer said in a video shared via the Grand Ole Opry’s official Instagram page on January 7. “Some of my favorite memories happened right here on stage at the Grand Ole Opry, and I wish I could be there in person, but I’ll be sending you all my love for sure.”
Last year, Parton postponed a planned Las Vegas residency amid health issues, but she later assured fans not to worry.
Jason Kempin/Getty Images Dolly Parton’s late husband, Carl Dean, was a very private person, but his superstar wife still celebrated him in her music — and occasionally ribbed him too. One of the country icon’s most famous songs, “Jolene,” was inspired by an incident where a bank teller developed feelings for Dean, who wed Parton […]
“Back when my husband, Carl, was very sick, that was for a long time, and then when he passed I didn’t take care of myself, so I let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of,” she explained in an October 2025 video. “So, anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said we need to take care of this, we need to take care of that. Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home and closer to Vanderbilt [University Medical Center] where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there. But I wanted you to know that I’m not dying.”
Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, died in March 2025 at age 82. Two months later, she admitted that learning how to live without him had been “a big adjustment.”
“I’ll do fine, and I’m very involved in my work and that’s been the best thing that could happen to me,” she said during a May 2025 appearance on the Today show. “But I’ll always miss him, of course, and always love him. He was a great partner to me.”
