Dolly Parton, 80, Says She’s Improving: ‘I Can’t Lose My Spark’

Country music icon is responding well to treatment but says dizziness from medication is keeping her off the stage for now

Donna Freydkin,

AARP

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Published May 05, 2026

dolly parton wearing a pink suit in front a pink gingham pattern background

Dolly Parton says she is still working while recovering from recent health issues, but needs more time before she is ready to return to the stage.

AARP (Getty Images, 2)

Key takeaways

Parton said she has canceled her Las Vegas residency and apologized to fans.
Ongoing kidney stones, along with immune and digestive issues, are a major focus of her current medical care, she said.
She continues to work on recordings and major Nashville projects, even as live performances remain postponed.

Dolly Parton is getting better. Just don’t expect her back onstage quite yet.

In a new Instagram video posted May 4, the country singer-songwriter, 80, gave fans a detailed update after months of health concerns and postponed shows.

“The good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments and I’m improving every day,” she said. The bad news, she added, is that recovery will take time. Some of the medications and treatments are leaving her feeling dizzy, a condition she described using a phrase borrowed from her grandmother: “swimmy-headed.”

“I can’t be dizzy carrying around banjos and guitars and such on five-inch heels. And you know I’m going to be wearing them. Not to mention all those heavy rhinestone outfits, the big hair, my big personality. That would make anybody swimmy-headed,” she said.

The 10-time Grammy winner then reached for the extended metaphor she does best, comparing herself to an “old classic car.”

“When they raised the hood on this old antique, they realized that I need to rebuild my engine and that my transmission is slipping,” she said, ticking through the damage: oil pan leaking, muffler busted, shocks and pistons needing replacement. “For sure, my spark plugs need to be changed because you know as well as I know that I can’t lose my spark.”

She also revealed that she won’t be performing in Las Vegas in September as part of her scheduled (and postponed, last year) residency. “I am truly sorry,” she said.

Kidney stones remain a recurring problem. Parton has dealt with them for years, and she was characteristically blunt about the number of them. “Lord, they dig more stones out of me a year than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tennessee,” she said.

Beyond the stones, she said that her immune system and digestive system had gotten “all out of whack” over the past few years and that her medical team is focused on rebuilding both.

Kidney stones are more common with age. AARP has reported that about 1 in 10 people will develop one at some point, with older adults at higher risk because of conditions like metabolic syndrome that tend to accumulate over time.

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Smaller stones often pass without symptoms, but larger ones can block urine flow, cause severe pain or lead to infection. Warning signs include flank pain, fever, blood in the urine, nausea and burning during urination.

The deeper context for her health struggles goes back to her husband’s decline. Carl Dean, who died March 3, 2025, at 82 after nearly 59 years of marriage, was ill for an extended period before his death.

Parton acknowledged last October that she had stopped looking after herself after his death. “As I mentioned 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 said on Instagram in a video posted then.

Parton, seen here in 2024, says her treatments are helping, but she is giving herself time to rebuild her strength before stepping back into full performance mode.

Jon Morgan/CBS via Getty Images

This is a pattern that doctors who work with older adults recognize well. Spousal caregivers routinely defer their own medical needs, sometimes for years, while focused on a partner’s illness.

Parton, meanwhile, remains busy. “The truth is I am still working,” she said in the new video. “I still do videos. I still record.”

She is also moving forward on two large projects: Dolly Parton’s SongTeller Hotel and Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum, both opening this fall in downtown Nashville and housed under one roof.

Her Broadway musical is also advancing. The production is called Dolly: A True Original Musical. In the video, Parton said she expects it to open in New York in the fall or early winter.

She said she remains upbeat. “They say that a happy heart is like good medicine,” she quipped in the new video. “Do you think I might be overmedicating myself right now?”

As Parton focuses on recovery and getting stronger, AARP’s Ask Dr. Adam column offers practical answers about kidney health, medication management, exhaustion, grief and more.

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The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Donna Freydkin has spent 10-plus years interviewing celebrities for major publications, and has written for a variety of outlets such as USA Today, Allure, Yahoo! and CNN covering topics such as films, family and favorite meals.