Reba McEntire has one unanswered question from the final weeks of Dolly Parton’s life. At the end of July, Parton called her longtime friend while McEntire was sitting in a meeting. McEntire missed the call.
She tried to reach Parton afterward, but the two never managed to reconnect. “I’ll never know why she called me,” McEntire said while recounting the moment in a new interview, according to Entertainment Weekly.
McEntire’s friend Lisa Davis called her on the morning of Aug. 25 and told her Parton had died. Parton was 80. Her official website later announced that the singer died peacefully in Nashville, surrounded by loved ones.
McEntire has not tried to assign a meaning to Parton’s final attempt to reach her. She acknowledged that she may never know what her friend wanted to discuss, then added, “I’ll find out one day.”
McEntire Had Been Reluctant to End Their Previous Conversation
Before the missed July call, McEntire and Parton had managed to connect despite schedules that often made finding time to talk difficult. McEntire said it was “really special” when they finally spoke and remembered knowing Parton was busy but not wanting to let her go. The Independent also reported McEntire’s account of their final contact and the unanswered call that followed.
Nothing McEntire has said publicly indicates that Parton treated their conversation as a goodbye or suggested that anything unusual was happening. The significance of the later missed call only became apparent to McEntire after she learned of Parton’s death.
Parton Was There for McEntire During One of Her Hardest Years
Parton offered McEntire support after the March 1991 plane crash that killed eight members of McEntire’s band and crew following a concert in San Diego.
McEntire has said returning to the stage after the crash was extremely difficult. Vince Gill offered to be there for her, while Parton made an even more practical offer: “Here, take my band.” McEntire recalled the gesture in a Garden & Gun interview as one of the acts of support that showed her how many people were willing to help while she was grieving.
McEntire’s memories of Parton stretched back well before that tragedy. When McEntire made her Grand Ole Opry debut in 1977, Parton unexpectedly arrived backstage wearing a black chiffon outfit covered with rhinestone butterflies. McEntire remembered looking at the already established country star and thinking she looked like an angel.
They Waited Decades Before Recording a Duet
Despite knowing each other for decades, McEntire and Parton did not release a proper duet until 2021. Parton joined McEntire for a new version of “Does He Love You,” which McEntire had originally recorded with Linda Davis in 1993.
The collaboration appeared on Revived Remixed Revisited, with its music video placing the two singers inside the song’s confrontation. The recording finally paired their voices in the studio more than four decades after their first meeting.
Parton had also appeared on McEntire’s sitcom Reba in 2005 as real-estate agent Dolly Majors. The guest appearance gave the longtime friends another opportunity to work together before their eventual studio collaboration.
McEntire Honored Parton at the Emmys Weeks Later
After Parton’s death, McEntire wrote that there would “never ever be another” her and thanked her for her music, generosity and “huge huge heart.” She also said she would never forget their final conversation. TMZ documented McEntire’s tribute on the day Parton’s death was announced.
On Sept. 14, McEntire carried that remembrance onto the Emmy stage. Following an introduction from Sally Field, she performed Parton’s “Appalachian Memories” during the ceremony’s In Memoriam tribute and ended by telling her late friend that she loved her, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Parton family described a seven-decade career spanning music, acting, writing and philanthropy in its official announcement. The family asked fans who wanted to honor Parton to support the Imagination Library and said a small private service would be held for immediate family.