Dolly Parton shared the sad news Thursday that her brother Randy Parton has died after battling cancer. He was 67.
“The family and I are grieving his loss but we know he is in a better place than we are at this time,” the singer wrote in a message on her website.
One of Parton’s 11 siblings, Randy was a singer-songwriter who had two singles on the country music charts in the early ‘80s. He sang with Dolly on her 1980 hit “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You” and on last year’s “You Are My Christmas.”
In her tribute, Parton remembered her brother as “a great singer, writer, and entertainer.”
She wrote: “He sang, played guitar and bass in my band for many years. He headed his own show at Dollywood since it opened in 1986. He’s had several chart records of his own, but his duet with me on ‘Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You’ will always be a highlight in my own career.”
Randy is survived by wife Deb, daughter Heidi, son Sabyn and two grandsons.
“We will always love him and he will always be in our hearts,” Parton wrote.