Country music icon Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, leaving behind a secret unreleased song locked inside a time capsule.
The track, titled My Place in History, was placed inside the capsule at Dollywood's DreamMore Resort and Spa in Tennessee and will remain sealed until January 19, 2046, the 100th anniversary of her birth.
Parton recorded the song in 2015, the same year the theme park resort was inaugurated. To ensure the recording survives for decades, the song was stored in two physical formats, cassette tape and CD.
Parton, one of the most celebrated figures in American country music history, established the Dollywood theme park complex in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, as a major cultural and entertainment hub celebrating Appalachian heritage.
Chestnut Wood Dream Box
The time capsule containing the recording is known as the Dream Box. Crafted from chestnut wood, the container was created as a tribute to Parton's uncle, Bill Owens, who spent years advocating for the preservation of the American chestnut tree.
Parton publicly disclosed the existence of the hidden track during a 2022 appearance on the American daytime television program The Kelly Clarkson Show. Speaking on the broadcast, she joked that she likely would not be present when the song was finally revealed to the public, but insisted the piece was worth retrieving regardless of how much time had passed.
Final Days and Announcement
Her passing on Tuesday followed a short battle with cancer. Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, who also served as her head of security, announced her death in a video statement shared on her official Instagram account, fulfilling a personal request Parton had made regarding how the news should be delivered.
Four days prior to her death, the singer was admitted to a hospital in Nashville to receive treatment for kidney and autoimmune issues, according to news website TMZ. On the day of her admission, Parton acknowledged her health struggles to People magazine, though she told the publication she still had many things left to do.
