Cher speaks out after Dolly Parton's death, describes their first meeting

Dolly Parton, the country music legend, has died at the age of 80. According to her publicist, Marcel Pariseau, she passed away on Tuesday, August 25, at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee, after a brief battle with cancer, surrounded by loved ones.

Tributes have been pouring in from across the music industry and beyond. Fellow country star Reba McEntire hailed Parton for "all the wonderful things you did for us here on earth. Your love, your music and you gave so much with your huge huge heart. There will never ever be another you." US President Donald Trump announced that flags would be lowered across the United States for a week, calling Parton's death a "true loss for millions of people."

Cher, a Grammy-award winning artist, spoke about Parton and recalled their first meeting. She said she'll miss Parton's laugh the most. Fans gathered to mourn Parton at her Hollywood Walk of Fame star on Tuesday evening, as reported by the BBC's LA correspondent Shaimaa Khalil.

Brief written by urgent.news from CBS News, Malay Mail, BBC News, The Thaiger, Punch — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.