Jeannie Seely dead: Dolly Parton pays emotional tribute to 'one of dearest friends'

Dolly Parton has paid a heartbreaking tribute to her longtime friend - and country music trailblazer - Jeannie Seely.

Seely, 85, died on Friday following complications from an intestinal infection following a career which spanned more than six decades. She won a Grammy in 1967 for her hit Don't Touch Me, an award which propelled her career in performance and made Seely a trailblazer for women in country music.

Reacting to Seely's passing today, Parton, 79, said on Instagram: "I have known Jeannie Seely since we were early on in Nashville. She was one of my dearest friends. I think she was one of the greater singers in Nashville and she had a wonderful sense of humour. We had many wonderful laughs together, cried over certain things together and she will be missed."

Seely died eight months after the passing of her husband Eugene Ward, who had a journey with cancer and it is thought also knew Parton. Seely's career influenced Parton's music and the latter won her first Grammy in 1979, some 12 years after Seely had bagged her sole one. Parton has since celebrated 10 more Grammy Awards, her most recent - Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song - coming in 2021 for There Was Jesus.

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But, like Seely, Parton lost her husband recently as Carl Dean - whom she wed in 1966 - passed away in Nashville, Tennessee. His ill-health happened at the same time as Seely's, as she had two emergency abdominal surgeries in recent months.

Yet during her recovery in May, the defiant songwriter, from Titusville, Pennsylvania, said: "Rehab is pretty tough, but each day is looking brighter and last night, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. And it was neon, so I knew it was mine. The unsinkable Seely is working her way back."

Even since then, Seely continued to appear on Grand Ole Opry, a much-loved live country music radio show in the US. Saturday's Grand Ole Opry show will be dedicated to the tragic performer. In total, Seely was on the programme than 5,000 times since 1967.

Seely was known for her distinctive soul-inflected vocal delivery, which earned her the nickname "Miss Country Soul." Her 1966 single Don't Touch Me became a hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart after ascending to number two, and she followed it up with more hits including A Wanderin' Man (1967) and I'll Love You More (Than You'll Need) (1968). All three songs were written by Seely's future husband, Hank Cochran, whom she wed in 1969. Following her divorce in 1979, Seely married Ward, an attorney from Nashville, who died last year.