Linda Ronstadt made a rare public statement today to honor her longtime friend and former Trio bandmate Dolly Parton.
In a statement posted on Ronstadt’s Facebook page, Ronstadt said, “I am deeply saddened by the passing of my friend, Dolly Parton. One of the most extraordinary musical experiences of my life was recording with her. The world is a poorer place without her.”
Ronstadt and Harris recorded the massively successful, Grammy-winning 1987 album Trio with Parton, following up 12 years later with Trio II. Both albums featured their remarkable three-part harmonies, often with two of the three singing back-up while the third took solo duties. An expanded compilation, The Complete Trio Collection including previously unreleased tracks, was released in 2016.
The three singers first performed together a full decade before Trio when Ronstadt and Harris appeared on Parton’s syndicated TV series Dolly in 1976. For that appearance, they performed the songs “The Sweetest Gift” and the Carter Family’s “Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow.”
Ronstadt retired in 2011 due to the neurodegenerative condition known as progressive supranuclear palsy. The illness has left her unable to sing.
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