Dolly Parton said goodbye to her longtime friend and fellow country music legend, Kenny Rogers, in an emotional video on Saturday.
“You never know how much you love somebody until they’re gone,” Parton wrote in a tweet accompanying her tribute to “The Gambler” singer. “I’ve had so many wonderful years and wonderful times with my friend Kenny, but above all the music and the success, I loved him as a wonderful man and a true friend.”
Rogers’ family announced Saturday that he had died Friday night at the age of 81, “peacefully at home from natural causes,” surrounded by family.
“I know that we all know Kenny’s in a better place than we are today ... he’s going to be talking to God some time today if he ain’t already, and he’s going to be asking him to spread some light onto this darkness going on here,” said Parton in her video. “But I loved Kenny with all my heart, and my heart’s broken and a big ol’ chunk of it has gone with him today.”
Throughout their decades-long careers, Parton and Rogers collaborated numerous times. One of their most famous duets was 1983′s “Islands in the Stream.”
In her video on Saturday, Parton appeared to tear up as she held a framed photo of herself and Rogers together.
She followed up her video with a second tweet addressing her old friend, writing, “So you be safe with God and just know that I will always love you.”