American country singer, Dolly Parton, has paid tribute to her friend and fellow country singer, the late Kenny Rogers.
The 74-year-old posted the tribute on Instagram on Saturday.
“You never know how much you love someone until they’re gone. I’ve had so many wonderful years and wonderful times with my friend, Kenny…,” she wrote.
Dolly and Kenny first worked together on the smash hit 1983 single ‘Islands In The Stream’, which was written by the Bee Gees.
They were friends and collaborators for decades since, cutting multiple duets albums together including the 1984 release Once Upon A Christmas.
Yet they never became romantically involved, with Dolly telling the Today show in 2017 that ‘we were almost like brother and sister. And it would almost be like incest. So we just never went there.”
Kenny Rogers died on Friday night.
According to a statement released by his family on Saturday, the ‘Lucillle’ singer died “peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family.”
