As Olivia Newton-John's 'Jolene' duet with Dolly Parton drops, daughter shares last words

Olivia Newton-John had some sweet words shortly before her death, her daughter Chloe Lattanzi shared Friday on "Today."

“The last words she could say to me was, ‘My sunshine,” Lattanzi said, sitting down to talk to Hoda Kotb with Newton-John's widower, John Easterling, six months after the "Have You Never Been Mellow" singer's death at age 73. "And right before she lost her ability to speak, she was making jokes."

Newton-John, who famously starred as Sandy in the 1978 movie "Grease," died last August after battling breast cancer off and on for 30 years.

Her loved ones were both visibly emotional talking about her death and her continuing presence in their lives, but Lattanzi said that the wave of love expressed for her late mother has been "a life raft" and "a big hug from the universe."

"I'm very grateful for all of the people who reached out to us and extended their heart and their connection," she said.

Easterling said he feels Newton-John everywhere, all the time, whether he's waking up, going to sleep or throwing a ball with the dog. And he still speaks to her out loud.

The loss is still new for Lattanzi as well.

“I love my mom more than anything,” she said, choking up. “She’s my mama, you know? She’s not Olivia Newton-John to me, but I’m so glad that she was Olivia Newton-John for so many people.”

On Friday, a new recording dropped of the Aussie singer performing "Jolene" in a duet with longtime pal Dolly Parton several months before her death. Easterling, who Newton-John married in 2008, called it "a gorgeous duet."

"I'm excited," Newton-John says in the YouTube incarnation of the song. "I've always wanted to sing with Dolly."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.