Forty-three years ago Monday, Dolly records “Light of a Clear Blue Morning;” released as the sole single from her first post-Porter album eight months later, it peaks at No. 3 country, No. 87 pop. Forty-one years ago Monday, the single “Heartbreaker” debuts on the country charts; it would reach No. 1 six weeks later and stay atop the chart for three weeks; the following week it would also debut on the pop and adult contemporary charts, peaking at No. 37 and No. 12, respectively. Three years ago Monday, Pure & Simple is released; it would become Dolly's first No. 1 country album in 25 years. Forty-eight years ago Wednesday, Porter & Dolly's “The Right Combination” debuts on the pop charts (their only pop chart single); it peaks at No. 106 but makes it to No. 14 country. Forty-seven years ago Wednesday, Porter & Dolly record “Say Forever You'll Be Mine,” which three years later becomes the title cut from their final duet album of the 1970s; released as a single, it peaks at No. 5. Forty-four years ago Friday, “The Seeker” debuts on the pop charts; Dolly's sixth time on the pop side of Billboard, she lasts only one week at No. 105, but the song goes to No. 2 on the country singles chart. Twenty-two years ago Friday, Dolly's techno remix of “Peace Train” debuts on the dance club play chart, peaking at No. 23. Thirty-four years ago Saturday, Kenny & Dolly's “Real Love” hits the No. 1 spot on the country chart, No. 91 pop, to become Dolly's 19th of her record 25 country No. 1 hits. Forty-three years ago Sunday, Variety reports the duo team of Porter & Dolly has dissolved.
Charts
U.S., Aug. 17 edition:
"Smoky Mountain Rain" with Ronnie Milsap, No. 28 adult contemporary singles (down from No. 27, fourth week, peaked at No. 27)
U.K., Aug. 19 edition:
The Complete Trio Collection No. 2 country compilation (no change; 153rd week; peaked at No. 1 for 30 weeks)
Upcoming television appearances
(All times Eastern unless noted)
Aug. 24, 8 p.m., Lifetime Movie Network, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (re-runs midnight Aug. 25)
Aug. 24, 10:30 p.m., TCM, Steel Magnolias
Aug. 30, 8 a.m., REELZ, National Enquirer Investigates: Dolly Parton (re-runs 11 a.m. Aug. 30)
Aug. 30, 10:03 p.m., Lifetime, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (re-runs 2:04 a.m. Aug. 31)
Sept. 15-18 and 22-25, 8 p.m., PBS, Country Music
Nov. 10, 9 p.m., AXS, A Life On The Road with Brian Johnson: Dolly Parton
Nov. 13, 8 p.m., ABC, 53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards
In-person Dolly (scheduled live
appearances, some are tentative)
The RCA Sessions (1968-1976), 22-song digital collection of rare Porter & Dolly songs first released on the 2014 complete recordings boxed set, April 5
Love & Music 1973 Porter & Dolly album, digital release, March 29
We Found It 1973 Porter & Dolly album, digital release, Feb. 1
The Country Music Association on Monday announced Dolly and Reba will serve as “special guest hosts” with Carrie Underwood at the 53rd annual CMA Awards ceremony in Nashville. Nominations will be announced on Good Morning America Aug. 28 and the event airs live on ABC Nov. 13. Check out the announcement video above from the CMA and Dolly's response below. The announcement touted that the three hosts have a combined 124 CMA nominations and 22 wins (Dolly has the most awards with nine regular CMA wins, followed by Underwood with seven and Reba with six, although Dolly also has three special CMA Awards for a real total of 12, Underwood has two for a total of nine and Reba has one for a total of seven; Reba has the most nominations with 50, followed by Dolly's 45 and Underwood's 29). Dolly previously hosted the awards solo in 1988, while Reba hosted with Randy Travis in 1990, solo in 1991 and with Vince Gill in 1992. Underwood has co-hosted with Brad Paisley for the past 11 years. Dolly won her first CMA for Vocal Group of the Year with Porter Wagoner in 1968, and the pair moved to the new Vocal Duo Of The Year category and won for 1970 and 1971 before she won Female Vocalist Of The Year in 1975 and 1976, Entertainer of the Year in 1978 and Vocal Event Of The Year with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt in 1988, with Vince Gill in 1996 and with Paisley in 2006 (after the award name had changed to Musical Event Of The Year). Her special awards are the Country Music Honors in 1993, International Artist Achievement Award in 2004 and Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. She is the only artist to have won a CMA honor in each of the awards' six decades of existence.
First created as "Duane's Dolly Pages" in 1996, and becoming Dollymania in 1998, this is the oldest continually operating Internet site dedicated to Dolly Parton and the ONLY regularly-updated resource about her available anywhere in the world!
Past news
Aug. 19: Aussie Chart Update Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) loses six spots to No. 18 in its 413th chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release, it was revealed Saturday.
Aug. 17: U.S., U.K. Chart Updates Dolly's duet with Ronnie Milsap on "Smoky Mountain Rain" from his album Ronnie Milsap: The Duets may have started its fall on the charts, dropping one to No. 28 in its fourth week on the 30-position Billboard adult contemporary singles chart the Aug. 17 charts announced Tuesday revealed, down from its No. 27 peak. The country catalog albums chart sees Playlist: The Very Best Of Dolly Parton lose four to No. 13 in its 52nd chart week. Overseas, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt holds steady at No. 2 on the British country compilation albums chart in its 153rd chart week, it was revealed Friday. Also on the U.K. country compilation albums chart, Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Ronstadt) slips one to No. 11, while Harris' Original Album Series, Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) gains one to No. 6, Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) rises four to No. 10 and Dolly's UK Greatest Hits falls back out of the top 20, down from No. 15, but her Essential Dolly Parton re-enters the top 20 at No. 12.
Aug. 12: Chart Update Down Under Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) gains six to No. 12 in its 412th chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release, it was revealed Saturday.
Aug. 10: Chenoweth Releases Dolly 'I Will Always Love You' Duet
You may recall it reported here two months ago that Kristin Chenoweth had recorded a track with Dolly for her upcoming album, For The Girls, but the song they were performing was not yet known. Chenoweth this week announced the track listing for the album – a concept project of cover songs honoring the women who inspired her career such as Dolly, Barbara Streisand ("The Way We Were"), Patsy Cline ("Crazy"), Judy Garland ("The Man That Got Away") and Linda Ronstadt ("Desperado") – which revealed the song performed with Dolly is a cover of her own classic "I Will Always Love You". She also released the track as the album's first single, making it available here, on Friday. An audio video was posted Thursday to YouTube here or in the media player above. In a press release, Chenoweth, who has long praised Dolly as her greatest inspiration, said: "These are some of my favorite singers in the world. 'I Will Always Love You' is a song I've loved since I was a child. I used to think, 'One day I'm going to sing that song.' Little did I know that I'd get to sing it with the queen herself." Other guests on the CD are Ariana Grande on "You Don't Own Me" and Jennifer Hudson and Reba McEntire on "I'm A Woman." For the past few years, Chenoweth has included a dramatic cover of Dolly's "Little Sparrow" in her concerts on tour and on some spots has also thrown in covers of "9 To 5" and/or "I Will Always Love You." The full album, available here, comes out Sept. 27.
U.K. Chart Update The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt holds steady at No. 2 on the British country compilation albums chart in its 152nd chart week, it was revealed Friday. Also on the U.K. country compilation albums chart, Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Ronstadt) gains two to No. 10, while Harris' Original Album Series, Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) holds steady at No. 7, Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) dips five to No. 14 and Dolly's UK Greatest Hits from 2004 re-enters the top 20 at No. 15.
Could New '9 To 5: The Musical' Soundtrack Be Coming? London Theatre Direct this week announced that the West End cast of Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical would soon be recording their own version of the show's soundtrack for release. The article was soon deleted from their site without explanation, so it is unknown whether the story was inaccurate or just reported before the show's producers wanted the news released. Dolly Records released the Broadway cast CD back in 2009.
Aug. 8: 'Smoky Mountain Rain' Rises On Chart Dolly's duet with Ronnie Milsap on "Smoky Mountain Rain" from his album Ronnie Milsap: The Duets continues its run on the charts by inching up one to No. 27 in its third week on the 30-position Billboard adult contemporary singles chart the Aug. 10 charts announced Tuesday revealed. The publication also reinstated releasing the country catalog albums chart of older titles, which sees Playlist: The Very Best Of Dolly Parton gain one to No. 9 in its 51st chart week.
Blue Vinyl 'Jolene' Coming LP subscription service Vinyl Me Please has announced that it will make available to its members a limited edition exclusive run of 1,000 blue vinyl copies of Dolly's 1974 album Jolene, which RCA is re-releasing on regular vinyl Aug. 23 here. More information on the blue vinyl version is available here.
Aug. 6: Dolly Talks Imagination Library To State Legislators
Dolly was in Nashville Monday pitching her Imagination Library early childhood literacy program to members of state legislatures nationwide as the keynote speaker for the Legislative Summit of the National Conference of State Legislatures. The purpose was to convince state representatives and senators to return home and investigate the possibility of providing state funding to take her charitable program statewide in their respective states using tax dollars to supplement the project, as Tennessee and North Carolina have done and Ohio and Arkansas are in the process of implementing. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee interviewed her about the program, her career, and her life, and clips were shown from the upcoming documentary The Library That Dolly Built as well as from brain researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital on literacy development. Dolly also sang "Coat Of Many Colors" and "Try" for the audience. Check out video from WSMV here or above and coverage from The Tennessean with a story here and photo gallery here. While there, she also received accolades from the state government as well as the City of Nashville, which declared Aug. 5 Dolly Parton Day. Check out that story from News Channel 5 here.
Aug. 5: New Duet Coming With Zach Williams Christian rock artist Zach Williams has announced a collaboration with Dolly on his next CD, Rescue Story, coming out Oct. 4. The track, "There Was Jesus" (featuring Dolly Parton), will be available here.
Dolly Movie Marathon Announced In Chicago Chicago's Music Box Theatre is celebrating its 90th anniversary with a 9 p.m.-to-5 a.m. Dolly celebration featuring an eight-hour tribute to her films 9 To 5, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Rhinestone and Straight Talk Aug. 24-25. Get tickets here!
D.C. Dolly Tribute Concert Announced The American Pops Orchestra has announced a Sept. 21 concert in D.C. honoring the music of Dolly. Several guest vocalists will join as they pay tribute in Coat Of Many Colors: The Music Of Dolly Parton. Get tickets here.
British, Australian Chart Updates The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt holds steady at No. 2 on the British country compilation albums chart in its 151st chart week, it was revealed Friday. Also on the U.K. country compilation albums chart, Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Ronstadt) loses five to No. 12, while Harris' Original Album Series, Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) rises nine to No. 7, and Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) holds steady at No. 9. Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) drops five to No. 18 in its 411th chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release, it was revealed Saturday.
Aug. 2: 'Radiolab' To Tell Dolly's Life Story, Impact
1/ CHECK IT! She's been called the "Great Unifier"* for her rare ability to bring people together across divides. What does @DollyParton's story tell us about America? I've been going back home to Nashvlle to figure it out. "Dolly Parton's America," 9-part pod series, this fall. pic.twitter.com/thYQbxnA1z
Public radio personality Jad Abumrad, creator of the popular Radiolab series at WNYC, announced Thursday that he is producing a nine-part podcast series on Dolly's life and her impact on the nation called Dolly Parton's America. Check out his Tweet announcing the program here or above. You may also register here for e-mail updates as the podcast is created.
Aug. 1: Dolly Opens Official Amazon Store Dolly on Wednesday unveiled an official Amazon store to sell the t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies that used to be available on her official website's online store before they closed the store pages on the site. Check them out here.
Get Classic Dolly CMA Performances Time Life Video on Wednesday announced their 10-DVD CMA Awards Live: Greatest Moments 1968-2015 set will be released in stores on Sept. 3 after having been available mostly direct order only since it came out in January. The collection features five Dolly performances ("Love Is Like A Butterfly," "Here You Come Again," "Islands In The Stream," "Silver Threads And Golden Needles" and "I Will Always Love You," the Vince Gill duet) plus a featurette on Dolly. Amazon has the $100 set discounted to $66, or about half the $125 price the original 10-disc set is currently selling for on Amazon. Reserve your copy here!
Austin's Dolly Fest Approaches The Austin Chronicle on Wednesday reported on this weekend's Dolly Fest to be held at the Museum of Human Achievement which was reported here a few weeks ago. Check out their detailed preview here.
Comedy Barn Celebrates Anniversary The Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge, which Dolly's restaurant company purchased in January, celebrated its 25th anniversary this week. The Knoxville News-Sentinel offered a story on the observance here.
July 31: 'Smoky Mountain Rain' Gains On AC Chart Dolly's duet with Ronnie Milsap on "Smoky Mountain Rain" from his album Ronnie Milsap: The Duets gains two spots this week to No. 28 in its second week on the 30-position Billboard adult contemporary singles chart the Aug. 3 charts announced Tuesday revealed.
More From Newport Folk Festival Coverage of Dolly's surprise appearance at the Newport Folk Festival continued over the past several days, with some of the more unique being an interview with CBS News here about how she snuck into the festival and performed for free, and an interview with Brandi Carlisle about singing with Dolly at the event from Billboardhere.
Dolly Set Grammy Museum Records The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles saw its two highest months of attendance in history due to its Dolly costume exhibit in February and March, the Grammys announced this week, according to Broadway Worldhere.
Monique Talks Desire To Work With Dolly The new Mr. Nashville Talks interviews Monique and she talks about wanting to work with Dolly. Check it out here.
Dolly Parton The Dog Passes Away Actress Jennifer Anniston recently lost her dog, which she had famously named Dolly Parton, reuniting her with her ex for a memorial service for their pet. Coverage in celebrity media included Entertainment Tonighthere.
'9 To 5' Announces UK Touring Cast Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical officially announced the remainder of its UK tour cast this week. Learn more from London Theatrehere.
July 29: Dolly Surprises Newport Folk Festival With Performance
Dolly surprised the audiences at the Newport Folk Festival Saturday in Rhode Island when she walked on stage to close out the segment curated by uberfan Brandi Carlisle titled mysteriously "The Collaboration" with none of the performers revealed in advance. Her all-female supergroup Highwomen were on the show as well as Judy Collins, Sheryl Crow, Linda Perry, Jade Bird, Amy Ray and others. At the end, the Highwomen sang a chorus of Dolly's "Eagle When She Flies" before Carlisle called Dolly herself to the stage, donning the yellow wagonwheel pantsuit she had made for her 2008 Porter Wagoner tribute at Dollywood. They joined her in a full version of the song, video of which is available here or in the media player above, followed by "Just Because I'm A Woman" (here or in the media player below), "Jolene" (here or below), a duet of "I Will Always Love You" with Carlisle (here or below) and closing the show with all of the women coming back on stage for "9 To 5" (here or below). Perry also shared a backstage take on "Eagle When She Flies" here or below. Dolly shared on her social media a picture from the event saying here: "I just love surprises! You should have seen the look on your faces :) Thanks for having me, Brandi Carlile :)" Coverage was all over the media afterward, including CMT here, Refinery 29here (which noted the LGBTQ+-affirming nature of her singing basically her Vince Gill duet version with out lesbian Carlisle, although she had previously performed the song with out lesbian Melissa Etheridge on CMT's Crossroads in 2003), Billboardhere (which said the women "made history" with a "fierce female super jam") and The Providence Journalhere, which noted Dolly took the water taxi back to Jamestown following her set and the entire boat serenaded her with "9 To 5." The appearance wasn't a complete surprise, as the Grammy Museum back in mid-May let the cat out of the bag with a press release for the charity auction coinsiding with its Linda Perry tribute in June that included an auction item of a meet-and-greet with Dolly and Perry at the Newport Folk Festival. A few hours later, a corrected press release was issued changing it to a meet-and-greet at a yet-to-be-determined location, at which time Dollymania.net reported on it and speculated she could be performing at the festival but organizers did not want to announce it yet. It turned out that prediction was correct.
Win Dolly Opry Meet And Greet The Grand Ole Opry over the weekend announced a new contest to win a travel package for two to Nashville for Dolly's 50th Opry Anniversary Week. Entries will be accepted through Sept. 17 here to win airfare, hotel, tickets to the Dolly tribute shows that week, tickets to the sold out Saturday Opry shows featuring Dolly herself, a meet-and-greet with Dolly and more.
Australian, British Chart Updates The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt holds steady at No. 2 on the British country compilation albums chart in its 150th chart week, it was revealed Friday. Also on the U.K. country compilation albums chart, Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Ronstadt) holds steady at No. 7, while Harris' Original Album Series, Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) dips two to No. 16, and Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) gains four to No. 9. Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) rises seven to No. 13 in its 410th chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release, it was revealed Saturday.
For the archive of monthly news stories, click here.
"Dollymania: The Online Dolly Parton Newsmagazine. Your premier resource for Dolly Parton news and information." These pages are not affiliated with Dolly Parton, Dolly Parton Enterprises or Dollywood. Original text and images are copyrighted by Duane Gordon/www.dollymania.net or by their respective owners and published here with permission. These may not be reproduced without prior written consent.
