Station: Dolly To Sing With 'Hannah' In Film
Nashville television station WKRN reports that as had previously been speculated, Dolly will appear in the upcoming Hannah Montana film. At least part of her return as Aunt Dolly, Hannah's godmother, will involve performing in concert at a carnival with Hannah. Disney is slated to film the concert at an undisclosed location on June 3, the station noted here. Dolly has appeared in the role twice on the Disney mega-hit television series starring her real-life goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, and pal Billy Ray Cyrus (Miley's dad).

PowerSource Chart Update
Dolly's ""Jesus & Gravity" could be nearing the end of its run on the PowerSource magazine chart for Christian country music. Over the weekend, the new charts showed it fall five to No. 20 on the 20-position tally in its third week on the chart.

ACM Appearance In Doubt
Will Dolly still perform on next Sunday's Academy of Country Music Awards from Las Vegas? While no formal announcement has yet come that she has pulled out from the show, the most recent press release late last week from the ACMs had her name conspicuously absent from the current list of performers for the program, while all other artists who have been announced as performing thus far were listed on the release. In addition, while CBS, which will broadcast the ceremony live, still has her listed as a performer on its roster available online here, the ACM official website no longer lists her as performing. She was announced in mid-April as a performer, and it was later confirmed that she would sing her current single, "Jesus & Gravity," on the program.

Ain't Nothin' Like The Real Thing
The U.K. will have a competing "Dolly show" this summer when Dolly is in Europe for the next leg of her tour. Dolly: A Celebration of the Leading Lady of Country is a tribute program with singers, dancers and musicians which will be making its rounds through Britain this summer with about 15 dates on the itinerary thus far. Read more about it here.

Library News
Oshkosh, Wis., is the latest community to sign on for Dolly's international literacy program, the Imagination Library. Learn more about their new chapter from The Northwestern here.

May 9:
'Barbie' Stays In Place On Chart
Dolly's current CD, Backwoods Barbie, holds on at the No. 28 spot on the new May 17 country albums chart, Billboard revealed Thursday for its 11th week on the tally. The collection rises five to No. 29 for its 10th week on the independent labels albums chart. As was previously reported here, its second single, "Jesus & Gravity," re-enters the 60-positon country singles tally for a fifth week, coming in at No. 57. On other charts, her 16 Biggest Hits gains two to No. 39 U.S. country albums in its 30th chart week, while The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 slips one to No. 50 country in Canada in its 31st week. Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted, featuring the Dolly duet "When I Get Where I'm Going," falls five to No. 18 on the country catalog albums list. A new compilation, God Bless the USA, featuring Dolly with "Color Me America," debuts at No. 59 country. Tim McGraw debuts at No. 1 country, No. 10 pop with 29,000 copies sold of the Wal-Mart exclusive re-issue of his two best of collections as Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and 2, while Taylor Swift sees her self-titled debut remain steady at No. 2 country but lose two to No. 11 pop in its 80th week.

Twin Peaks In The Twin Cities
Thanks to Michael and Skip for filling me in on the amazing job Dolly did in Minneapolis Wednesday night. Michael called the performance "fantastic" and reports that the standing ovation when she took the stage lasted through three entire songs. Also, she changed her closing number. Thus far on the tour, she has used "Jesus & Gravity" as her encore, but on Wednesday she played it earlier in the second half, closed with "9 To 5," then returned to perform her traditional encore, "I Will Always Love You." He called it the best of the many Dolly concerts he's attended. Skip says from the front row she looked genuinely "on the spot" while answering the questions supposedly submitted by local radio listeners (although I think the questions have been pretty much the same in each city on the tour). He said the night was "amazing to say the least." The St. Paul Pioneer Press offered a very positive review, calling her the "polar opposite" of artists who play and sing well but seem cold and distant in concert. Her performance, jokes, storytelling and mix of songs were all praised. The reviewer even noted that while she appeared to use "vocal enhancements" on a handful of tunes, she remained "an engaging companion, more genuine jewel than glittery rhinestone." Read that review here. Neighboring Minneapolis Star Tribune gave a more mixed review here, but still found her charming and intimate with the audience. Minneapolis TV station WCCO posted video online of a few seconds from several of Dolly's songs in her concert. Check them out here.

Latest Library News
Dolly's Myrtle Beach Dixie Stampede on Saturday sponsored its fifth annual Children's Festival Reading Celebration to promote its local chapter of Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program. Read all about it from the local Sun News here. And The Marion Chronicle-Tribune reports here that Grant County, Ind., is signing up for the program.

In Memoriam: Eddy Arnold
Condolences to the friends and family of Country Music Hall of Famer Eddy Arnold, who died Thursday at the age of 89. In a statement to The Tennessean here, Dolly commented: "Eddy Arnold and his wife were friends and neighbors of mine. We have lost one of the major influences in the music industry. Eddy Arnold, the Tennessee Plowboy, took country music into the mainstream as he not only had hits in country music but he had some of the biggest pop records of all times. He was a dear and fine gentleman who will be missed and thought of fondly and often."

May 8:
'Jesus' Jumps In Listeners
The statistics were released Wednesday on the chart return of Dolly's "Jesus & Gravity" from Backwoods Barbie. As was previously reported, the song will re-enter the country singles chart this week at No. 57. According to Billboard, it registered 67 spins at reporting radio stations for the week of April 28-May 4. That translated to an audience of 477,000, an increase of 131,000 over the previous week, but that was still 60,000 fewer listeners than it saw two weeks ago.

Watch For New Imports Next Month
A couple of new Dolly compilations will soon be heading to stores in Europe. Thanks, Tony! SonyBMG's U.K. division will put out Duets, a collection of tunes she recorded with Porter Wagoner, on June 2. Although the track listing has not been released, an earlier disc featuring the songs of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash had 16 songs, and an upcoming version with George Jones and Tammy Wynette will also include 16 tracks. Porter & Dolly's will be available as an import from Amazon here. A second set, timed to coincide with the European leg of her 2008-2009 Backwoods Barbie World Tour, will hit shelves on June 9, apparently trying to recapture the success of last year's tour-timed CD, The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1, which became her first-ever top 10 album on the British pop charts. This new collection The Tour Collection is a four-CD boxed set of 80 songs. The tracks, many of which have never before been released on CD and span her time at BMG's RCA label and Sony's Columbia in addition to some recent guest appearances, are divided into individual discs for love songs, cover songs, Smoky Mountain music and duets. The set, available as an import from Amazon here, features extensive liner notes and what the label describes as "lavish packaging" in addition to the following songs:
DISC ONE: Love

Porter To Be Honored
The Academy of Country Music announced Wednesday that Dolly's former longtime duet partner and mentor, the late Porter Wagoner, will be one of this year's Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award recipients. The Pioneer Award, roughly the ACM's equivalent to the Country Music Hall of Fame, is noted during the ACM telecast by their names scrolling along the bottom of the screen, with a ceremony held separately to formally recognize the recipients. Last year, Wagoner was the person on hand to present Dolly with her Pioneer Award trophy. It marked the duo's final public appearance together prior to Wagoner's unexpected passing in October. The date for this year's ceremony has yet to be finalized. Given that last year's ceremony was announced on the same day as the recipients' names, I suspect the ACM may be attempting to schedule it for a time when Dolly may attend, since she will be in Europe touring for most of the summer. This year's other recipients are Brenda Lee, the Oak Ridge Boys and the late Conway Twitty. Other honorees are Dick Clark for the Jim Reeves International Award and Bill Anderson and the late Fred Rose for the first-ever Poet's Award for songwriting.

May 7:
More From The Road
A very brief update tonight (your webmaster had a late session at the conference – this is completely unrelated to Dolly, but the session involved a screening of an amazing documentary, Traces Of The Trade, which I encourage you all to watch on PBS June 24) and has to get up early in the morning, so here are just a few notes for tonight:

May 6:
'Jesus' Comes Back To Chart
Dolly's current single, "Jesus & Gravity" from Backwoods Barbie is resurrected on the charts this week. The tune, which had dropped off the 60-position tally the previous week (the second time it disappeared since debuting), will re-enter at No. 57 on the May 17 country singles chart, Billboard revealed Monday. More information on exactly how much airplay increased over the past week will be available on Wednesday. It marks the song's fifth chart week.

Backwoods Barbie Tour Continues
Dolly's coming to Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore., according to a message sent out Monday to subscribers of the e-mail service through her official music website, DollyPartonMusic.net. Although the text noted that concerts in both cities have been added and that Dolly-ite online fan club pre-sales will begin at 10 a.m. local time Wednesday, it only gave the date of the Seattle show, Aug. 8. Presumably, the Portland show will be a day or two before or after her stop in Seattle (a second e-mail with more details is expected Tuesday). Neither show had been added yet to the official tour itinerary posted on the website as of the time of this update Monday night. Meanwhile, her 2008-2009 Backwoods Barbie World Tour continued Monday in Boston and heads over to Minneapolis on Wednesday and Chicago Thursday and Friday. The Philadelphia Inquirer reviewed Saturday's Atlantic City concert in its Monday issue here, giving the show high marks. And thanks to Luke for sending in his shot with Dolly backstage from that concert (click on it at left for a larger view)!

Dolly And George Together Again
Dolly gets her third collaboration to be released with George Jones on his upcoming CD, Burn Your Playhouse Down, according to The Tennessean. Although which duet is there with Dolly has not been announced, nearly all tracks on the collection will come from the previously unreleased recording sessions for his 1994 release The Bradley Barn Sessions. That CD included the song "Where The Grass Won't Grow" with Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Trisha Yearwood, but most artists on the duets collection recorded multiple tracks with him, several of which were shelved. In 2005, Dolly and Jones teamed up again for "The Blues Man" on his Hits I Missed. Read more here.

May 5:
Live From New York, It's Dolly!
Thanks to Dolly-ite meet-and-greet winner Clayton Stacey for sending in his shot with Dolly backstage at New York's Radio City Music Hall show. Click on it at left for a larger version. The show continues to keep critics at odds with each other. The New York Post on Saturday slammed her humor and stories from home as taking away from her music. The review here called the concert a "belly-flop," said it "was tired, uncharacteristically flat and badly produced" and that fans "expect better from a performer of Parton's caliber." On the other hand, The Hollywood Reporter praised the appearance and her comedic wit here. The publication said the crowd was "adoring" and that she "displayed in equal parts her still beautiful soprano voice and a knack for comic shtick that makes her seem like a modern-day Minnie Pearl." The tour rolled into Atlantic City Saturday (which I'm told went wonderfully and featured the same set list as New York -- thanks, Dave, Mel and Toni!) and continues to Boston on Monday (check out a story from The Boston Phoenix here. Thanks, Mark!).

New Dollywood Galleries Posted
The next group of galleries from contributing photographer Jason Worley covering Dolly's recent Dollywood stops are now available in that section of the site here. More to come!

A Note From The Webmaster
Just a little note to let you know that your webmaster is out of town at a conference, so updates for a few days may or may not be available depending on how much time I have available at the end of each day :)

May 3:
Big Apple Tastes A Little Dollywood
Dolly had the audience wrapped around her little finger, as the song goes, Thursday night with a sold out engagement at New York's famed Radio City Music Hall. Special thanks to Brendan, who sent in several shots, such as the one at left, which have been posted in three galleries here, here and here. Several photos are also posted on Getty Images here. Thanks to the many readers who wrote in with their recaps of the show. Added to the line-up was "Puppy Love," which she performed immediately prior to the '50s medley in an upper register to sound like her 11-year-old self when it was recorded. Still no "Me and Little Andy" or "Drives Me Crazy," I'm told, though. The audience was quite receptive, too, with dancing in the aisles and multiple standing ovations, although some said they didn't feel the crowd showed her the respect she deserved, with some chatter during soft songs and some behavior fueled by alcohol. One reader even got to say hi on the street as Dolly walked back to her bus before the show. Special thanks to Sam, Danny, Toni, and Michael. But the "experts" can't agree. The Wall Street Journal's blog featured a commentary here slamming the show as poor branding, saying there was too much corny humor and stories distracting from her music. Entertainment Weekly's blog, on the other hand, singled her out as having the best stage banter in the business, saying that her jokes remain funny no matter how many times she's said them and her stories from the Smoky Mountains enriching. Read that opinion here. Even the venerable New York Times gives her high marks in a review of the concert here.
The set list was as follows:

More Dolly In Print
Britain's The Guardian offers a very lengthy, wonderful piece based on several interviews spaced months apart between her and the writer both in the States and the U.K. Take a read here. And The Star Tribune in Minneapolis-St. Paul talks to her and the album art photographer for Backwoods Barbie about the project here, including a little Q&A here where she addresses her back, lip-synching, Broadway and goddaughter Miley Cyrus.

When Irish Charts Are Falling
Well, the ride lasted more than a year, but it now appears to be over. After 54 weeks on the chart, The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 fall out of the top 100 pop list in Ireland, down from No. 93 the previous week, it was announced Friday.

Even More From Dollywood
No, the Dollymania coverage of Dolly's Dollywood Homecoming isn't over yet. Tonight, the first series of galleries by contributing photographer Jason Worley see publication in that section of the site here.

'Jesus' Makes Countdown
Although the video for "Jesus & Gravity" didn't make CMT's Top 20 Countdown this week, the opus did debut at No. 3 Friday on the Pure 12 Pack countdown on the network's digital cable outlet, CMT Pure Country. Vote for it in the regular countdown here and 12 Pack here!

May 2:
'Barbie' Continues Fall
Dolly slides two more spots this week to No. 28 in her 10th week on the country albums chart for Backwoods Barbie, the May 10 Billboard numbers released Thursday showed. Over on the pop side, the collection falls off the 200-position chart, down from No. 184 in its eighth week. It loses six to No. 34 in its ninth week on the independent labels albums chart, while it falls off the top 50 Canadian country albums list as well, down from No. 40 up north in its eighth week. As was previously reported, her song "Jesus & Gravity" falls off the 60-positon country singles tally, down from No. 57 in its fourth week there. However, the track rises two to No. 16 in its second week on PowerSource magazine's Christian country singles chart. Elsewhere, Dolly's 16 Biggest Hits inches down one to No. 41 U.S. country albums, while The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 re-enters the top 50 country in Canada to rest at No. 49 in its 30th week. Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted, with Dolly on "When I Get Where I'm Going," moves up one to No. 13 on the country catalog albums list. Troubadour by George Strait rises one to No. 1 country but drops two to No. 8 pop with 29,000 copies sold in its fourth week, and the self-titled debut by Taylor Swift moves up one to No. 2 country and No. 9 pop with 27,000 units moved in its 79th week.

Tour Advances To Big Apple
Dolly's 2008-2009 Backwoods Barbie World Tour headed into New York City Thursday, although no reports on how things went were received as of the time of this report Thursday night. She continues on to Atlantic City on Saturday. Tickets are still available.

New Dollywood Pics
Yes, coverage of Dolly's recent Dollywood appearances continues tonight with additional galleries by Dollymania photo correspondent Harrell Gabehart in that section of the site here.

Dolly In Print
I haven't seen it yet, but I'm told Dolly has the cover photo and a multi-page interview inside the new issue of Country Weekly making its way to newsstands this week.

Wigtown Preps Dolly Project
It's almost time for Dolly's international literacy program, the Imagination Library, to launch its first Scottish chapter, and The Stanraer and Wigtownshire Free Press reports on it here. (Remember that although in the States the term "scheme" has negative connotations, in the U.K. it simply means "plan" or "program.")

May 1:
Several Images From Tour Available
Reports from several readers came in Wednesday about Dolly's sold out show Tuesday night in Atlanta. Darryl and Kelly tell me the audience was on its feet for nearly half of the concert – her standing ovation when she took the stage lasted through all three of the first songs of the evening, standing ovations were offered when she left for the intermission and for three more songs when she returned, and then for the final five songs of the performance. Once again, "Me and Little Andy" and "Drives Me Crazy" were missing from the set list. Rick writes she was "simply amazing. The very, very best concert I have seen Dolly perform in 20 years!" And Crystal said "Dolly looked and sounded fantastic!" Top Dolly fan David Schmidli was in the audience, and Dolly saw him and said, "Hi, David," the only time in the show she called out someone's name. Check out some shots from the Schmidlis here, including the one at left. Thanks! And thanks to Jeff for alerting me that the Atlanta Journal Constitution has posted a gallery of images from the night here.

'Jesus' Falls Back Off Top 60
After just four weeks on the 60-position country singles chart, Dolly's current single, "Jesus & Gravity," drops back off the tally this week in the May 10 Billboard numbers released Wednesday. The previous week, the song was at No. 57 with 72 spins and 537,000 listeners. However, for the week of April 21-27, it didn't register enough airplay to land in the top 60. As the No. 60 track had an audience of just 396,000, Dolly's song lost at least a quarter of its audience last week. And although it had been announced two weeks ago that Dolly would appear on this year's Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards in Las Vegas on May 18, The Knoxville News-Sentinel's Terry Morrow on Wednesday confirmed for the first time that she will, in fact, be performing the song on the program, so perhaps airplay will pick back up afterwards and it will get back on the charts. Read the note in his column here.

Stampede And Dollywood Hit MSNBC
Dolly's businesses got several mentions Wednesday on MSNBC. Her Dixie Stampede dinner theatre made the network's list of the "top seven tourist traps you'll love" here, while Dollywood got coverage as one of the nation's most pet-friendly theme parks here and its gold season pass was noted in a story on extra park perks here.

More From The Park
Additional Dolly shots from Dollywood by Dollymania photo correspondent Harrell Gabehart have been posted to that section of the site here.

April 30:
Dolly-izing The D.C. Area
Dolly was at her best Monday night in Fairfax, Va., by all accounts. Several readers wrote in Tuesday with their comments on the show. Again, cameras were prohibited, and security was reportedly very strict with attendees who tried to snap any. Still, a few got theirs in, such as the one at left courtesy Robert Hodge. Additional shots from him are available here. Thanks! Check out a glowing review from Washington Blade news editor Joey DiGuglielmo on the paper's blog here, where he notes there was even a drag queen decked out in a perfect replica of the new CD's cover costume who posed for photos during intermission. Andrew tells Dollymania, "She sounded AMAZING." Brian comments that missing from the line-up were "Me And Little Andy," "I'm Little But I'm Loud" and "Drives Me Crazy" but that it was still a spectacular night. Kim says the night can be summed up as: "One word WOW!!!!!" The tour rolled into Atlanta on Tuesday for a sold out gig, and next up is her sold out engagement Thursday in New York City.

Joining Forces With Emmy Again
Although on which exact song she performs has not been disclosed, it was announced this week that Dolly has provided guest vocals for the upcoming Emmylou Harris CD All I Intended To Be, due June 10 from Nonesuch Records. Also on the collection are Vince Gill, Buddy Miller and Kate and Anna McGarrigle. Reserve your copy here!

Giving Don His Due
Details of former Porter Wagoner band member and Dolly road manager Don Warden's induction into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame have been released. The ceremony, which Dolly is expected to attend, will take place at 2 p.m. Aug. 30 at the Millennium Hotel in St. Louis, Mo., as part of the International Steel Guitar Convention. Admission will be $25 per person. Thanks, Amber!

Even More Dollywood Coverage
The first set of images from Dollymania photo correspondent Harrell Gabehart from Dolly's recent Dollywood appearances are now available in that section of the site here. Thanks! 

April 29:
Another Calif. Date Added For Fall
The next date on the second U.S. leg of Dolly's 2008-2009 Backwoods Barbie World Tour was announced Monday. An Aug. 5 date will take her to the Greek Theater at the University of California at Berkley. Pre-sale tickets will be available to Dolly-ite online fan club members at 10 a.m. local time Wednesday ending at 10 p.m. Friday prior to the public sale, which starts at 10 a.m. Pacific on Sunday.
In related news: