Feb. 10: Nashville Symphony Proclaims Dolly Summer The Nashville Symphony Orchestra last week announced this will be the Summer of Dolly in Music City with a seven-week engagement of her Threads: My Songs In Symphony will run at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center June 16 through July 31. Tickets are available here. The engagement coincides with this summer's opening of her new SongTeller Hotel in downtown Nashville which includes her new Life of Many Colors Museum and the continuing exhibit "Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker" at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Dolly Joining Musicans Hall Of Fame It was announced last week that multi-instrumentalist Dolly is among the inductees in this year's Musicians Hall of Fame. No official word on whether she will attend the concert and induction ceremony at Belmont University's Fisher Center in Nashville at 7:30 p.m. April 28, but in case she does, tickets go on sale to the public for $65-$225 at 11 a.m. Tuesday here. Other inductees this year are Dann Huff, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, John Boylan, Keith Urban, Leland Sklar, Michael McDonald and Nicky Hopkins (posthumously). Presenters and performers are to be announced.
'Light' Gets Second Week On Sales Charts Dolly's new recording of "Light Of A Clear Blue Morning" to raise funds for pediatric cancer research at Vanderbilt with vocals from Queen Latifah, Reba McEntire, Lainey Wilson, and Miley Cyrus earned a second week on the Feb. 7 Billboard charts released last week. The track slips five from the top of the Country Digital Songs Sales chart to No. 6 and from the second position on the overall Digital Song Sales chart to No. 22. It falls off the Country Airplay chart after one week at No. 41. It still didn't get enough streams to appear on any streaming charts or the overall Hot Country Songs or all-genre Hot 100 charts, both of which rely heavily on streaming credits to chart. Across the pond, her 1977 original version of the song gains five spots to No. 93 British download singles chart in its third week and re-enters the British singles sales chart at No. 100.
Elsewhere on the U.K. charts, "Islands In The Stream" with Kenny Rogers falls back off the top 100 downloads, down from No. 99. Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 falls back off the top download albums chart, down from No. 24, while her Rockstar: Deluxe falls back off the same tally, down from No. 78. On the British country compilation albums chart, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 remains at No. 1, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection stays at No. 2, Glen Campbell's Ghost On The Canvas Sessions with a Dolly duet, slidfes four to No. 20, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe inches up one to No. 11, Emmylou Harris' first installment in Original Album Series drops five to No. 15, and Ultimate Dolly Parton dips one to No. 9, Essential Dolly Parton loses two to No. 13, and Live From London rises four to No. 14. Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, finds itself at No. 17 U.K. pop. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, is No. 17 British country albums and No. 11 Americana albums. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, is No. 7 British country albums.
Stateside, Carpenter is No. 23 U.S. pop albums, while Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, is No. 14 country and No. 109 pop.
Down Under, Carpenter is No. 8 pop albums, Malone No. 4 Australian country albums and No. 42 pop, and Beyonce at No. 24 country.
'Trio' Coming Out On Special Acoustic Releases High-end audiophile boutique Acoustic Sounds is celebrating its 40th anniversary with limited edition releases of 40 albums on Hybrid Stereo SACD and LPs and they have announced the inclusion of 1987's Trio by Dolly, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris. The album is remastered to DSD from the original master tapes and will be released both on a Hybrid Stereo SACD and a 180-gram double LP at higher-fidelity 45 rpm speed instead of standard 33. The release date has yet to be announced, but the title is up for pre-order on their website for the vinyl here and CD here.
Imagination Library Study Finds Major Impacts Dolly's Imagination Library early childhood literacy program has significant positive impacts on participating children, according to the largest-ever study of the program worldwide. More than 86,000 caregivers in the program in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and Ireland were surveyed by United Way Australia and compared to responses from almost 38,000 caregivers in those countries whose children were not enrolled in the program. The study found that across all countries evaluated, Dolly's Library produces stronger early literacy outcomes and richer reading experiences at home—helping close early literacy gaps by strengthening foundational skills, increasing the frequency of children being read to, and boosting children's interest and engagement during shared book reading. It also shows the program builds positive family reading habits and traditions, with caregivers more likely to interact in meaningful ways (like talking about pictures and encouraging children to hold the book), reinforcing a warm, consistent home literacy environment that supports children's learning and long-term success.
Feb. 3: 'Light' Collaboration Debuts At No. 1 Digital Country Singles Dolly's new recording of "Light Of A Clear Blue Morning" to raise funds for pediatric cancer research at Vanderbilt with vocals from Queen Latifah, Reba McEntire, Lainey Wilson, and Miley Cyrus debuted last week on the Jan. 31 Billboard charts with 8,000 downloads sold in its first week and 2.5 million audience impressions from radio airplay. The track debuts at No. 1 Country Digital Song Sales (Dolly's third No. 1 on that tally which began in 2010), No. 2 all-genre Digital Song Sales, and No. 41 Country Airplay (her 28th entry on the airplay list since it was introduced in 1990). It gives her a 55-year span of No. 1 songs between "Joshua" on Hot Country Songs in 1971 and this track on Country Digital Song Sales. Read more from the magazine here. The song didn't garner enough streams in its first week to allow it to debut on the overall Hot Country Songs chart or Hot 100 all-genre songs chart because both are dependent mostly on streams rather than downloads or airplay. Across the pond, her 1977 original version of the song tumbles from No. 10 on British single sales chart and British download singles chart, falling off the sales chart and dropping to No. 98 downloads.
Elsewhere on the U.K. charts, "Islands In The Stream" with Kenny Rogers re-enters the top 100 downloads at No. 99. Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 rises 45 places on the top download albums chart to No. 24, while her Rockstar: Deluxe re-enters at No. 78. On the British country compilation albums chart, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 remains at No. 1, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection rises five to No. 2, Glen Campbell's Ghost On The Canvas Sessions with a Dolly duet, gains one to No. 16, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe inches up one to No. 12, and Emmylou Harris' first installment in Original Album Series increases one to No. 10 while her second installment falls back out of the top 20, down from No. 15, as both feature several Dolly appearances, and Ultimate Dolly Parton, Essential Dolly Parton and Live From London re-enter the top 20 at No. 8, No. 11, and No. 18, respectively thanks to attention to her 80th birthday. Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, finds itself at No. 19 U.K. pop. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, is No. 13 British country albums and No. 10 Americana albums.
Stateside, Carpenter is No. 20 U.S. pop albums, while Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, is No. 13 country and No. 102 pop.
Down Under, Carpenter is No. 9 pop albums, Malone No. 4 Australian country albums and No. 42 pop, and Beyonce at No. 28 country.
Producer: Dolly Appears Over Her Health Problems Longtime Dolly co-producer and band leader Kent Wells told Parade last week that she is doing "great" and appears to be back in good health following a health scare that caused the cancellation of several fall appearances. He explained she was in his studio the previous week recording, adding "And she seems great. She's singing great, she looks fantastic and seems perfectly fine." Read more here.
New Museum Lead Staff Hired Dolly's upcoming Life of Many Colors Museum inside her Songteller Hotel in Nashville last week named its new lead staff. Dolly Parton Archives Director Rebecca Seaver, Dolly's niece, will serve as Executive Director, Jen Molyneux will be Events and Group Sales Manager, and Shannon Carpenter Marketing Operations Coordinator. Read more from Country Insiderhere.
