Thirty-five years ago Monday, “Those Memories of You” debuts on the country charts; it reaches No. 5 to become the third of four Top 10 singles from Trio. Fifteen years ago Monday, Dolly performs “Better Get To Livin'” and “9 To 5” on the first “results show” for the fifth season of ABC's Dancing With The Stars series. Forty-seven years ago Tuesday, "We Used To" debuts on the country charts; it would peak at No. 9. Forty-two years ago Tuesday, "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" becomes Dolly's 13th country No. 1. Thirty-five years ago Tuesday, the ABC series Dolly debuts; it lasts one season. Twenty-eight years ago Tuesday, Dolly's autobiography, Dolly: My Life And Other Unfinished Business, is released; it spends multiple weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. Forty-eight years ago Wednesday, “Love Is Like A Butterfly,” which had a month before debuted on the country chart and was a month away from becoming Dolly's fifth No. 1 country single, debuts on the pop charts; her fifth song to chart on the pop side, it makes it only to No. 105, but it moves up to No. 38 on the adult contemporary chart. Forty-seven years ago Thursday, Porter & Dolly hold a press conference announcing the "restructuring" of their organization; although it is said that Porter will continue to produce Dolly's records and that they will record duets, he only produces one additional solo album of hers, and their final duet album isn't released for five years. Fifty-one years ago Friday, Porter & Dolly record "Lost Forever in Your Kiss" for their Together Always album; released as a single more than six months later, it reaches No. 9. Fifty years ago Friday, Porter & Dolly's Together Always debuts on the country album charts; it would go to No. 3 to be their most successful duet album on the country charts. Forty-four years ago Friday, Heartbreaker enters its fourth of nine weeks at No. 1 on the country album charts; it reaches No. 27 pop. That same day, the single "Heartbreaker" makes it to No. 1 country charts (Dolly's ninth), a position it holds for three weeks; it would reach No. 37 pop, No. 12 adult contemporary. Fifty-five years ago Saturday, Porter & Dolly record the first duet, "The Last Thing On My Mind," for their debut duet album; released as their first single two months later, it peaks at No. 7; their first full duet album, Just Between You and Me, comes out three months after the song is recorded. Twenty-eight years ago Saturday, the AIDS benefit album Red, Hot & Country, which includes a new version of George Jones' "You Gotta Be My Baby" by Dolly, debuts on the album charts; it reaches No. 30 country, No. 183 pop. Fifty-seven years ago Sunday, Dolly's first national chart single, “Happy, Happy Birthday Baby,” produced by Ray Stevens, debuts on the pop charts; it peaks at No. 108 and comes two years before her first country chart single. Eighteen years ago Sunday, Dolly's concert CD Live And Well debuts on the albums charts; it reaches No. 22 country, No. 161 pop and No. 12 indie, while the companion DVD makes it to No. 36 music video.
Upcoming television appearances
(All times Eastern unless noted)
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
\Dolly on Friday released the next single from her upcoming reissue of her holiday collection A Holly, Dolly Christmas Ultimate Deluxe Edition. The recording of "Silent Night" comes from her 1997 contribution to the Annabelle's List soundtrack. Listen to it on YouTube here or in the media player above or download it from Amazon here.
'9 To 5' Lands On Digital Sales Chart Dolly's "9 To 5” duet with Kelly Clarkson sees its chart debut on the Sept. 24 Billboard tallies, coming in at No. 6 on the country digital song sales list and No. 15 on the overall digital song sales chart. Ultimate Dolly Parton loses one to No. 49 in its 97th week on the country albums chart, while her Run, Rose, Run CD slips two to No. 4 bluegrass albums in its 28th chart week. Overseas, Run rises one to No. 15 country albums in its 29th chart week in the U.K. On the British country compilations chart, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 falls one to No. 10, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe gains one to No. 7 and Emmylou 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 Linda Ronstadt) re-enters the top 20 at No. 15.
Dolly Sings With Appalachian Road Show Dolly has joined The Appalachian Road Show on their new album Jubilation. She joins them on the album opener “In Time, Jubilation.” The set comes out here Oct. 7.
The Points Guy Reviews Dolly's Bus Travel writer The Points Guy recently stayed in Dolly's bus, Suite 1986, at Dollywood's DreamMore Resort. Read what he had to say here.
Bay Area Dolly Cabaret Coming Friday Bay area fans will want to check out a Dolly Cabaret at Oasis in San Francisco on Friday, Sept. 30. Learn more here.
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
Sept. 19: Dolly Speaks Praises Of Mexican Pizza In Musical
After a few months' delay, Taco Bell last week debuts its long-awaited musical celebrating the return of the fan favorite Mexican Pizza. Dolly appears a couple of times in cameos as herself but also narrates the three-act musical as the voice of the Mexican Pizza. She doesn't sing. The item was recently returned permanently to the restaurant's menu after a fan campaign to bring it back. Watch the musical here or in the media player above.
Dolly Talks To 'Today' About Fonda's Cancer Dolly's longtime friend Jane Fonda last week revealed her cancer diagnosis, and Today shared Dolly's reaction that she'd reached out to Fonda and that losing her would be "like losing a sister." She added: "I have not spoken to her since she announced that she was sick; I have tried, so I would imagine she's going through her things at the moment. She'll get back to me, though. We don't talk every day but we have a very special feeling in our hearts, Lily (Tomlin), Jane and I since we did the movie '9 to 5'."
Ronstadt Includes Dolly Duet In New Compilation Linda Ronstadt is re-releasing her 1978 top 10 country single with Dolly, "I Never Will Marry," on a new collection soon to come out. Putumayo is releasing a musical accompaniment to Ronstadt's newest memoir about her musical culture, Feels Like Home: Songs from the Sonoran Borderlands. The book comes out Oct. 4, but the accompanying CD hits stores Oct. 7 and the MP3 release Sept. 30. Ronstadt co-=cured the collection with Putumayo founder Dan Strorper and selected influential songs from her childhood and career as well as her interpretations of classic Mexican songs.
'Guinness' Book Again Includes Dolly The 2023 Guinness Book of World Records was published last week, and I understand it contains an honor for Dolly in recognition of her longest run of top 20 singles on the country chart.
U.S., U.K. Chart Updates Ultimate Dolly Parton slips one on the Sept. 17 Billboard country albums chart released Tuesday to No. 48 in its 96th chart week, while her Run, Rose, Run CD regains one to No. 2 bluegrass albums in its 27th chart week. Overseas, Run falls six to No. 16 country albums in its 28th chart week in the U.K. The British country compilations chart was not available at press time.
Sept. 12: Dollywood Named Best U.S. Theme Park For Third Time For the third time in a row, Dollywood this weekend was named America's best amusement park and the world's second-best park, also taking home three first place awards from Amusement Today's annual enthusiast-voted Golden Ticket Awards, known as the "Oscars of the theme park industry."
For the 14th consecutive time, Dollywood won First Place in Best Christmas Event for its Smoky Mountain Christmas, the only festival to win the award since it was introduced. For the third consecutive time, the park won First Place for Best Guest Experience, which prior to 2019 was two separate awards, Friendliest Park and Cleanest Park categories, and now focuses on cleanliness, employee friendliness, ride operations and value. Also for the third consecutive time, Wildwood Grove won First Place in Best Kid's Area, maintaining since the expansion first opened the crown it took from King's Island, which had previously dominated the category with first place wins for 18 consecutive years.
Additional recognitions were second place awards for Most Beautiful Park (down from first place last year, losing to Busch Gardens Williamsburg) and Best Food (maintaining its salutatorian status for the third consecutive year, losing this year to Knoebel's in Pennsylvania). Thunderhead maintained its No. 10 spot on the world's top wooden roller coasters tally, while Lightning Rod dropped four places to No. 11 on the world's top steel roller coasters list.
For the top prize of the ceremony, Best Park, Dollywood remained at No. 2, the position it had climbed to for the first time in 2019 after many years in the bottom half of the top five. Europa Park in Germany remained at No. 1, meaning Dolly can still claim the best theme park in the United States, followed by Phantasialand in Germay at No. 3, Universal Islands of Adventure at No. 4, and sister park Silver Dollar City at No. 5.
In a statement to Amusement Today, Dolly responded to the wins with: "We don't do what we do to win awards, but they sure are nice. Seriously, though, we're proud of the recognition we receive because it means we're doing well at what we want to do – take care of the great folks who come visit our park year after year. I've always known that the Smokies are a very special place, and for the park to be just one reason why so many people come visit this little part of Tennessee warms my heart. To hear that they think so highly of their time at Dollywood really does this Smoky Mountain Girl a lot of good."
Next year's awards will be presented at Dollywood itself.
'9 To 5' Duet Single Released With Kelly Clarkson
The highly-anticipated duet of "9 To 5" by Kelly Clarkson with Dolly debuted on Friday. Take a listen on YouTube here or in the media player above, or download it from Amazon here. Announcing the release, Dolly said: ""I love her voice on '9 to 5,' and I am so proud I got to sing with her on it. I'm equally as proud of the wonderful arrangement and production by Shane McAnally." Clarkson added: "I am so honored that Dolly asked me to reimagine this iconic song, '9 to 5,' with her. She is so talented, an inspiration to all women, and one of the sweetest people you will ever meet! I hope y'all like what we did, but even if you don't, remember I got to sing a duet with the magical Dolly Parton and now have bragging rights til the end of time!" Fans gave a mixed reaction to the song, given its slow tempo and drastically different arrangement from the original. The song was recorded for the documentary Still Working 9 To 5, which will have its limited theatrical run this month to make it eligible for Oscar consideration with screenings scheduled Sept. 16-22 at Cinema Village in New York City and Laemmle Noho in North Hollywood.
New Greatest Hits Collection Track Listing Released
Legacy Records released the track listing this week for the Nov. 18 CD, two-LP vinyl, and MP3 versions of Sony's new best of Dolly compilation, Diamonds & Rhinestones: The Greatest Hits Collection. The 23-song set contains 18 tracks from Sony Music taken from her years at RCA and Columbia Records, her recent dance single with Galantis from Warner Music, and four tracks from her indie labels Dolly Records and Butterfly Records, where she has released her own albums for the past 15 years. Check out a promotional video from Sony on Facebook here or in the media player above. The full track listing is as follows:
9 To 5
Jolene
Here You Come Again
Islands In The Stream with Kenny Rogers
I Will Always Love You
Coat Of Many Colors
My Tennessee Mountain Home
The Bargain Store
Baby I'm Burnin'
Better Get To Livin'
Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That
Love Is Like A Butterfly
Heartbreaker
Red Shoes
The Seeker
Together You & I
Two Doors Down
When Life Is Good Again
Tennessee Homesick Blues
It's All Wrong But It's All Right
Real Love with Kenny Rogers
Silver Threads and Golden Needles with Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn
Faith with Galantis featuring Mr. Probz
Rock Hall Of Fame Tickets Nearly Gone Tickets for the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony Nov. 5 in Los Angeles, where Dolly will be inducted into the institution, went on sale to the public Friday. As of press time Sunday night, a few dozen VIP tickets (ranging from just under $1,000 to $2,500) remained available as well as a few dozen resale tickets. Check them out here. Dolly has said she will accept the honor, after initially rejecting her nomination, but she has not indicated whether or not she will be in attendance at the ceremony.
Dolly Pays Tribute To Late Queen Elizabeth Dolly this week recognized the passing of Great Britain's monarch at the age of 96. A royal performance for the Queen at her Silver Jubilee, the celebration for the 25th anniversary of her reign, was part of Dolly's coming out to celebrate her new pop career. She played New York's Bottom Line Club May 12-14, 1977, to promote New Harvest, First Gathering and then flew to Europe to play several dates to introduce her new sound. The first of those shows across the pond was a Royal Variety Show in Glasgow, Scotland, on May 17 as part of the Jubilee celebrations. In attendance for the show, Queen Elizabeth II met with the performers backstage. After the Queen's death, Dolly shared a photo from that meeting and the following statement through social media: "I had the honor of meeting and performing for Queen Elizabeth II on my trip to London in 1977. She carried herself with grace and strength her entire life. May she Rest in Peace. My thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time. Love, Dolly." Dolly also paid tribute to the Queen in June during her Platinum Jubilee celebrating her 70 years on the throne. Although she wasn't there in person, Dolly led a series of taped well-wishes from various celebrities and world leaders in a televised celebration of the milestone.
U.S., U.K. Chart Updates Ultimate Dolly Parton regains two places on the Sept. 11 Billboard country albums chart released Tuesday to No. 47 in its 95th chart week, while her Run, Rose, Run CD holds steady at No. 3 bluegrass albums in its 26th chart week. Overseas, Run slides one to No. 10 country albums in its 27th chart week in the U.K. and falls off the Americana albums, down from No. 37. On the British country compilations chart, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 dips two to No. 8, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe loses two to No. 10 and Emmylou 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 Linda Ronstadt) falls back off the top 20, down from No. 14.
Sept. 5: 'Christmas On The Square' DVD Coming Nov. 1 In an unusual move, the Emmy-winning Netflix film Dolly Parton's Christmas On The Square has been released to Amazon Prime Video for streaming purchase here and on DVD from Warner Brothers Video Nov. 1 here. Streaming network Netflix usually does not make many of its projects available for other streaming services to show, nor does it usually release its programming on DVD unless the show or film is among its absolutely most popular programs.
'Mountain Magic' Wraps Filming Meanwhile, for this year's holiday broadcast season, Dolly wrapped filming last week at Dollywood on her upcoming NBC movie Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas. While an official air date has yet to be revealed, I've heard unconfirmed reports it is scheduled for a Dec. 1 broadcast. The network last week confirmed Dolly's previously-announced list of guest stars appearing as themselves (Jimmy Fallon, Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Allen, and Zach Williams) and also announced the cast acting in the show besides Dolly in the lead are Tom Everett Scott (13 Reasons Why, I'm Sorry, ER), Ana Gasteyer (Saturday Night Live, Mean Girls, The Goldbergs) and Angel Parker (Runaways, The Strain, Lab Rats). The announcement noted that the show follows Dolly's "desire to uplift an exhausted world's spirits by sharing the unique 'mountain magic' she has always found in and around Dollywood at Christmas. Throughout the movie's production numbers and rehearsal chaos, Parton finds herself taking a private journey into her past, guided by the mysterious appearances of her personal Three Wise Mountain Men. When it's time for her big special to air, a renewed and inspired Dolly goes rogue and shows the world that the real magic of Christmas lies in the hearts of the children we all once were, the realization that Christmas is about the people we share it with, and how her faith remains the common thread between Christmases past, present, and future." Dolly, Sam Haskell, screenwriter David Rambo, director Joe Lazarov and Hudson Hickman executive produce the movie for Warner Brothers Television in association with Haskell's Magnolia Hill Productions and Dolly's Sandollar Productions. Billy Levin serves as producer.
'Rolling Stone' Names 'Coat' No. 1 GOAT Country Album Rolling Stone magazine last week released its list of the 100 Best Country Albums of All Time, naming Dolly's Coat Of Many Colors at No. 1. Dolly likely would have dominated the list, but editors noted they tried not to include too many albums from any one artist (singling out Dolly, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard as examples of artists who could appear many times) so that the list would be "varied" and represent "the development of country album-making over the decades." Consequently, it didn't appear any artist was allowed more than three entries. Dolly was also No. 77 with Here You Come Again and No. 47 for Trio with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. As a songwriter she also had an entry on No. 59 Merle Haggard's Mama Tried (when he recorded "In The Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)") and Harris's No. 33 Pieces Of Sky (which includes "Coat of Many Colors"). About Dolly's Coat album, the reviewer commented: "The brilliant album is the sound of Parton taking agency over her own story — one shaped by Appalachian poverty, a connection to nature, and unfailing familial love . . . As an album that made incisive statements about family, femininity, and class struggle in its time, Coat of Many Colors only gets more relevant with each passing year. Everyone else is still playing catch-up."
New Multi-Label Greatest Hits Coming From Sony Sony Music's Legacy Records imprint has revealed plans for a new Dolly compilation, Diamonds & Rhinestones: The Greatest Hits Collection, coming Nov. 18 on CD and double vinyl. The label hasn't released the full track listing, but it describes the project as: "A career-spanning, cross-label anthology featuring 23 essential recordings from 1971-2020 for the first time on one album. Diamonds & Rhinestones: The Greatest Hits Collection includes liner notes penned by Robert K. Oermann, who collaborated with Dolly on her 2020 autobiography, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. Gems on Diamonds & Rhinestones include Dolly's performances with Kenny Rogers ("Islands in the Stream" and "Real Love"), Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette ("Silver Threads and Golden Needles" from Honky Tonk Angels) and "Faith," her delightfully surprising 2020 collaboration with the Swedish electropop dance duo Galantis (featuring Mr. Probz)."
'Orville' Appearance Used Deep Fake Tech The Befores podcast last week offered a great episode with a rep from FuseFX, which was responsible for visual effects on The Orville this season, including deaging Dolly by 30 years for her cameo on the sci-fi show. Turns out they used "deep fake technology" to animate her face to look like the 1990s (leaving only her hair, body, and center of her eyes as the only "real" parts of her appearance on the screen in the scene and the rest of her face being computer animated by artificial intelligence.) Take a listen here.
'Run, Rose, Run' Paperback Planned For April Hachette Book Group imprint Grand Central Publications has announced the release date for the mass market paperback edition of Dolly and James Patterson's novel Run, Rose, Run: April 11. Reserve your copy here.
Dolly's Perfumes Land New Stores Scent Beauty last week announced their deal to expand availability of Dolly's Scent from Above eau de parfum into Perfumania and Fragrance Outlet stores nationwide. Read more from Yahoo Financehere.
Taco Bell Musical Airs Sept. 15 Taco Bell has finally announced the rescheduled premiere of its Mexican Pizza: The Musical starring Dolly and Doja Cat. The project will be first shown at 8 p.m. Eastern Sept. 15 on the restaurant's TikTok. The menu item returns to restaurants the same day,
U.S., U.,K. Chart Updates Ultimate Dolly Parton loses two on the Sept. 3 Billboard country albums chart released Tuesday to No. 49 in its 94th chart week, while her Run, Rose, Run CD slips back down one to No. 3 bluegrass albums in its 25th chart week. Overseas, Run dips one to No. 9 country albums and 10 to No. 37 Americana albums in its 26th chart week in the U.K., while the British country compilations chart sees Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 hold steady at No. 6, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe gain three to No. 8 and Emmylou 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 Linda Ronstadt) re-enter the top 20 at No. 14. Back in the U.S., Chapel Hart's "You Can Have Him, Jolene" falls back off the digital singles sales charts after a third week at No. 15 country and No. 41 overall.
Doggy Parton Line Officially Announced Although it was already reported several days earlier, Dolly last week officially announced her Doogy Parton line of canine goods, revealing that a portion of proceeds will benefit rescue organization Willa B. Farms. She also debuted a Doggy Parton.com website, which suggests the items will eventually be sold there and other retailers in the future in addition to their current home on Amazon and in Dollywood's Doggy Wood kennel. Watch the announcement here or in the media player below. The news gained massive coverage nationwide such as a story from NPR here.
Aug. 29: 'Smoky Mt. Xmas' Songs Getting Release
Dolly last week announced she will be re-issuing her 2020 holiday collection this year with special bonus tracks, including songs recorded in 1986 for her first television movie which are being released for the first time. A Holly, Dolly Christmas Ultimate Deluxe Edition hits stores Oct. 14 on CD and vinyl and will contain the album's original 12 tracks plus the bonus cuts that had appeared on the 8-track and cassette special editions ("The Wish Book" and "Three Candles"), her No. 2 adult contemporary hit single with Rod Stewart from 2004 "Baby It's Cold Outside," her contributions to the 1997 Annbelle's Wish soundtrack ("Silent Night" and "Something Bigger Than Me") and three recordings fans have waited 36 years to hear commercially released: "A Smoky Mountain Christmas," "I'd Like To Spend Christmas With Santa," and "Wrapped Up In You" from her 1986 ABC film A Smoky Mountain Christmas. From the single "A Smoky Mountain Christmas" (listen on YouTube here or in the media player above) released on Friday with the announcement, the tracks appear to be the original 1986 recordings used in the film.
New '9 To 5' Single Coming Sept. 9
Friday also brought the announcement in honor of National Women's Equality Day that Sept. 9 will be the release date for the new single of "9 To 5" by Dolly and Kelly Clarkson from the documentary Still Working 9 To 5. The song was teased by being added to the end of a new trailer for the film here or in the media player above.
'Home For Christmas' Coming On Vinyl Sony Music has announced a first-ever U.S. vinyl release of Dolly's 1990 Home For Christmas Oct. 7 through its Legacy Records imprint at most music retailers that carry vinyl. The album will contain the original 10 tracks as first released. When it originally came out, only The Netherlands released the title on vinyl at the time. The few surviving copies now sell for $200-$300 each. The new version is available for pre-order for $22 here.
Dolly Releases Doggy Parton Line Of Dog Toys An upcoming line of canine toys and clothing from Dolly had been anticipated for some time, her Doggy Parton line made its Amazon debut last week without fanfare. The collection includes plush toys, Dolly costumes for dogs, and rhinestone-studded leashes and collars. Check it out here!
Dolly Makes Another EDM Collaboration EDM DJ trio The Cheat Codes have completed a country music project titled One Night In Nashville, expected for release early next year, and it includes Dolly among its guest artists, The Effingham Radio reported here.
Texas Kid's Mural Defaced A Texas high school senior Dolly fan had painted his senior parking spot with a Dolly portrait which was vandalized, garnering the town's sympathy, The Weatherford Democrat reported here.
U.S., U.K. Chart Updates Ultimate Dolly Parton regains three on the Aug. 27 Billboard country albums chart released Tuesday to No. 47 in its 93rd chart week, while her Run, Rose, Run CD inches up one to No. 2 bluegrass albums in its 24th chart week. Overseas, Run moves up one to No. 8 country albums and 10 to No. 27 Americana albums in its 25th chart week in the U.K., while the British country compilations chart sees Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 slip two to No. 6 and The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe move down two to No. 11. Back in the U.S., Chapel Hart's "You Can Have Him, Jolene" re-enters the digital singles sales charts for a third week landing at No. 15 country and No. 41 overall.
Aug. 22: Dolly, Bill Anderson Release Bluegrass Remix
Dolly and Bill Anderson on Friday released a new bluegrass remix of their duet "Someday It'll All Make Sense." Watch it in the media player above or on YouTube here and download it here.
Dolly Earns Another British Platinum Single Award The BPI on Friday certified the digital single for her 1973 classic "Jolene" as Dolly's third double-platinum digital single in the U.K., representing downloads of more than 1.2 million copies, following "9 To 5" last year and "Islands In The Stream" reaching that designation earlier this summer.
Dolly's Newest Scent Announced Scent Beauty last week announced availability of samples of Dolly's fourth and final fragrance in her new Front Porch Collection, Tennessee Sunset.
U.S., U.K. Chart Updates Ultimate Dolly Parton drops two on the Aug. 20 Billboard country albums chart released Tuesday to No. 50 in its 92nd chart week, while her Run, Rose, Run CD holds steady at No. 3 bluegrass albums in its 23rd chart week. Overseas, Run holds steady at No. 9 country albums and loses two to No. 37 Americana albums in its 24th chart week in the U.K., while the British country compilations chart sees Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 gain one to No. 4, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe move up one to No. 9, and Emmylou 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 Linda Ronstadt) fall off the top 20, down from No. 17.
Hear Abbreviated Dolly, Patterson 'MasterClass' Dolly on Sunday premiered via social media here a 10-minute conversation with her Run, Rose, Run co-author James Patterson about their projects together presented by MasterClass. Check it out in the media player below.
Aug. 15: Dolly Visits Ohio, West Virginia To Promote Library
Wednesday was officially Dolly Parton Day in both Ohio and West Virginia as Dolly visited each state to celebrate their statewide implementation of her Imagination Library early childhood literacy program. She started the day in Columbus, Ohio, where she entertained a crowd of politicians, donors, and current local affiliate representatives viewable here or in the first media player below, with photos available from The Columbus Dispatchhere and an interview with Dolly that the Governor's Office released and is available on Dollymania's YouTube channel here or in the media player above. Then she flew down to West Virginia for a similar presentation there viewable here or in the second media player below as well as an interview with West Virginia Public Broadcasting available here or in the third media player below.
Dolly Seen With Willie, Jimmy At Dollywood Fans this past week were treated to a lot of Dolly sightings at her Dollywood theme park as she began filming for her NBC holiday movie. She was seen on park with Willie Nelson early in the week and Jimmy Fallon over the weekend. She also said in an interview that Billy Ray Cyrus was coming last week to film as well. Shooting is expected to continue at the park off and on throughout the remainder of the month.
Dolly Reportedly Records With Sting While I don't have any specific details yet, I'm told that Dolly recently recorded a new song with rock legend Sting that is currently being engineered, Dollymania has learned.
Dolly Up For Dove Award Dolly last week earned her sixth career Dove Award nomination for Christian music, her third consecutive nod in the past three years, competing for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Recorded Song of the Year for "In The Sweet By and By" she recorded lead vocals on with support from Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson, Jerry Salley, and Bradley Walker. They face off against "All Is Well" by Carrie Underwood, "God Is Real" by The Sound, "Grace and Goodness" by Sunday Drive, and "Mamas" by Anne Wilson featuring Hillary Scott. Winners will be announced Oct. 18 in Nashville and the awards telecast on TBN at 7 p.m. Oct. 21. Dolly was previously nominated in the same category in 2015 as the songwriter of "Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man" for a cover version by Rhonda Vincent and Volume Five. She and For KING & Country won Short Form Video of the Year for "God Only Knows" in 2020, and she was also nominated for Country Recorded Song of the Year with Dottie Rambo for "Stand by the River" in 2004 and with Brad Paisley for "When I Get Where I'm Going" in 2006 as well as Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year for "There Was Jesus" with Zach Williams last year.
2008 London Show, 'Dumplin' Doc Released Digitally Dolly Records last week re-issued Dolly's 2008 London concert for online rentals as well as her behind-the-scenes special about recording the Dumplin' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. While the London concert had previously been released on its own in a DVD/CD double set and as a special reissue sold through Cracker Barrel and the soundtrack documentary originally aired as a CMT special, both videos were included in the Time Life DVD collection of Dolly's career. Now they are both available for digital viewing from Amazon. Rent or buy Dolly: Live From London and Dolly and Friends: The Making of a Soundtrack.
Own A Piece Of Kenny & Dolly History The Estate of Kenny Rogers announced last week an Oct. 21-23 Julien's Auctions offering of many of his personal effects including some Dolly-related items. The auction will be in person in Beverly Hills as well as online at julienslive.com, and a public exhibition of its items will be held at the Beverly Hills auction house Oct. 17-21. While the full catalog has yet to be released, the announcement noted the lot will include two typed and signed letters from Dolly (one thanking him for visiting her theme park in 2016 to help raise funds for her charity and one following their final performance together at his tribute concert) as well as a gold digital sales award for their duet "Islands In The Stream."
Cake Mix Boxed Sets Coming Back Next Week Duncan Hines announced last week that they will restock their Dolly Baking Collection boxes for online ordering starting Aug. 23. Supplies will be limited. While the individual items are sold in stores, fans have reported trouble finding the chocolate frosting in stock anywhere. Reserve your set starting Tuesday of next week here.
In Memoriam: Olivia Newton-John Australian singing legend Olivia Newton-John died at age 73 Aug. 8, and Dolly honored her with a statement on her social media: "So sad to have lost my special friend Olivia Newton-John. So happy that our lives crossed paths. I know her voice is singing beautifully with the angels. With love, Dolly" Newton-John famously covered "Jolene" early in her country music career before becoming a pop superstar, and when the foreign-born singer wasn't fully accepted by American country artists, Dolly's sister Stella wrote and recorded "Ode To Olivia" to protest her mistreatment. While Dolly was originally pressured by her boss Porter Wagoner to briefly join an anti-Olivia/anti-John Denver group in Nashville, she soon became one of their fellow country artists criticized for being too pop herself and became a supporter of them both.
No One Doesn't Like Dolly A Reddit survey of celebrities no one can hate placed Dolly as the world's most-liked female celebrity and second only to skater Tony Hawk overall. British nature documentary narrator David Attenborough came in third, according to We Got This Coveredhere.
New Dolly Fragrance Announced Scent Beauty last week announced availability of samples of Dolly's third fragrance in her Front Porch Collection, Dancing Fireflies.
U.S., U.K. Chart Updates Chapel Hart's "You Can Have Him, Jolene" ends its run on the charts with the Aug. 13 Billboard tallies released Tuesday, as the track falls off the country digital singles sales chart, down from No. 4, and off the overall digital singles sales chart, down from No. 9, after two weeks on each chart. Ultimate Dolly Parton slips one to No. 48 country albums in its 91st chart week, while her Run, Rose, Run CD inches down one to No. 3 bluegrass albums in its 22nd chart week. The audio book for Run, Rose, Run falls off the 15-position New York Times monthly audiobook best seller chart for August released on Friday, down from No. 15 in July, its fourth month on the chart. Overseas, Run loses one to No. 9 country albums and four to No. 35 Americana albums in its 23rd chart week in the U.K., while the British country compilations chart sees Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 gain one to No. 5, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe hold steady at No. 10, and Emmylou 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 Linda Ronstadt) lose three to No. 17.
Aug. 8: Dolly Announces Big Bear Mountain At Dollywood
A sparkling "Park Ranger," Dolly took to the stage at Dollywood Friday to announce the park's largest-ever single attraction, the $25 million Big Bear Mountain steel Vekoma coaster (click on the photo for a larger view). Themed around a search for an elusive giant bear rumored to roam the hills around the park, the ride stretches around the west, north, and east perimeter of Wildwood Grove for nearly 4,000 feet of track, taking riders up to 48 miles per hour across the mountainous terrain through three separate launches, multiple airtime hills, high-speed carousel turns and tunnels, including a pass behind a waterfall. It becomes the park's longest coaster and is first with on-board audio. The trains will be themed as four-wheel-drive-SUVs and the ride expects to open in spring 2023. Watch the announcement here or in the media player above.
Dolly Visits Ohio, W.V. Tuesday Dolly is scheduled to spend Tuesday promoting her Imagination Library early childhood literacy program with stops at lunch in Columbus, Ohio, and early evening in Charleston, W.V. The first appearance, at Ohio State University with Gov. Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine, is a private fundraiser for the charity, should be viewable through the state program's Facebook event here at noon. And the 5:30 stop at Marshall University is also a private, invitation-only gathering and should be available on West Virginia Public Broadcasting's television channels and social media streams. Each visit celebrates the state's statewide partnership in her program.
Dolly Named Carnegie Medal Of Philanthropy Recipient The Carnegie Institutions announced last week that Dolly has been selected as one of this year's Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recipients. She is being honored in a private ceremony in New York Oct. 13 for "alleviating poverty, strengthening early childhood education through the distribution of free books worldwide, increasing college access, and advancing medical research, including on pediatric infectious diseases and the development of a COVID-19 vaccine." Also being honored are entrepreneur Lyda Hill, Kenyan industrialist Manu Chandaria, and Lynn and Stacy Schusterman.
BMI Names Nashville Song Competition For Dolly Music publishing rights organization BMI announced last week the renaming of its annual Nashville Songwriting Scholarship to the Dolly Parton Songwriters Award. The annual competition is open to aspiring songwriters nationwide and will be funded by the Dolly Parton Music Fund, created with establishing gifts from Luke Combs and Sony Music Publishing's Rusty Gaston, Music Row reported here.
Third Perfume Revealed Last Week Scent Beauty last week announced availability of samples of Dolly's second fragrance in her Front Porch Collection, Early Morning Breeze.
U.S., U.K. Chart Updates Answer song "You Can Have Him, Jolene" from Chapel Hart scoots up four spots to No. 4 country digital singles sales and 27 places to No. 9 overall digital singles sales on the Aug. 6 Billboard charts released Tuesday, the song's second week on the charts. Ultimate Dolly Parton slips one to No. 47 country albums in its 90th chart week, while her Run, Rose, Run CD remains steady at No. 2 bluegrass albums in its 21th chart week. Overseas, Run inches down three to No. 8 country albums and six to No. 31 Americana albums in its 22ndt chart week in the U.K., while the British country compilations chart sees Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 dip four to No. 6, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe slip three to No. 10, The Essential Dolly Parton fall off the top 20, down from No. 10, and Emmylou 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 Linda Ronstadt) rise one to No. 14.
'9 To 5' Parody Opens In NYC Next Week New York's Drunk Musicals returns next Monday, Aug. 15, with a send-up of Dolly's foray into Broadway with 5 To 9: A Drunk Dolly Parton Musical at Haswell Greens NYC. Tickets are available here for this mostly-drag parody musical, Broadway World reported here.
Aug. 1: Dolly Headed To Dollywood Friday Dolly is scheduled to make an appearance at her Dollywood theme park Friday morning to announce its 2023 ride addition, teased as "the largest single attraction investment in the history of Dollywood." It is believed from site plans approved by city officials that the attraction will be a new coaster around the Wildwood Grove area. The park has for the past couple of weeks been promoting the attraction with signs about bear sightings and a hotline to report them (which takes one to a recording about bears in the area – 865-868-0168), suggesting it will be themed around bears or possibly a bear hunt. Additional bear-themed promotions have been teased in recent days. The announcement is open to invited guests and as a Golden Event for Diamond Passholders only (who were required to reserve space when the event was revealed), leading some Gold Passholders to complain that they were led to believe when buying their passes this year that all special Golden Events would be open to both Gold and Diamond passholders, as all other Golden Events so far this year have been. It has not been announced as of press time whether she will make any additional appearances or park tours while in town. In related news, Travel & Leisure magazine published an interview with Dolly about being the park's Dreamer In Chief here.
Here Comes Platinum Dolly With 'Jesus' "There Was Jesus" just passed the 1 million paid downloads (or 150 million streaming plays) level to be awarded a digital platinum single trophy from the RIAA, it has been announced. The song was formally certified July 18 and marks Dolly's seventh platinum digital single of the download era, following "Islands In The Stream," "9 To 5," and "Jolene" reaching digital double platinum in January along with "Here You Come Again" reaching digital platinum, while "I Will Always Love You" hit digital platinum last year and "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Brad Paisley was her first to mark the feat in 2015.
Dolly Reveals 'Smoky Mountain' Perfume Dolly on Wednesday announced her second official perfume with the fragrance "Smoky Mountain," following last year's phenomenally successful "Scent From Above." The new scent, described as "a woody, floral scent featuring notes ot tiger orchid warm tonka, and cashmere woods," is available from Scent Beauty in $10 discovery size (0.1 ounce) samples with the full-sized bottle to come out in the fall. The fragrance is the first of her new Front Porch Collection, which was previously available as four body sprays from Walmart, suggesting the other three body spray scents will be coming as perfumes in the near future.
Dolly Nominated For Two Bluegrass Awards Dolly snagged two nominations for the 33rd annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, it was announced last week. Her recording of "In The Sweet By and By" with Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle, Bradley Walker and Jerry Salley is up for both Gospel Recording of the Year and Collaborative Recording of the Year. These mark her sixth and seventh nominations, having been considered for Best Female Vocalist in 2000 when she won Album of the Year for The Grass Is Blue. She also won Recorded Event of the Year in 2002 as one of the performers on Clinch Mountain Sweethearts and 2004 as one of the performers on Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers. She also won Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year in 2017 as the songwriter for Joe Mullins' and Ricky and Sharon Skaggs' cover of her "Sacred Memories."
Bill Anderson Duet Video Premieres Dolly and Bill Anderson premiered their music video for their new duet "Someday It'll All Make Sense" on Good Morning America." Watch it here or in the media player below.
'You Can Have Him, Jolene' Hits Charts The darlings of America's Got Talent, Chapel Hart, saw their answer song to Dolly's "Jolene," "You Can Have Him, Jolene," debut last week at No. 8 country digital singles sales and No, 36 overall digital singles sales on the July 30 Billboard charts released Tuesday, Ultimate Dolly Parton moves up three spots to No. 46 country albums in its 89th chart week, while her Run, Rose, Run CD remains steady at No. 2 bluegrass albums in its 20th chart week. Overseas, Run holds steady at No. 5 country albums and No. 25 Americana albums in its 21st chart week in the U.K., while the British country compilations chart sees Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 hold steady at No. 2, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe slip two to No. 7, The Essential Dolly Parton gain three to No. 10, and Emmylou 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 Linda Ronstadt) rises one to No. 15.
Dolly's Cake Named Year's Best People magazine issued its 2022 awards for new food products and named Dolly's Coconut Cake from Duncan Hines as the year's best new cake mix.
We're Back! Apologies for the lack of updates the last two weeks. Your webmaster was on vacation and had spotty wifi or cell service.
Dolly Takes Over 'The Orville' Holodeck Dolly stole the show two weeks ago with a surprise guest appearance on the Hulu science fiction dramedy series The Orville. Set in the 25th century, a previous episode focused on a world where female babies were banned and forced to undergo gender reassignment surgery to become boys, and a female activist discovers Dolly and her classic song "9 To 5," which she recites in her plea for asylum. In the new episode, the activist faces a decision on whether to testify about her activities in the asylum colony, and it showcases their admiration for Dolly through a wall of photos dedicated to her as well as a tribal dance scene set to an instrumental version of "Jolene." To convince her to testify, the captain has her talk to "Dolly," a holographic re-creation of Dolly digitally de-aged to appear as she looked about 20 years ago. Dolly tells her the true story of almost losing her toes as a child and sings "Try" to inspire her. Due to increased Covid infections at the time, Dolly refused to fly to Los Angeles to film the scene, so producers tore down the set and rebuilt it in Nashville, where Dolly's studio team shot her portion of the scene, which was later edited together with the other actor's performance. The result was seamless and clean, unlike the obviously CGI appearance in Netflix's Grace & Frankie. The other actress in the scene eventually traveled to Nashville in person to put on her costume and take a photo with Dolly. For those without Hulu, the show moves to Disney+ on Aug. 10. Watch part of the scene on Facebook here or in the media player below and the second part here.
July 18: 'Run, Rose, Run' Falls Off 'NYT' Best Sellers, CD Still Charts After 17 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List, Dolly and James Patterson's novel Run, Rose, Run fell out of the top 15 on Friday for the first time since release. The book's companion album holds steady at No. 2 on the July 16 U.S. bluegrass albums chart in its 17th chart week, while overseas it gains two to No. 9 U.K. country albums.
Maine Expands Imagination Library Dolly on Friday addressed the National Governors Association Annual Summer Meeting in Maine with a virtual appearance to announce with Gov. Janet Mills that Maine has become the 13th state to take her Imagination Library early childhood literacy program statewide. Learn more from WABI here.
'OUT' Re-Creates Dolly Cover With Orville Peck For its 30th anniversary, OUT magazine has recreated 10 of its most iconic covers, and gay country artist Orville Peck is on the front this month with his take on Dolly's 1997 haystack cover shoot. Check it out here.
'Born In Bristol' To Premiere July 30 The music documentary Born In Bristol, featuring Dolly and other artists talking about and re-recording songs from the classic 1927 recording sessions in Bristol considered the birth of recorded country music, announced last week that it will premiere on July 30 on Circle All Access and Ditty TV. A trailer for the film was also released here and in the media player below.
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For the third time in a row, 
Sony Music has announced a first-ever U.S. vinyl release of Dolly's 1990 
Dolly is scheduled to make an appearance at her 