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Dolly Parton - Dollymania: The Online Dolly Parton Newsmagazine. Your premier resource for Dolly Parton news and information. The only regularly-updated Dolly Parton website available.
Forty-nine years ago Monday, Porter and Dolly record �Is Forever Longer Than Always;� their only unreleased material issued to the public between their 1976 break-up and their 1980 lawsuit-settlement album, it makes it to No. 8 as a single 13 months later. Fifty-two years ago Wednesday, NASA's Apollo 16 mission, the second-to-last to walk on the moon, lifts off and features a special cassette of country music recorded live exclusively for the astronauts to listen to during the trip to space, including a special performance of �Joshua� by Dolly as the first track on the collection. Forty-three years ago Thursday, 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs marks its final of 10 weeks at No. 1 on the country album charts (Dolly's fourth and longest stay atop the chart); it also reaches No. 11 pop and gold status for more than 500,000 copies sold (Dolly's fifth). That same day, �But You Know That I Love You� debuts on the adult contemporary singles chart, where it would peak at No. 14; the song also becomes Dolly's 15th country No. 1 and reaches No. 41 pop. Thirty-two years ago Thursday, the Straight Talk soundtrack debuts on the album charts; it reaches No. 22 country, No. 138 pop. Thirty-one years ago Friday, Slow Dancing With The Moon is certified gold (the 11th of her gold albums) for sales in excess of 500,000 copies; it passes the million mark for platinum certification (Dolly's sixth) six months later. Sixty-five years ago Saturday, Dolly's first single, �Puppy Love,� recorded two years earlier on the independent Goldband label in Louisiana, is released; it doesn't chart. Twenty-eight years ago Saturday, I Will Always Love You And Other Greatest Hits, her Columbia best-of package and the sixth of her career, debuts on the country album charts; it peaks at No. 47. Fifty-five years ago Sunday, Porter & Dolly record �Just Someone I Used To Know;� released as their sixth duet single six months later; it peaks at No. 5 and earns them the first of four Grammy nominations for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group (the first of Dolly's career nominations). Fifty-four years ago Sunday, Porter & Dolly record �Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man;� released as a single four months later, it reaches No. 7 and is their second duet nominated for a Grammy. Fifty-one years ago Sunday, My Tennessee Mountain Home debuts on the country albums chart; it peaks at No. 19. Fifty years ago Sunday, Porter & Dolly in Salina, Kan., make what is believed to be their final concert appearance together as their original duo; they don't share the stage again for 14 years. Twenty years ago Sunday, Dolly hosts the CMT Flame Worthy Video Music Awards live on CMT.
Upcoming television appearances
(All times Eastern unless noted)
April 18, 8 p.m., FM, Dolly Parton: Queen of Country (re-runs 1:30 p.m. April 19, 5:30 p.m. April 20, 6 p.m. April 23)
April 19, 4 p.m., RFD-TV, The Porter Wagoner Show: Faron Young (re-runs 5:30 a.m. April 20, 10 a.m. April 21)
April 20, 2 a.m., Braco, Seriously Red
April 20, 5 p.m., CMT, Steel Magnolias (re-runs 3 p.m. April 21)
April 23, 11:30 a.m., Freeform, Gnomeo & Juliet
April 24, 2 p.m., UP, Reba
April 25, 5 p.m., FM, The Dolly Parton Story: From Rags To Rhinestones
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
'Powerful Women' Makes Top-Selling Singles Of Week Thanks to a viral video, Dolly and Pittbull's "Powerful Women" surges this week on the April 20 Billboard charts released Tuesday. The track debuts at No. 8 on the all-genre digital sales chart and re-enters the rap digital song sales chart at a new peak of No. 2. Elsewhere on the charts, her Beyonce collaboration �Tyrant� in its second week falls 44 spots to No. 88 on the Hot 100, eight to No. 20 country singles, nine to No. 23 country streaming songs, off the country digital sales chart (down from No. 12), 20 to No. 38 R&B/Hip-Hop songs, three to No. 6 R&B streaming songs, eight to No. 10 R&B digital sales, steady at No. 5 Hot R&B Songs but off the streaming R&B/Hip-Hop songs (down from No. 15), digital R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (down from No. 5), all-genre streaming songs (down from No. 37) and Canadian Hot 100 (down from No. 71). Beyonce's Cowboy Carter remains No. 1 top 200 albums, No. 1 streaming albums, No. 1 Americana/folk albums, and No. 1 country albums, slipping one to No. 2 Canadian albums and two to No. 3 current album sales and top album sales. Her cover of �Jolene� tumbles 44 spots to No. 51 all-genre Hot 100, 37 to No. 42 streaming songs, 13 to No. 15 digital song sales, 42 to No. 61 Canadian Hot 100, seven spots to No. 10 country singles, six to No. 9 country straming, and five to No. 7 country digital sales. Dolly falls back off the Artist 100, down from No. 94, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection holds steady at No. 44 on the country albums chart, and "Lookin' For You" with Zach Williams earns a fifth week on the Hot Christian Song chart, losing five to No. 46, but it debuts on the Christian airplay chart at No. 39.
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
April 15: Beyonce Album With Dolly Gets Second No. 1 Week Beyonce's Cowboy Carter will get its second week at No. 1 on the U.S. charts, Billboard confirmed Sunday. The magazine reported the set was credited with 125,500 units (20,500 sales, 2,000 track-equivalent-albums, and 103,000 streaming-equivalent-units for 133 million streams). This compared to the projections from Hits Daily Double of the same sales and TEA units but had about 5,000 more streaming units than Billboard.
Down Under, Cowboy Carter also gets a second week at No. 1 on both the Australian all-genre albums chart and country albums chart, while her cover of Dolly's "Jolene" falls off the Australian top 50 singles chart, down from one week at No. 24. Also on the Australian charts, Dolly's own Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection loses six to No. 21 country albums.
Across the pond, the album dips one to No. 2 all-genre albums, 16 to No. 17 Scottish albums, four to No. 5 download albums, 11 to No. 12 album sales, 16 to No,. 17 physical sales, country albums, and 17 to No. 18 vinyl albums, while remaining steady at No. 1 country, streaming, and Americana albums. "Jolene" in its second week loses nine to No. 16 on the all-genre singles chart, 12 to No. 21 streaming songs, 12 to No. 21 audio streaming, 15 to No. 20 singles sales, and 13 to No. 5 downloads, while falling off the video streaming chart, down from No. 10,
Elsewhere on the British charts, Dolly's Rockstar: Deluxe slides 12 places to No. 40 in its 21st week on the U.K. Americana albums charts while Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 remains steady at No. 1 on the British country compilations albums chart as The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe loses five to No. 17, Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains three to No. 3, and the Original Album Series sees Emmylou Harris' first volume fall two to No. 15 and Linda Ronstadt's rise three to No. 16. Dolly and Pittbull's "Powerful Women" re-enters the U.K. singles sales chart at No. 38 and downloads chart at No. 35.
Several media outlets last week noted that Dolly's inclusion on the credits to "Tyrant" made her just the third female artist to have charted on the Hot 100 across five separate decades (the '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, and '20s), joining Cher and Madonna as the only other two.
And for those who were unaware, the release brought to some attention a previous 1974 cover of "Jolene" with an R&B-influenced arrangement by a Black female artist where she flipped the lyrics slightly to warn "Jolene" (whom she made blonde) to stay away from her man. Candi Staton's cover was shelved, likely due to her switching labels shortly after recording it, and didn't see release until it was included in a 2011 release of her entire masters at Fame Records: Evidence: The Complete Fame Records Masters. Learn more from Qhere. Listen to the track at YouTube here or in the media player below, order the CD here and download here
'Billy The Kid' Book Gets Holiday Sequel Dolly announced last week she will be releasing a sequel to her children's book about her goddog, Billy. Dolly Parton's Billy The Kid Comes Home For Christmas hits shelves from Penguin Young Readers Oct. 1 and is based on her 2009 Christmas song "Comin' Home For Christmas." In a press release, Dolly said: ""I always love celebrating Christmas with my family and of course my god-dog Billy. Since he's a big star now, he deserves his own holiday special! Using my 'Comin' Home for Christmas' lyrics, I wanted to tell a story about the importance of family and friends, especially during the holidays. I hope this is a book families will be excited to read every year for Christmas." Promotional materials described the project as: "Featuring Dolly's beloved god-dog and inspired by her song 'Comin' Home for Christmas', this hilarious and heart-warming tale about the true meaning of Christmas follows Billy the Kid, a French bulldog who has everything he could ever want: a place in Nashville, a great band, and even a cross-country tour. But when Billy's band is scheduled to perform at Barkafeller Center on Christmas Day, he must decide what matters to him most: fame or family?" Reserve your copy of the book here, Kindle version here, and audio book here (although the audio book narrator has not been announced yet, the first book in the series was read by Dolly herself).
Dolly Interviewed About Petty Tribute Tom Petty's estate shared an interview last week with Dolly about her recording the song and video for "Southern Accents" for the Petty tribute album. Check out the video here.
Dollywood's Next Festival Opens Friday Friday is opening day for Dollywood's Flower and Food Festival! Check out more than 1 million brilliant blooms in displays throughout the park in larger-than-life floral depictions of a butterfly umbrella, animal scenes and even Dolly's mother quilting her Coat of Many Colors in addition to the Umbrella Sky over Showstreet. The festival concludes June 9.
April 10: Dolly Makes R&B Chart Debut, Hits 111 Country Chart Singles Dolly is all over the April 13 Billboard charts released Tuesday thanks to Beyonce's Cowboy Carter including her first-ever performer appearance on the R&B charts. While the introduction to "Jolene," a spoken interlude titled "Dolly P.," didn't chart due to the magazine's restrictions on interludes and very short tracks being ineligible for chart consideration, her even shorter introduction at the start of the track "Tyrant" is included in the track itself, allowing her to be credited as an official artist on the track.
"Tyrant" debuts at No. 44 on the Hot 100 � marking Dolly's 21st career Hot 100 single and her first since "When I Get Where I'm Going" in 2005 � but the magazine classified it as both a country and rhythm & blues song so that it also comes in at No. 2 R&B digital songs, No. 3 R&B streaming songs, No. 5 Hot R&B Songs, No. 18 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, No. 15 streaming R&B/Hip-Hop songs, No. 5 digital R&B/Hip-Hop songs, No. 12 Hot Country Songs (marking Dolly's 111th chart country single and her first since 2021, when "Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas" with Michael Buble and "Does He Love You" with Reba both made the lower 40s), No. 14 country streaming songs, No. 12 country digital sales, No. 37 all-genre streaming, and No. 71 Canadian Hot 100. It marks her first appearance on the R&B charts, although she had debuted a few weeks ago on its sister chart, rap singles, for her collaboration with Pitbull.
Dolly also returns to the Artist 100 at No. 94, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection re-enters the Country Albums Chart at No. 44, and "Lookin' For You" with Zach Williams earns a fourth week on the Hot Christian Song chart, dipping three to No. 41.
In addition to the chart positions released early and reported in Sunday and Monday nights' updates here, Beyonce's cover of "Jolene" also debuts at No. 6 streaming songs, No. 2 digital song sales, No. 3 country streaming songs, No. 2 country digital song sales, and No. 19 Canadian Hot 100, while the album also debuts at No. 1 Canadian Top 200, current albums, streaming albums, and vinyl albums.
April 9: 'Jolene' Hits Top 10 Country, Pop Singles Beyonce's cover of Dolly's "Jolene" from Cowboy Carter will debut at No. 3 Hot Country Songs with 22.4 million streams and No. 7 all-genre Hit 100 pop singles chart. The album's "Texas Hold 'Em" rebounds to No. 2 pop and No. 1 country while Miley Cyrus' duet "II Most Wanted" hits No. 2 country, No. 6 pop. Dolly's original was a No. 1 country hit and her first entry in the pop Hot 100, coming in at No. 60.
April 8: Dolly's Tom Petty Tribute Released As Single
Big Machine Records on Friday unexpectedly released the second single from this summer's tribute album Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration Of Tom Petty, premiering a music video available here or in the media player above of Dolly's gorgeous contribution to the project, a cover of the title track to Petty's sixth studio album, originally released in 1985. Petty often referred to the song as his favorite of all of those he had written, and it is an origin story referencing his mother, similar to Dolly's own favorite composition, "Coat Of Many Colors." Buy the song for download here! The full album comes out June 21.
'Cowboy Carter' To Dominate All Charts This Week Beyonce's Cowboy Carter dominates the charts this week. Billboard reports it will debut at No. 1 all-genre Top 200 albums, Top�Country�Albums, Americana/Folk Albums and Top Album Sales�charts while her cover of Dolly's "Jolene" will debut at No. 56 on the Country Airplay charts, recognizing almost 1 million listeners on broadcast country radio nationwide in its first week of availability. The magazine says Dolly's original of "Jolene" saw a 43 percent increase in streaming last week (1.24 million streams vs. 871,000 the previous week). Full U.S. charts will be released Tuesday, but the magazine usually releases some advanced information about singles performance on Monday. Hits Daily Double projected the album would see 418,000 credited U.S. units made up of 171,000 sales and downloads of the full album, 7,000 track-equivalent-albums (TEA) for downloads of individual tracks, and 240,000 credited streaming albums. Billboard reported Sunday their trackers recorded 407,000 units with 168,000 copies sold (62,000 of which were vinyl), 7,000 TEA units, and 232,000 credited streams for over 300 million streams in its first week of release.
Controversy continues with Joy Behar of The View saying she likes Beyonce's version over Dolly's because she finds Dolly's "anti-feminist," something Reba laughed at but otherwise refused to share her opinion of when asked by TMZ. Documentarian Ken Burns, who delved deep into the African-American roots of country music in his PBS documentary series about the genre but also featured Dolly in the program more than any other artist, offered his educated opinion about Beyonce's place in today's country music and its history with an interview in Billboardhere and an op-ed piece in The Washington Posthere.
Down Under, Cowboy Carter debuts at No. 1 on both the Australian all-genre albums chart and country albums chart, while the Aussie all-genre singles chart sees "Texas Hold 'Em" rebound to No. 2, "II Most Wanted" with Dolly goddaughter Miley Cyrus enter at No. 16, and her cover of Dolly's "Jolene" enter at No. 24, compared to Dolly's own 1974 peak at No. 99 on the pop charts Down Under and Olivia Newton-John's No. 29 peak for her cover in 1976. Also on the Australian charts, Dolly's own Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection rises five to No. 15 country albums.
Across the pond, the album's 40,000 units credited allowed it to debut at No. 1 all-genre albums, Scottish albums, streaming albums, download albums, album sales, physical sales, country albums, vinyl albums, and Americana albums. On the all-genre singles chart, "Texas Hold 'Em" returns to No. 1 while "Jolene" debuts at No. 8 and "II Most Wanted" at No. 9 (Dolly's original "Jolene" went to No. 7 pop in the U.K., her first major hit there; other covers that charted in the U.K. included The White Stripes going to No. 16, Strawberry Switchblade at No. 53, and Queenadreena at No. 100). Beyonce's version of "Jolene" also debuts at No. 9 streaming songs, No. 9 audio streaming, No. 10 video streaming for the official lyric video, No. 5 sales, and No. 5 downloads. Her "Tyrant" featuring a spoken into from Dolly and therefore credited to both artists debuts at No. 96 audio streaming, No. 100 sales, and No. 96 downloads in the U.K. Dolly's original recording of the song re-enters the British charts at No. 94 sales and No. 90 downloads.
April 3: Beyonce Country Album Remains In Headlines Beyonce continues to dominate the news and music since last week's release of her new country album, Cowboy Carter, for which Dolly provides two interlude introductions and wrote one song, a cover of her classic "Jolene." Among the newsworthy items:
Beyonce revealed while being honored at the I Heart Music Awards over the weekend that none other than Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on "Jolene." Read more from Varietyhere.
Many media outlets, including US Magazinehere, suggested this week that when she posted a clip from her performing "Pissant Country Place" from The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas on Facebook Reels here Dolly was telling off fans who had complained on her social media in recent days about the "Jolene" cover with some comments containing racist undertones. The section in question went: "Are you listening good? Keep them leeches and bloodsuckers off the back rows, I know how to use a gun. And nobody messes with my girls. And any questions you might have about the way I run this place, don't gripe and whine behind my back. Just tell me face to face. I'm open minded. Say it all then go upstairs and pack. The door's that-a-way!"
Rolling Stone reported here that all artists associated with the project have seen skyrocketing streaming attention in recent days, with Dolly's Spotify streams doubling. Her original "Jolene" saw the biggest jump, increasing 11,610 percent. Willie Nelson saw a 190 percent increase in overall streaming, with the largest being a 4,800 percent rise for his most recent duet with Dolly, "From Here To The Moon And Back". And Linda Martell saw a 1,270 percent improvement in her streams over the weekend.
Several media outlets noticed the album's liner notes gave Dolly sole songwriting credit for "Jolene" even though Beyonce completely re-wrote almost every line of each verse of the song. This means Dolly will not have to share any songwriting royalties for the cover with Beyonce and reflects what Dolly herself has done throughout her career. Fond of changing lyrics slightly in many covers she records, Dolly never takes lyrical credit and instead only credits the original writers unless it's a pubic domain traditional song. Whether she changes just a few lines like her 2002 version of "Stairway To Heaven" or re-writes almost the entire verses as she did with her 2014 cover of "Lay Your Hands On Me," just as Beyonce did with "Jolene," she gives the original writers sole credit. Check out some commentary on that from NMEhere and IMDbhere.
A Billboard charts podcast pondered whether the album will win Beyonce her long-denied Album of the Year trophy at the Grammys and what song may be the next single, perhaps "Jolene"? Listen here.
Williams Duet Still On Christian Song Chart "Lookin' For You" with Zach Williams earns a third week on the Hot Christian Song chart, holding steady at No. 38, the April 6 Billboard charts released Tuesday revealed. Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection falls off the 50-position Country Albums chart, down from No. 49 in its 26th chart week.
April 1: 'Jolene' Tops iTunes U.S. Singles Chart Beyonce dropped Cowboy Carter on Friday featuring Dolly and "Jolene," and it was an immediate hit. On Saturday, the album set the year's Spotify record of the most one-day streams for an album at 76 million, with "Jolene" reaching No. 2 on the U.S. Spotify chart that day. By Saturday night, "Jolene" had reached No. 1 on the Apple Music charts (with the album's Miley Cyrus duet "II Most Wanted" at No. 2, "Texas Hold 'Em" at No. 3, and "Blackbird" with Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy & Reyna Roberts� at No. 4). Hits Daily Double expects the set to debut at No. 1 with more than 350,000 unit credits for the week (up to 300,000 of which would be credits for streaming). After the album was released, Dolly responded via social media: "Wow! I just heard Jolene. Beyonce is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it! Dolly P." Dolly has a spoken appearance on the track "Dolly P.," an interlude which serves as an introduction for "Jolene." She also has a much briefer introduction at the start of the track "Tyrant," and Marie Claire reported here that Beyonce played her nails as percussion on the track "Riverdance" in tribute to Dolly. However, it's not all roses, as critical comments posted by some fans on Dolly's social media, many of which contained hints of racism, generated clickbait stories of Dolly fans being angry over the cover. Several other articles analyzed the lyrics which Beyonce re-wrote to threaten Jolene with harm if she touches her man, as opposed to the vulnerability of Dolly's pleading with Jolene not to take him.
Dolly Book Made Official Tenn. Book A classic tale from Dolly's childhood is about to become part of her home state's history. Her 2016 children's book adaptation of her classic song Coat Of Many Colors is joining nine other titles as the first-ever Official Books of the State of Tennessee. Dolly's is the most recently-published book on the list of literary works of "historic, social and cultural importance to the Volunteer State." The other nine titles are: Farewell Address to the American People by George Washington, Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville, The Aitken Bible, The Papers of Andrew Jackson, Roots by Alex Haley, A Death in the Family by James Agee, All the King's Men" by Robert Warren, American Lion by Jon Meacham, and The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote. The bill passed the House last month and the state Senate last week. It awaits the governor's signature to become law.
Special Fan Gets Birthday Greetings Superfan Jason Denton attended Dollywood's season opening last month and presented Dolly his usual flower arrangement of yellow roses that he sends her on special occassions, and she returned the favor with a birthday greeting video shared to Facebook here or in the media player below. Happy 50th, Jason!
March 29: Beyonce' Drops 'Jolene' Cover
Beyonce on Friday released her long-awaited country album, Cowboy Carter, and as Dolly let slip at opening weekend, a cover of "Jolene" is included. The lyrics have been re-written as an angrier, more threatening conversation with the title character, starting off with "Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I'm warning you don't come for my man." Dolly herself appears on the album in a 23-second spoken track introducing the song. Willie Nelson also appears on two song introductions, and duets with Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Shaboozey, Linda Martell, and more are also included. Download your copy here and stream the song in the media player above or by visiting YouTube here.
Dolly Calendar Collection Coming In August Andrews McMeel Publishing has announced six new authorized Dolly calendars (click on photo for a larger view) being released for 2025 on Aug. 27 this year:
Dolly Parton�2025 Wall Calendar: A Collection of Iconic Album Covers:�A year's worth of�Dolly Parton's�iconic album and single covers over the course of her musical career. The full-color images and QR codes that link to her music make the calendar a wonderful addition to any room or office.�Preorder here.
Dolly Parton�2025 Mini Wall Calendar:�Beautiful black and white photos of�Dolly Parton�taken throughout her musical career paired with her song lyrics will keep fans inspired and entertained. The calendar includes grid space for notes, appointments, and reminders, and is the perfect size for any small space. Preorder here.
Dolly Parton�2025 Monthly Pocket Planner:�Perfect for nine-to-fivers, this stylish and petite functional planner is ideal for fans on the go. With Dolly-themed artwork on each page, planning grids for notes, appointments, and reminders, the calendar also features a perforated notes section for to-dos, reminders, and lists, making it a valuable companion. Preorder here.
Dolly Parton�2025 Weekly Desk Pad Calendar: With decorative artwork adorning each page, this distinctive desk pad that doubles as a mouse pad will ensure users are organized each week, with tasks in clear view, to-dos checked off, deadlines met, and progress toward goals outlined. Perfect for at home or office use, it provides ample space for recording tasks, appointments, reminders, notes, and a month-at-a-glance on each tear-off weekly page. Preorder here.
Dolly Parton: A Year in Songs Deluxe Organizer 2025 Hardcover Monthly/Weekly Planner Calendar:� Style and practicality abound in this fashionable and functional calendar. In an ultra-feminine design complete with iridescent foil accents on the cover, this spiralbound calendar features reinforced monthly tabs, two pockets for storage, pages for notes, and timeless quotes from�Dolly Parton�songs. Preorder here.
Dollyisms 2025 Softcover Monthly/Weekly Planner Calendar:�This one-of-a-kind retro spiral-bound planner has plenty of space to jot down appointments, meetings, and activities, and features twelve unique Dollyisms guaranteed to inspire, motivate, and bring fun into your year. Preorder here.
March 27: 'Lookin For You' Gets Second Chart Week "Lookin' For You" with Zach Williams earns a second week on the Hot Christian Song chart, losing 13 places to No. 38, the March 30 Billboard charts released Tuesday revealed. The song falls off the 15-position Christian Digital Song Sales chart after one week at No. 7. Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection dips two to No. 49 for a 26th chart week.
Vinyl Me Parton Project Concludes Vinyl Me Please on Tuesday revealed it will not be continuing its Vinyl Me Parton record club for a second year. "Thank you for spending this last year celebrating Dolly with us, it made this year more fun, and more pink!, than we could have imagined back in 2021," the company said in an email to Vinyl Me Parton subscribers. However, they noted: "Just because Vinyl Me, Parton is ending, doesn't mean we'll never have Dolly records again. We will!"
Dollywood Nominated For 'USA Today' Awards Dollywood has been nominated in several categories for USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. The park is up for Best Theme Park, Lighting Rod for Best Roller Coaster, DreamMore and HeartSong each for Best Theme Park Hotel, Aunt Granny's for Best Theme Park Restaurant, and Splash Country as Best Outdoor Water Park. Vote once per day through April 22 here.
March 25: Dolly's Rap Chart Run Ends After three weeks on the rap charts, Dolly is there no more as "Powerful Women"with rapper Pitbull falls off the 10-position rap digital song sales chart, down from No. 8 in its third week, the March 23 Billboard charts released Tuesday revealed. Elsewhere on the charts, "Lookin' For You" with Zach Williams debuts at No. 25 Hot Christian Songs and No. 7 Christian Digital Song Sales. �Dolly's Rockstar also falls off the 50-position current albums sales chart after 16 weeks of charting, suggesting it has fallen to around 1,000 copies sold per week and about 262,000 units sold since release, and Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection re-enters the 50-position country albums chart at No. 47 for a 25th chart week. Across the pond, Dolly's Rockstar: Deluxe holds steady at No. 22 in its 18th week on the U.K. Americana albums charts. Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 remains steady at No. 1 on the British country compilations albums chart while The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe and Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection switch places at No. 2 and 3, respectively, and the Original Album Series sees three collections with Dolly on the top 20 as Linda Ronstadt gains two to No. 13, Emmylou Harris's first volume rises two to No. 15, and Harris' second volume re-entering the top 20 at No. 16. Down Under, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection loses three to No. 20.
'Honky Tonk Angels' On Vinyl From VMP Honky Tonk Angels, Dolly's 1993 trio project with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, has been released on vinyl by Vinyl Me Please as a bonus in addition to its Vinyl Me Parton series of 12 Dolly albums, the last of which was released this month. The new LP is limited to 2,000 copies and is available here.�
Chicago Dolly Tribute Show Coming Those in the Chicago area should pop in to "Great Moments In Vinyl" on April 4 for their tribute to Dolly at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. Read more from Broadway Worldhere.
Patterson Talks Dolly Collaboration Author James Patterson talked again last week about working with Dolly on their novel Run, Rose, Run. He appears on the ABA Journal podcast here to discuss his new book, about a lawyer on trial for murder. He mentions the Dolly collaboration a couple of times throughout the interview but is asked to discuss it in more detail about 25 minutes in. He also repeats the note that the strikes delayed the film adaptation of the novel and that he doesn't know if that will happen or not. "We'll see," he said.
Dollywood Makes Top 100 'USA Today' Employers USA Today last week named Dollywood one of its Top Workplaces USA award winners, placing 86th on the national list of companies with more than 2,500 employees, the only theme park to make the list.
March 17: More Dollywood Opening Weekend Coverage
The Dollymania Facebook live feeds from Dollywood's 2024 season opening and an additional video clip have been posted and are available here and here or in the media players above and below. In addition, the third Dollymania gallery from the weekend's appearances has been posted to that section here.
Dolly Promotes Cookbook With Rachel
Dolly and her sister Rachel celebrated St. Patrick's Day on social media promoting their upcoming cookbook Good Lookin' Cookin' with a clip of them making an Irish feast on social media here or in the media player above. �
Lodge Cast Iron Line Announced Dolly last week announced her latest homegoods deal with a line of custom cast iron pans from Lodge. Learn more from Food and Winehere.
Dolly Singing Contest Returns For 20th Year The annual Dolly singing competition in her hometown, the Mountain Soul Vocal Competition in Sevierville, Tenn., returns this year for its 20th offering. Contestants must upload an audition video of them performing a song written by Dolly and upload it by April 12. A total of 20 finalists 13 and up and 10 in the 12-and-under category will perform at the May 18 Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival. Prizes include autographed Dolly guitars and a recording session. More information here. Contestants may refer to the list of Dolly-penned songs on Dollymaniahere.
March 13: 'Rockstar' Gets Gold Record Award From RIAA Dolly's Rockstar has gone gold. The RIAA certified the album for half a million credited units on Tuesday. As Dollymania reported, sales data indicated it met the RIAA criteria for gold certification in early January after seven or eight weeks of sales, but the certification wasn't issued until this week. Normally, one album sale counts as one unit, but since the project featured two CDs or cassettes and four vinyl albums, each CD or cassette set sold counted as two units toward the gold status and each album set sold counted as four units, allowing it to meet the 500,000-unit threshold after selling just about 240,000 total copies. This marks Dolly's first studio album released since Trio II in 2001 to go gold. (Since then, she's had three gold album certifications but they were compilations released in 2003 that took 19 years to reach gold and released in 1999 that took 24 years to reach gold plus her studio album Jolene, which was certified gold 49 years after release.) In a press release, Dolly celebrated: ""When I set out to make my rock album, I always hoped it would be embraced by my fans as well as people who may not listen to my music.� I am thrilled to receive this Gold record!� Thank you to everyone who was a part of this project. I guess I can now officially say I am a rockstar!"
Dolly's Rap Single Gets Third Chart Week Dolly has earned a third week on the rap charts, as "Powerful Women"with rapper Pitbull regains one digit in its third week on the rap digital song sales chart to No. 8, the March 16 Billboard charts released Tuesday revealed. Elsewhere on the charts, Dolly's Rockstar sold about 1,500 copies to reach about 261,000 sold as it holds steady at No. 45 current album sales in its 16th week there.
Another Dollywood Opening Gallery Posted The second Dollymania gallery from the weekend's Dollywood season opening appearance has been posted to that section here.
March 12: Dollywood Opening Gallery Posted The first Dollymania gallery from the weekend's Dollywood season opening appearance has been posted to that section here.
March 11: Dolly Opens Dollywood For 2024 Season
Dolly returned home to Dollywood to open the park's 39th season with appearances at passholder preview day on Friday and public opening day Saturday to kick off the 2024 season and "I Will Always Love You" Music Festival. The festival returns for its second year and welcomes three new shows: From The Heart: The Life & Music of Dolly Parton, Sing-A-Long With Dolly, and Trio, Again.
On Friday, she and Dollywood President Eugene Naughton welcomed fans in a media event at Celebrity Theater and previewed the three new shows, including Dolly joining in on the sing-a-long to her "Two Doors Down" as well as in the Heart inclusion of the Broadway adaptation of her "9 To 5." She also toured the park in her Dewitt vehicle that afternoon. On Saturday, she made unannounced pop-ins at the Heart show and Trio show to welcome the crowds. Dollymania.net footage from the media event is available on YouTube here or in the media player above.
The park was named last week to Southern Living's "South's Best Attractions" list in its The South's Best Awards and an article headlined "Why Dollywood is Better than Any Other Theme Park."
From The Heart in Celebrity Theater will run through both the "I Will Always Love You" Music Festival (now-April 14) and Flower & Food Festival (April 19-June 9). Narrated by Dolly, the show summarizes her childhood in the Smoky Mountains, her teenage travels to Music City and work on Knoxville's Cas Walker Show, her time on Monument Records after moving to Nashville following high school, her years with The Porter Wagoner Show, her breaking out on her own, her pop crossover, her collaborations, her return to her roots, her witty "Dollyisms," and her songs. The cast is stellar, with multiple spectacular singers taking on Dolly's classics. The stage is amazing with a turntable and set pieces shooting across the stage carrying cast members behind them to appear "out of nowhere." The "Coat Of Many Colors" segment is particularly moving, as is the ending when Dolly herself sings "Smoky Mountain Memories" swathed in light on video. Costumes are gorgeous. My only critiques are the wigs were a bit messy, the Porter Wagoner offered an interesting interpretation of Porter as influenced by Elvis Presley, and for someone so well-known for her figure, it was a bit odd for the actresses playing her to not be padded to suggest her famous silhouette. But overall it is a wonderfully-entertaining and adequately reverent tribute to a legend and one of the best productions ever at the park.
Sing-A-Long With Dolly at Back Porch Theater features three hosts dressed in 60s-inspired costumes leading the crowd in watching an animated Dolly on screen with the lyrics of her biggest hits and a bouncing butterfly to follow as the audience sings along. The brief show is a fun romp through Dolly's catalog.
Trio, Again at Showstreet Palace Theater features Three Times A Lady, consisting of Nashville singer-songwriters Lauren Mascitti, Kenney Scott and Hannah Blaylock, performing songs from the three Trio albums Dolly recorded with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. The three ladies possess powerful voices and have learned how to closely harmonize so tightly they really do replicate the Trio's unique sound. The ones singing Emmy's and Linda's parts are fortunate to have natural voices in similar registers as the originals, allowing them to more easily imitate each performer's unique vocal characteristics in order to sound very much like them. The Dolly performer's voice isn't in as high of a natural register, given that particular characteristic of Dolly's voice is very rare, but she effectively employs her signature trills and tonal qualities to sound similar on the upper harmony parts even if her solos, while absolutely gorgeous, aren't as reminiscent of Dolly as the other two are of their originals. Overall, the show is a master class in live performances including a really tight band.
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Dolly said: "I'm so excited for everything we have in store for our guests in 2024. We're investing a lot of time and money into our entertainment this year, and I think the work we've put into these shows really is going to be noticed. One of those new shows is 'From the Heart.' It is a Broadway-style production about my music and my life, and John Dietrich (co-writer/director) and I can't wait to hear what guests think about it. We also have 'Trio, Again featuring Three Times A Lady' to celebrate the Trio albums I did with my good friends Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. Those were such fun albums to make so I'm glad we are going to have a show to remember those. And you know, the last show might be my favorite. I always hear people everywhere I go singing my songs, so we thought it would be good to give folks a place to come and do it with their friends. We're doing a show called 'Sing-a-long with Dolly' so guests can come to the park and sing along to my songs as loudly as they want. I'm sure it will be a joyful noise! But if Eugene is leading the singing, it might just be noise."
Dolly teased the Dolly Parton Experience to open May 24 with the entire Adventures in Imagination area transformed into an interactive storytelling experience of Dolly's life and career to replace the Chasing Rainbows Museum. That date will also see the opening of a revamped family show called Heidi Parton's Kin & Friends. She also said the park's largest-ever sit-down restaurant is being added, and the plans are continuing for several more resorts on the property after opening the second, HeartSong Lodge, last year.
After the flower festival will come the Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration June 15-Aug. 11, Harvest Festival with Great Pumpkin LumiNights Sept. 9-Oct. 28, and Smoky Mountain Christmas Nov. 1- Jan. 5.
Other coverage included Kyle Grainger's interview with Dolly on WVLT here and a story on Friday's media event from them here, a livestream of the entire press event from The Knoxville News-Sentinelhere and story here, and stories from WJHL here, WBIR here and WATE here.
New Zach Williams Duet Drops
Dolly and Zach Williams on Friday released their second duet, "Lookin' For You", which is available for streaming on YouTube here or in the media player above,. Download it from your favorite retailer including Amazon here.
Amazon Gets Exclusive Glitter Funko Pop Amazon on Friday released an exclusive "Diamond" glitter version of the orange Dolly Funko Pop with a banjo. Get the special release here.
March 6: 'Powerful Women' Remains On Rap Chart Dolly has earned a second week on the rap charts, as "Powerful Women"with rapper Pitbull loses five spots in its second week on the rap digital song sales chart to No. 9, the March 9 Billboard charts released Tuesday revealed. The rapper met Dolly in person in Nashville last week (click on photo at left for larger version) and gushed about her on stage in his next concert (watch in a Facebook Reel here. Elsewhere on the charts, Dolly's Rockstar sold about 1,500 copies to reach about 260,000 sold as it dips two digits to No. 45 current album sales in its 15th week there.
Dolly, Rachel Cookbook Coming Sept. 17 While Dolly has teased it a few times in interviews over the past few months, Penguin Random House on Tuesday officially announced she and her sister Rachel will release a cookbook called Good Lookin' Cookin' in hardcover, ebook, and four-hour audio book on Sept. 17 from their Ten Speed Press imprint which has released Dolly's recent coffee table books. (For comparison, this book will be 272 pages and weigh just over a pound versus about 350 pages for the coffee table books that weigh over five pounds each.) Get the hardcover book here or audio book here. The publisher promotional copy reads:
You're invited to pull up a chair to a year of meals, friends, and fun with the Partons, as Dolly and her sister (and favorite cook) Rachel share beloved, crowd-pleasing recipes and family stories.
"Hey, good lookin'�what ya got cookin'?"
This is what Dolly Parton sings to her sister Rachel Parton George whenever she walks into her kitchen. It's what you do when a love for good music and good food runs in the family.�
In�Good Lookin' Cookin'�Dolly and Rachel share tips for hosting events all year long, including twelve multi-course menus of cherished recipes for New Year's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and more. You'll learn how much butter or whipped cream goes into a "Dolly Dollop," what condiment is almost always on the table at Parton family meals, and what special dish Rachel makes at Dolly's request every year for her birthday. Recipes include American classics such as�Country Ham and Biscuits, Barbecue Spare Ribs, Family Favorite Meatloaf, Slaw of Many Colors, Watermelon Fruit Salad, Mac and Cheese,�and�Strawberry Shortcake.
Filled with more than 80 delicious dishes as well as photographs of Dolly and Rachel cooking and hosting all year long,�Good Lookin' Cookin'�is a treasured cookbook that will make you feel like part of the Parton family. With their trademark warmth and sisterly love, Dolly and Rachel remind you that cooking doesn't need to be serious � it should be fun! And always good lookin'!
Dolly Does Another Duncan Hines Video
Duncan Hines this week released a video promoting Dolly's new Banana Nut Muffin Cake Mix. Check it out here or in the media player above.
Williams Duet Drops Friday Zach Williams announced this week that his remix of "Lookin' For You" as a duet with Dolly will be released with a music video on Friday.
Pennsylvania Considering Statewide Imagination Library Pennsylvania legislators introduced a bill this week in honor of Read Across America Week to provide state funds to take Dolly's Imagination Library early childhood literacy program statewide there if passed.
Viral Fan Serenaded By Dolly Passes Away LeGrand Gold, the fan who went viral a few weeks ago for a video of Dolly singing to him over the phone in the hospital, has died of cancer at the age of 48. Read more here.
March 4: Get Dolly Media Event Tickets Monday For Dollywood Dollywood announced last week that the gold and diamond passholder access for limited tickets to Dolly's media event to open the new season at the theme park on Friday will become available at 11 a.m. Eastern Monday. As has been the case the past couple of years, free ticketing for the event will be handled via Eventbrite. The link to begin ordering tickets will be posted to the park's website on the page about Friday's Passholder Preview Day here at 11 a.m. Monday. The media event is 10:30 a.m. Friday at Celebrity Theater and tickets are only available to gold and diamond passholders, Pre-K Imagination passholders accompanying a gold or diamond passholder parent, or unticketed children age 3 and under accompanying a gold or diamond passholder parent. Silver passholders, regardless of age, and Bring-A-Friend ticket holders attending that day are ineligible for admission to the media event. All attendees must have event tickets to enter. Check-in will be 8:30-10 a.m. Friday at the main gate, and those checking in after 10 will not be admitted.
Dolly On Petty Tribute Coming May 31 Big Machine Label Group, which released Dolly's rock album with her own label, Butterfly Records, will on May 31 drop Petty Country, a country artist tribute to the late Tom Petty. Dolly will perform his "Southern Accents" on the compilation.
West Hollywood Honors Dolly West Hollywood, Calif.., celebrates Women's Month with a series of street pole banners honoring significant women in history and on Monday will debut this year's two new banners. The West Hollywood City Council will unveil banners of Dolly and trans pioneer Marsha P. Johnson, who is often credited with throwing the first brick at the Stonewall riot that kick-started America's modern LGBTQ rights movement. The banners will be unveiled in Council Chambers at 6 p.m. local time.
U.K., Aussie Chart Updates Across the pond, Dolly's Rockstar: Deluxe drops two to No. 22 in its 15th week on the Americana albums charts. Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 and Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection remain steady at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, on the British country compilations albums chart, while Original Album Series from Linda Ronstadt slips six to No. 20 and volume 1 in the series by Emmylou Harris re-enters the top 20 at No. 17 (both collections contain collaborations with Dolly). Down Under, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection holds steady at No. 18.
Feb. 28: Dolly Charts First Rap Hit Dolly has made her debut on the rap charts. "Powerful Women," her collaboration with rapper Pitbull, debuts on the March 2 Billboard rap digital song sales chart released Tuesday at No. 4. Elsewhere on the charts, Dolly's Rockstar sold about 1,250 copies to reach about 258,000 sold as it falls five places to No. 43 current album sales in its 14th week there.
Feb. 26: 'Midnight Blue' With Melissa Manchester Released
As promised, Melissa Manchester on Friday released her re-recording of her hit "Midnight Blue," this time as a duet with Dolly. Check out the music video of the two friends catching up over drinks and checking out the sites of Nashville here or in the media player above. Download the track from your favorite streaming service including Amazon here. Check out an interview with Manchester and the video's Thursday premiere on Billboardhere.
'9 To 5' Dolly's First Triple-Platinum U.K. Single Dolly collected her first-ever British triple-platinum single award this month for her 1980 classic "9 To 5." The song was recognized for the certification on Feb. 16. Since it was made available digitally for download in the UK in 2007, it has sold 1.8 million copies there to reach this level. It became her first double-platinum British single in 2021. She has two other double-platinum British singles: "Islands In The Stream" with Kenny Rogers and "Jolene," with both songs reaching that status in 2022.
2.2 Million Watch 'Dolly Parton's Pet Gala' On CBS Dolly Parton's Pet Gala on Wednesday night ranked 8th of the evening's 13 broadcast network shows with 2.2 million viewers and a 0.2 rating. The special gave CBS a third place finish for the time slot after NBC's 6.5 million and ABC's 2.4 million viewers, besting FOX's 1.7 million and The CW's 370,000 viewers. The show is streaming on Paramount+ including via Amazon here.
Dolly Congratulates Beyonce On No. 1 Dolly last week posted her best wishes to Beyonce via social media regarding her country single "Texas Hold 'Em" debuting at No. 1 on the country singles chart. She said here: "I'm a big fan of Beyonce and very excited that she's done a country album. So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single. Can't wait to hear the full album! Love, Dolly" As of press time, fan reactions were overwhelmingly positive, with the post on Facebook seeing over 280,000 positive reactions (likes, loves, cares) and only about 1,400 negative reactions (laughs, surprise, anger, or sadness), or roughly one-half of one percent.
35th Anniversary 'Steel Magnolias' 4K Coming Blu-Ray.com reported last week that a 35th anniversary 4K Blu-Ray edition of Steel Magnolias will be released April 23 from Sony. The report here indicates the 4K restoration was done from the original camera negatives, it features Dolby Vision/HDR Presentation and new Dolby Atmos Track. Special features will include the 1990 TV pilot of the Steel Magnolias televisions series adaptation and previous special features of director's commentary, In Full Bloom: Remembering Steel Magnolias featurette, 10 deleted scenes, theatrical trailer, and English SDH subtitles.
Food Line To Add Frozen Pie, Cheesecake, Mac & Cheese Some photos have come out indicating additional items to come in Dolly's Conagra Foods line including thaw-and-serve "decedent chocolate pie," thaw-and-serve "original whipped cheesecake," and family-sized frozen "homestyle macaroni & cheese." No release date has been announced. Thanks, Douglas!
Dollywood Announces End Of 'Dreamland Drive-In' Dollywood President Eugene Naughton and Vice President of Marketing and Puiblic Relations Pete Owens last week released a video detailing the new entertainment offerings coming to the park in its 2024 season and announcing the retirement of fan favorite Dreamland Drive-In, which will be replaced with a new show in 2025. Watch the discussion here. As of press time Sunday night, no announcement has been made yet of "Gold Event" passholder admissions for any opening weekend media event as has been the case the past couple of years, but if any announcement is made, it should appear on the park's official Passholder Hub here.
New Dolly Doc Trailer Released EM Productions has released a new trailer for a Dolly documentary called Dolly Parton: Still Rockin'. No word on where the full doc will air. Check out the trailer on YouTube here.
Feb. 22: Dog Gala Airs On CBS, 'Puppy Love' Released
Dolly Parton's Pet Gala aired on CBS Wednesday night, and Dolly celebrated by releasing a new recording of her first single, "Puppy Love," in honor of her goddog, Billy the Kid. Stream it on YouTube here or in the media player above, and download the single here. The show is available for streaming on Paramount+. Three of the costumes dogs wore in tribute to Dolly on the program have been added to ebay in a charity auction to benefit the Nashville Humane Society after Dolly autographed them. The Glastonbury outfit is here, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame outfit here, and angel costume here. Opening bids on each is $500. Thanks, Sheldon!
'Rockstar' Sells Less Than 2,000 Copies Dolly's Rockstar sold about 1,900 copies to reach about 257,000 sold in its first 13 weeks of release. The Feb. 24 Billboard charts announced Wednesday see the album fall off the 50-position album sales chart, down from No. 42, and drops 13 to No. 38 current album sales in its 13th week there.
'USA Today' Interview Released Dolly has a new interview in USA Today. Check out a video version here and text version here.
Feb. 19: Pitbull Duet Drops, Manchester Collab Coming
Dolly on Friday dropped a surprise collaboration with Latin rapper Pitbull, whose catchphrase happens to be the Spanish exclamation "dale" (pronounced very similarly to "Dolly"). "Powerful Women" mashes up his rapping with a new recording of Dolly's "9 To 5," although she also "raps" a verse herself. The track was part of Pitbull's special EP Daytona 500 Edition Trackhouse, which features additional duets with Tim McGraw, Nile Rogers of Chic, and Vikina. Stream on YouTube here or in the media player above, and download it from Amazon here or from your retailer of choice. It's not the only Dolly duet out soon, as Melissa Manchester announced on Friday that next Friday will see the release of her new album, Re:View, featuring some new versions of her classics including a recording of her 1975 single "Midnight Blue" as a duet with Dolly. The track was co-written by Manchester with legendary composer/lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, who wrote Dolly's hits "Heartbreaker," "You're The Only One," and "The Day I Fall In Love." Pre-order the song here or Manchester's full album here. Check out her Facebook announcement of the collaboration here or in the media player below. Finally, industry insiders claim rumors that Dolly and goddaughter Miley Cyrus may appear on the new country album from R&B icon Beyonce. Check out that story here.
Almost Time For 'Dolly Parton's Pet Gala' On CBS
Don't forget to tune in for the first-ever Dolly Parton's Pet Gala Wednesday at 9 p.m. Eastern on CBS. The network last week released a preview video, viewable on YouTube here or in the media player above, and a slew of still photos available on Broadway Worldhere. The show features many celebrities and their dogs, co-hosts Dolly and Jane Lynch, and performances of "9 To 5" by Dolly and Carly Pearce, "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly and Lainey Wilson, and "Jolene" by Dolly and Carly Pearce in addition to Chris Janson singing "Hound Dog" to an actual dog and songs by Joy Oladokun, Grace Bowers and KC of KC and the Sunshine Band. Check out pink carpet coverage from Womans Worldhere and several sneak peaks from CBS here, here, here, and here.
Dollywood Readies For 2024 Season
Dollywood on Thursday hosted a construction update preview for the media (your webmaster was invited but unfortunately had work-related conflicts) that included a preview of the still-under-construction Dolly Parton Experience that is expected to open in late May, announcement that the traditional turnstiles will be removed this season and a new QR-code-based ticketing system used, and that Lightning Rod will re-open in mid-March with a high-speed lift chain instead of its previous launch system that kept malfunctioning since opening.
The Dolly Parton Experience will revitalize the entire area around her former Chasing Rainbows Museum. The centerpiece exhibit, Songteller, replaces that facility and will include an immersive 200-foot-tall, 360-degree projection mapping space similar to the touring Van Gogh Exhibition from last year around the U.S. The Behind the Seams building will house her costumes and show her style process, rotating out several outfits throughout the year, and showing them in museum-quality environmentally-controlled cases for the first time. DreamSong Theater will receive a $1 million renovation and be redubbed the Sight & Sound Theater with her new kinfolk "From The Heart" show as well as a new stage production of her life story.
Back Porch Theater will get a new "Sing-a-long with Dolly" show of her biggest hits, while Showstreet Palace Theater will feature "Trio, Again," a tribute to the music Dolly has recorded with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. In addition to the re-opening of her old tour bus for viewing, the area will also feature "Dolly-ized" restrooms and interactive technology such as a smartphone-based digital scavenger hunt. Also, DreamMore Resort & Spa is being renovated. The park added 23 days to its calendar for this season, which kicks off with Season Passholder Day March 8 and public opening March 9. While Dolly's appearances that weekend have yet to be announced, she almost never misses opening weekend. The first festival of the new year is the return of her "I Will Always Love You Music Festival," which runs through April 14. Check out coverage from Attractions Magazinehere, The Knoxville-News Sentinelhere, WVLT here, WATE here, WJHL here, FOX 17 here, and WBIR here or in the media player above.
Estefan Seeks That Dolly Cover Gloria Estefan wants Dolly or Kelly Clarkson to record a song she's written, she told People in an interview here.
Latifah Seeks Dolly On 'Equalizer' Episode And Dolly's Joyful Noise co-star Queen Latifah told Entertainment Tonight last week that she almost succeeded in getting Dolly to guest star on her action series The Equalizer last season but it didn't work out, so she's hoping to get her on an episode of season four. Read more here.
For the archive of monthly news stories, click here.
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