New Interviews Released

'Time' Recognizes Dolly's Philanthropy
Time magazine last week released its Philanthropy 100 list of the world's most important charitable donors and included Dolly in its category of "longtime givers" here thanks to her book program for preschoolers, donations to medical research including creation of the Moderna COVID vaccine, wildfire relief, hurricane relief, and more.

Dolly Opens Hall Of Fame Exhibit
Dolly was on hand for the opening of her Country Music Hall of Fame exhibit "Dolly Parton: Portrait of a Seeker" last week. Coverage includes AL.com here, The Tennessean here, Everything Nash here, WSMV here and some photos from the Hall of Fame itself here.

U.S., U.K., Aussie Chart Updates
Across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 holds steady on the British country compilation albums chart at No. 2, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection slips three to No. 7 and Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables, falls back out of the top 20, down from No. 15. Emmylou Harris' entries in the Original Album Series, both featuring Dolly appearances, re-enter the top 20 at No. 16 for Volume 2 and No. 17 for Volume 1, respectively. Elsewhere on the U.K. charts, Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, holds steady at No. 2 U.K. pop, losing three to No. 17 Scottish albums, four to No. 19 album sales, three to No. 18 physical album sales, and 27 to No. 100 downloads, gaining one to No. 1 streaming albums. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, regains three to No. 4 country albums. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, rises one to No. 5 British country albums and three to No. 2 Americana albums.

May 20:
'Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol' Heads On Tour
Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol is going on its first multi-city tour this holiday season, Dollymania.net is the first media outlet to announce. Although the show does not feature Dolly herself, she wrote the music and lyrics for the Charles Dickens adaptation set in an Appalachian Mountain mining town in the 1930s. It has not been revealed how many total cities will be visited on the tour or if more may be added to those known at this time. Dates known thus far are:

Hall Of Fame Exhibit Opens In Music City

Dolly Books 'CBS Mornings' For Wednesday
Dolly is slated to be a guest on CBS Mornings Wednesday, the network has announced. The content of her interview hasn't been disclosed, but given the timing one would assume it is to promote the opening of the Country Music Hall of Fame exhibit. The program starts at 7 a.m.

Dolly Gets First Kids' Choice Award Nomination\
Dolly has earned her first-ever nomination at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards with a nod alongside Sabrina Carpenter for their re-recording of her hit "Please, Please, Please." It will compete for Favorite Music Collaboration against "APT" by ROSE' and Bruno Mars, "Call Me When You Break Up" by Selena Gomex, Benny Blanco, and Gracie Adams, "Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, "Luther" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, "Show Me Love" by WizTheMC, Bees & Honey, and Tyla, and "Slow Motion" by Marshmello with the Jonas Brothers. Winners will be announced on the live show at 8 p.m. June 21.

Opry Gets Dolly-Themed Microphone Stand
Carly Pearce last week unveiled a special 100th anniversary Grand Ole Opry microphone stand honoring Dolly. It is adorned with butterflies. Check it out here.

Visit Nashville Recognizes Dolly
The Nashville hospitality industry recently honored Dolly for her contributions to Music City. Check out a summary of the ceremony from Visit Music City here.

Lamar Advertising Partners With Imagination Library
Lamar Advertising, one of the largest billboard advertisers in the world, has announced that Dolly's Imagination Library early childhood literacy program has been selected as this year's nationwide in-kind advertising partner. Over the next 12 months, Lamar will donate over $2 million in free digital ads to promote the program.

Bill Owens Album Released Digitally
Owepar Entertainment on Friday released the first digital version of recordings by Dolly's Uncle Bill Owens, including some tracks that were once sold at Dollywood when he performed there. The album Dreams Do Come True features a duet with Dolly on the title track that she had recorded as a solo cut on her 1991 album Eagle When She Flies as well as Bill's versions of their 1966 breakout single as co-writers, "Put It Off Until Tomorrow," and "Sometimes An Old Memory Gets In My Eye," which Dolly recorded in 1973. Order your copy here. According to the fan-operated Dolly Discography, three of the tracks had previously been released at the park and the others were from the vault.

U.S., U.K., Aussie Chart Updates
Across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 loses its top spot on the British country compilation albums chart, slipping one to No. 2, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains one to No. 4 and Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables climbs five to No. 15. Linda Ronstadt's and Emmylou Harris' entries in the Original Album Series, both featuring Dolly appearances, each fall back off the top 20, down from No. 10 and No. 13, respectively. Elsewhere on the U.K. charts, Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, holds steady at No. 2 U.K. pop, losing four to No. 14 Scottish albums, six to No. 15 album sales, seven to No. 15 physical album sales, and one to No. 2 streaming albums, gaining 16 to No. 73 downloads. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, regains one to No. 7 country albums. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, holds steady at No. 6 British country albums, shoots up five to No. 5 Americana albums, and falls back off the top 100 streaming albums, down from No, 94.

May 13:
Dolly Talks To E! News At Dollywood

Another Dolly Outfit Hits Julien's Auctions
Celebrity auction house Julien's Auctions is offering another major Dolly item in its new Music Icons auction May 30-31 at New York City's Hard Rock Café. A pink jumpsuit Dolly wore for an appearance on Hee Haw in 1975 is up for bids with an estimated value of $8,000-$10,000 but as of press time pre-auction online bidding was already at $10,000. Check the item out here.

Change.org Promotes Dolly Airport
Change.org has picked up the fan petition to rename Nashville International Airport after Dolly and is using it to promote not only the petition but also the service itself. Check out the promo spot here and sign the petition, currently at over 53,000 signatures, here. 

New Dollar General Items Hit Stores
Dollar General has debuted its summer line of Dolly home goods in their stores nationwide now. This marks the third wave of products for her deal with the discount retailer. Check out a social media post previewing them here.  

U.S., U.K., Aussie Chart Updates
Across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 holds onto the top spot on the British country compilation albums chart, remaining at No. 1, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection inches up one to No. 5 and Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables re-enters the top 20 at No. 20. Linda Ronstadt's entry in the Original Album Series featuring a couple of Dolly appearances gains three to No. 10, while Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series also featuring Dolly appearances sees Volume 1 slip two to No. 13 and Volume 2 fall back out of the top 20, down from No. 20. Elsewhere on the U.K. charts, Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, regains two to No. 2 U.K. pop, four to No. 10 Scottish albums, three to No. 9 album sales, and seven to No. 8 physical album sales, losing 37 to No. 89 download but, remaining steady at No. 1 streaming albums. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, inches down two to No. 8 country albums. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, rises one to No. 6 British country albums and gains one to No. 6 Americana albums while re-entering streaming albums at No, 94.

May 6:
Dolly Celebrates 40th Season Of Dollywood Homecoming

Dolly returned home over the weekend to celebrate the anniversary of her Dollywood theme park's opening as it observed its 40th season. At a media event on Friday, she emerged from a cake wearing an updated version of the dress she had on while standing on top of a cake at the park's first anniversary (although she mistakenly said it was the dress she wore at the park's opening). She introduced a video of the past 40 seasons and then participated in a panel discussion about the park's history with former Silver Dollar City Tennessee General Manager (and current Dolly Parton Productions President) Ted Miller, Pete Herschend of co-owner Herschend Family Entertainment, and Dollywood President Eugene Norton, moderated by former WBIR anchor Beth Haynes. The event ended with the cast of the new park entertainment history retrospective show "Play On" singing "Hooray for Dollywood!" She also that day released a digital album of songs from Dollywood and the off-park dinner theater shows called The Dollywood Collection: Celebrating 40 Years of Music & Memories, and announced a new I Heart Radio Dollywood channel for the year as well as free tickets to the park for all foster children in Tennessee. She toured the park on Friday afternoon, including a photo op stop at the park's new Hollywood-style Dollywood sign, but unfortunately weather cancelled her planned appearances on Saturday. Check out your official Dollymania video of the media event here or in the first media player above and clips from the premiere of Play On here or in the second media player above. The official event feed from the park's Facebook page is available here or in the first media player below, an interview Friday morning from NBC's Today where she not only talked about the park's milestone but also how she is handling her husband's recent passing here or in the second media player below, and the new park documentary The Dollywood Dream which premiered for employees Thursday and aired on local television Friday here or in the third media player below. Look for more coverage, including photo galleries, here next week and from other media including WJHL here and here, People here, Theme Park Insider here, WBIR here and here, WCYB here, The Knoxville News Sentinel here and here, and WATE here.

New Biography Special Coming Saturday
Details remain scant at this time, but Lifetime cable network has announced it will premiere a new, updated, two-hour Biography episode titled "Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker" at 6 p.m. Eastern Saturday, May 10, with a repeat at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 11. Given its title, it appears to be a tie-in to her Country Music Hall of Fame exhibit of the same name opening May 20. Promotional materials only say: "An updated look at the songwriter behind the rhinestones as she reveals everything in the lyrics of her songs, featuring exclusive interviews with Dolly Parton herself, her musicians, co-writers and producers."

Third 'Billy The Kid' Book Coming In December
Dolly announced last week her third installment in her children's book series about her goddog Billy the Kid (who belongs to her manager's daughter), Dolly Parton's Billy the Kid Dances His Heart Out, will be released for the holiday season on Dec. 2. Reserve your copy here.

Nashville's Dollys Revealed For Musical
Dolly on Monday announced the three lead actresses to play her in the out of town tryouts for her Broadway-bound bio-musical Dolly: An Original Musical: Merrily We Roll Along star Katie Rose Clark, Kinky Boots' Carrie St. Louis, and young Quinn Titcomb, who has appeared in the tourof Waitress and the film Theater Camp. Read more from Dateline here. The show has also been extended througfh Aug. 31 in Nashville. In addition, Belmont University, which partnered with Dolly to develop the show, is expanding its DollyU offerings to include a class creating a feature documentary about making the Broadway show, a class on market research around the production, and a class on Dolly's songwriting, according to Axios here.

Dolly Hotel Designs Released
Renderings of Dolly's upcoming 12-story Songteller hotel in Nashville were released last week showing a large guitar-shaped entrance topped with a signature butterfly on the front of the building and Dolly's museum with a 46-foot-tall metal art installation of Dolly outside and a "shimmer wall" of backlit iridescent material behind it. Check out coverage from The Tennessean here.

Library Loses Washington State Funding
First it was Republicans in Indiana and now it's Democrats in Washington state that have changed their minds and cancelled funding for the statewide expansion of Dolly's Imagination Library early childhood literacy program with state funding. The legislature there killed its $2 million second year allocation just one year after approving it, My Bellingham Now reports here.

'Very Best' Regains No. 1 Overseas
Across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 recaptures the pole position for the British country compilation albums chart, advancing one to No. 1, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection holds steady at No. 6 and Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables falls out of the top 20, down from No. 19. Re-entering the top 20 is Linda Ronstadt's entry in the Original Album Series featuring a couple of Dolly appearances at No. 13, while Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series also featuring Dolly appearances sees Volume 1 rise four to No. 11 and Volume 2 slip two to No. 20. Elsewhere on the U.K. charts, Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, dips two to No. 4 U.K. pop, seven to No. 14 Scottish albums, six to No. 12 album sales, nine to No. 15 physical album sales, and eight to No. 52 downloads, remaining steady at No. 1 streaming albums. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, inches down one to No. 6 country albums. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, dips one to No. 7 British country albums and holds steady at No. 7 Americana albums.