Store Opening Reminder
Don't forget if you're in the Nashville area on Friday to stop by Second Avenue next to the Wildhorse Saloon for the ribbon cutting at the Music City retail store for Dolly Records, Dolly Parton's Trinkets and Treasures. Although her record label website has not revealed the exact time of the festivities (other than to say to expect them to begin around 11 a.m.), The Nashville Scene reports here that Dolly's appearance should take place at 12 noon. Also, remember that those dressed as Dolly or wearing as much of their Dolly fan gear as possible will receive tickets for a random drawing for 10 meet-and-greet passes at the event (in addition to the 15 lucky fans who won contests previously held).

'9 To 5' Heading To Memphis
The national tour of Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical has added yet another city to its itinerary: Memphis, Tenn., where the cast will stop Nov. 2-7 at the Orpheum Theatre, according to The Commercial Appeal here and Broadway World here.

Chart Updates
Steve Martin's The Crow - New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, with its Dolly and Vince Gill collaboration, holds steady at No. 3 bluegrass albums in its 55th chart week, the March 20 Billboard charts revealed Thursday. Lady Antebellum's Need You Now holds steady at No. 1 country and regains one to No. 1 pop in its sixth week with 126,000 copies sold, while Blake Shelton's EP Hillbilly Bone debuts at No. 3 pop, No. 2 country with 71,000 units moved.

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March 11:
Another Rare Dolly Cut Coming Out
Another track from RCA's treasure trove of unreleased Dolly material will see the light of day in May, it was revealed Wednesday. A May 4 release from Sony Music's RCA Nashville/Legacy imprint titled Letter to Heaven: Songs of Faith and Inspiration will feature the previously unreleased track "Would You Know Him" from the recording sessions for her 1971 gospel album The Golden Streets of Glory. The 16-track CD will also feature all 10 songs from that full record plus "Comin' for to Carry Me Home," which was issued as the first single from the original album but was dropped from the final track listing before the full album was released. The CD will also include "Letter to Heaven," "Sacred Memories," "God's Coloring Book" and "Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man" with Porter Wagoner. Read more from CMT.com here.

British Interview Available Online
The first hour of Dolly's interview on BBC Radio 2 with host Michael Ball aired Tuesday in the U.K. and is available for online streaming here for about six more days. The second hour is slated to air next week to cover "Stairway to Heaven," her friendship with Tammy Wynette, her image, her musical collaborations and even her attempt at a British accent. London newspaper The Guardian noted the broadcast here.

Dolly Raises $400K For Park
Friends of the Smokies has announced that Dolly's efforts as international ambassador for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75th Anniversary have netted nearly $400,000 for the park's Trails Forever endowment to maintain hiking trails. She wrote the Dollywood musical Sha-Kon-O-Hey! to celebrate the anniversary, with a benefit premiere of the show raising $110,000 and her limited edition fund-raising soundtrack CD to the show contributing another $250,000 thus far, The Knoxville News Sentinel reports here.

Dolly's Oscar Shout-Out
In case you missed it, Neil Patrick Harris' comment about two-time Academy Award nominee Dolly in his opening song-and-dance number from Sunday's awards telecast is available online here. Near the song's end, he proclaimed that the night's co-hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were "the biggest pair since Dolly Parton."

March 10:
Two Dollywood Parades Planned
For those who have been asking, Dollywood officials tell Dollymania that Dolly is scheduled be on the park grounds both during season passholders' preview day on Friday, March 26, and the official 25th anniversary season opening to the public on Saturday, March 27. Weather permitting, she is planning to ride in park parades on both days, it was confirmed. Saturday's parade is planned for 3 p.m. and will run from the Heartsongs Theatre to Dolly's Closet, which is serving as the 25th anniversary headquarters, according to the park schedule available online. A time or route for Friday's parade was not available, nor was information on any other appearances over the weekend. In a press release on the anniversary, Dolly noted: "Everyone knows that I'm a dreamer, and the 25th anniversary of my Dollywood theme park is the continuation of a country girl's dream of a special place where families can experience and enjoy all that my Smoky Mountain home has to offer. I'm inviting everyone to join us all season long as we celebrate the dreamer in YOU, too!" Opening day will feature the unveiling of its new attraction, Adventure Mountain. A daily entertainment showcase will also take place in the Adventures in Imagination area along with photographic exhibits in Valley Exhibition Hall on the park's 25 years of growth. And season passholders will be eligible for prizes – 25 given away per day throughout the season – with chances racked up based on number of visits to the park. Multi-media presentations will also share Dolly's most heartfelt memories. The Festival of Nations also comes back with the return of "Imagine'" and the premiere of three new shows: DRUM! From Nova Scotia, Jallamay from Peru and Invaders from Trinidad and Tobago. Image from last year's season opening is copyright © 2009 T. Duane Gordon/Dollymania.net. May not be reproduced without prior written consent. See more shots from that weekend here!

Queen Dolly
Thanks to Ron from the Country Music Hall of Fame for alerting me to a new exhibit that has opened on the museum's second floor dedicated to country's greatest duet pairs, with emphasis on Porter Wagoner and Dolly, Tammy Wynette and George Jones and Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn. Large photos of the three duos welcome visitors to the exhibit, which is named after a Porter & Dolly song, "The Right Combination: Kings & Queens of Country Duets." (Click on the photo for a larger version.)

Another Ohio Library Opens
Mt. Vernon, Ohio, is about to become the 15th community in the state to start sending books to children via Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program, The Mt. Vernon News reported here Tuesday. The program there is sponsored by the local United Way, Kiwanis Club and others in the community.

March 9:
Commercial For 'Trinkets' Released

White Stripes Releasing 'Jolene' Again
Jack White's male-vocal cover of "Jolene" is coming out once again. His band, The White Stripes, first recorded the staple from their live concerts as a B-side to a limited-release vinyl single several years ago, following it up a few years later with a live version that was released as a single in Britain from a U.K. concert DVD. Later this month, a concert CD taken from a 2007 Canadian tour will hit stores featuring a new live version. Listen to the album, Under Great White Northern Lights, in a streaming audio preview from NPR here, and reserve your copy (being released March 16) here!

March 8:
Win May Meeting With Dolly
Dolly has donated herself once more for the Dr. Robert F. Thomas Foundation, which supports the LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville, Tenn. Last time, it was a night at her East Tennessee home for two fans and a dinner/mini-concert for 10 of their friends – a megaprize that went for $75,000. This time it's a meet-and-greet with photo during her May 7-8 "Homecoming" for the annual Pigeon Forge Dolly Parade. The item has been contributed for the charity's 17th annual Las Vegas Night, which will take place at 6 p.m. March 20 at the Music Road Convention Center in Pigeon Forge. All proceeds from this year's event will help purchase equipment for the Dolly Parton Birthing Unit in the hospital's Dolly Parton Center for Women's Services. It is a live auction, so you must be present to participate. Tickets, $50 each, include dinner and drinks and are available from (865) 446-9628. Read more from The Seymour Herald here.

Seattle Added To Musical's Tour
Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical will roll into Seattle, Wash., April 5-24 next year at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, the next city revealed on its 2010-2011 tour, Broadway World reported here Saturday.

Dolly On U.K. Radio This Week
BBC Radio 2's Michael Ball will start a two-program interview with Dolly on his show Tuesday, according to the network's website here. It promises to "break loose from the familiar 'life story' approach to this Nashville superstar. Instead, in a long and revealing conversation, Ball finds out what makes Parton tick, how she keeps her family life private, how she became a canny businesswoman and how even she takes the wig off sometimes." Thanks, Brian!

'CW' Features Dolly Spread
Thanks to Jason for alerting me that the new issue of Country Weekly features a two-page spread on Dolly's preview tour of the hospital she helped build in her hometown of Sevierville, Tenn. The images, taken by amazing photographer Curtis Hilbun, first appeared here on Dollymania following the event.

March 6:
'Best Little Guitar Giveaway in Texas'
Girls Rock Austin, a Texas charity that sends young girls to music summer camp, is raffling off a guitar autographed by Dolly, The Austinist reported here. Make a $10 donation to the organization through March 16 to support its programs, and you'll automatically receive two entries in the drawing for the guitar, which they're calling "The Best Little Guitar Giveaway in Texas". Learn more or make a donation here.

Paula Loves Dolly
Read about Paula Abdul's love for country music, and Dolly in particular, in an interview with AOL's The Boot here.

March 5:
Little Chart Movement
Steve Martin's The Crow - New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, featuring a Dolly and Vince Gill collaboration, regains one on the March 13 Billboard charts released Thursday, rising back to No. 3 bluegrass albums in its 54th chart week. The soundtrack to the Drew Barrymore-directed film Whip It, with Dolly's "Jolene," falls off the 25-position soundtrack chart, down from No. 25 the previous week. Lady Antebellum's Need You Now holds steady at No. 1 country and No. 2 pop in its fifth week, while Johnny Cash's final recording, American VI: Ain't No Grave, debuts at No. 3 pop, No. 2 country.

March 4:
New Tammy Tome Features Dolly
Tammy Wynette: Tragic Country Queen, a new biography of the legend by Jimy McDonough, hits store shelves nationwide on Thursday from Viking with a Dolly connection: she was interviewed for the book about her close friend. Check out an excerpt with a few Dolly comments from The New York Times here, and order your copy of the full book here.

March 3:
'Eagle When She Flies'
Those flying on Air Canada through the month of March have the opportunity to view the Dolly documentary The Book Lady, about expansion of her Imagination Library literacy program into Canada, on the airline's inflight entertainment system. They also are promoting Dolly's favorite spots at Dollywood with an article in its inflight magazine which is also available online here.

'9 To 5' Coverage
Playbill on Tuesday played up Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical tour here and its upcoming dates in Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta and Indianapolis, noting a complete tour schedule is "in the works." However, it is missing two additional engagements that have previously been reported here: July 12-24, 2011, in Minneapolis' Ordway Center and Feb. 1-6 in Dayton's Schuster Center.

March 2:
10 More Meet-And-Greets Coming
Ten additional lucky fans will get to meet Dolly at the ribbon cutting for her Nashville store, Dolly Parton's Trinkets & Treasures, next week, her official record label website, DollyPartonMusic.net, announced Monday. The site had previously run three earlier contests, each of which selected five fans to meet her at the event. This fourth contest will hand out tickets to fans who arrive at around 11 a.m. for the store's March 12 ceremony either dressed as Dolly or donning "as much Dolly gear that you have!" Those given tickets will be notified of the time when a random drawing will choose 10 of them to join the other 15 winners to meet Dolly that day.

'9 To 5' In Windy City
Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical is heading to Chicago, scheduled to play a Jan. 18-31 engagement, according to The Sun Times here.

U.K. Library Lauded
A great Belfast Telegraph story on Dolly and the second U.K. year of her Imagination Library is available from The California Chronicle here.

March 1:
Dolly Tapes RFD-TV Program
You may recall it being reported a few months back that Marty Stuart announced Dolly as one of this season's guests for his Marty Stuart Show on cable and satellite network RFD-TV (the same folks that show The Porter Wagoner Show with Dolly, Hee Haw and other country-themed and farm-themed programs). I'm told by an audience member that she just taped the show. According to the reader, she sang "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors" and "Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man." The show reportedly will air on the network April 17. Thanks, David!

Library Press
The Coshocton Tribune in Ohio promotes reading to children as part of Dolly's Imagination Library for Tuesday's "Read Across America Day" in a piece here, and The Mississippi Press praises the Pascagoula City Council's decision to make a $30,000 grant to support a new chapter of the program in their city in an editorial here.

Feb. 27:
Store Opening Gains Coverage
Several media outlets on Friday noted Dolly's upcoming March 12 ribbon cutting of her Nashville store, Dolly Parton's Trinkets & Treasures, following issuance of a press release on the event by her publicist late Thursday. As was previously reported here and elsewhere, she will appear at the Second Avenue store for the event, although the exact time of the ribbon cutting that day has not been announced. In the release, Dolly explained: "When I was growing up in the backwoods of the Smoky Mountains, any trinket was a treasure to me. The mail order catalog was my wish book.  I wished I could have everything I saw.  Those childhood memories inspired my new Trinkets and Treasures store.  Come on in and wish and dream…and I will make them come true." As you may recall, her record label operated three recent contests to select 15 lucky fans who will get to meet her at the event, which suggests there won't be any public autograph sessions or other such direct interaction with fans at the event.

'9 To 5' Heading To Indy
Yet another city on the tour of Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical has been revealed: Indianapolis, Ind. The show will play the city's Clowes Memorial Hall Jan. 11-16, Broadway World reported here and The Indianapolis Star reported here Friday.

White Loves Dolly
Golden Gal Betty White is a Dolly fan. Turns out she loves country music, especially Dolly, telling AOL's The Boot here that "9 To 5" is one of her favorites and adding: "I like Dolly's whole approach to life with ongoing and uplifting songs. I never met Dolly but everything I ever heard about her she was a great gal to know and you could kind of get it in her music and her voice and her approach to lyrics."

Catch Interview Repeat
CNN this week re-posted a Q&A with Dolly that originally became available online after it aired overseas following an airing on CNN International in November. Watch it here.

West Virginia Library Celebrated
West Virginia on Thursday was celebrating the continued expansion of Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program, which continues to add county after county to its statewide project. Read about it in New Cumberland from The Review here and Weirton from The Weirton Times here.

Feb. 26:
Chart Updates Come Out
Dolly-related projects see some declines on the March 6 Billboard charts that came out Thursday. Steve Martin's The Crow - New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, with its Dolly and Vince Gill collaboration, dips two to No. 4 bluegrass albums in its 53rd chart week. The soundtrack to the Drew Barrymore-directed film Whip It, featuring Dolly's "Jolene," slips one to No. 25 on the 25-position soundtrack chart. Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted, which includes Dolly on "When I Get Where I'm Going," falls back out of the top 25 country catalog albums list, down from last week's re-entry at No. 16. Lady Antebellum's Need You Now holds steady at No. 1 country and No. 2 pop in its fourth week with 144,000 copies sold, while Josh Turner's Haywire holds on at No. 2 country albums and falls four to No. 9 pop with 33,000 copies moved in its second week.

Dolly Marriage Lauded
Officials in Ringgold, Ga., are celebrating the 43-year marriage of Dolly and Carl Dean, who were wed at the Ringgold Wedding Chapel. Their original marriage license, on loan from the local court, and an enlarged print of their wedding day photo taken by Dolly's mother are on display at the Ringgold Depot. Read more from The Walker Messenger here.

Get Signed Guitar
A guitar autographed by Dolly will be available for bids this weekend at the LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign's Equality Dinner in Nashville, Out & About reports here. The event takes place at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel Saturday night.

Park Employee Falls
A Dollywood employee fell from the Tennessee Tornado roller coaster while painting the loading platform this week, taken to the hospital with injuries from the 25-foot fall, according to The Tennessean here.

Another Library Chapter Begins
The Pascagoula, Miss., chapter of Dolly's Imagination Library kicked off this week. Coverage included The Sun Herald in Biloxi here.

Feb. 24:
Dolly App Snags Coverage
The new Dolly iPhone app released Monday (download from iTunes here), also available for Android phones, got a good bit of notice on Tuesday with the issuance of a press release from app developer Mobile Roadie, which noted that Madonna and Ashton Kutcher also launched apps this week on the two phone systems through their company, with Taylor Swift's coming soon. In the release, available in full from MarketWire here, Dolly noted: "My first phone was two tin cans tied together with string, and it worked pretty good. But now you can watch TV, download music and surf the web from your phone. Sure beats smoke signals. I never thought in my lifetime, that you'd be able to watch movies, read books and listen to music from a phone, but I guess the technology of tomorrow is here today. And to think that folks will be able to watch my Video Diaries and listen to my music on the go is just fantastic. I think it's great that Mobile Roadie has made it so simple for my fans to keep up with everything I got going on, and who knows, I may even learn how to use it." Coverage included Read Write Web here and Billboard here.

'9 To 5' In Twin Cities
Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical tour will roll into the Ordway Center July 12-24, 2011, The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune reported here Tuesday night.

Read Overseas Dolly
The full Dolly interview with Britain's The Sun newspaper, referenced in several other copied reports about her comments on Susan Boyle, celebrity marriages and a few other topics, was posted over the weekend on the newspaper's website. Check it out here.

No Dolly In New DVD
Although a handful of online resources list her as a cast member making a cameo with the character name Suzie Valentine, including the film's Wikipedia page and a news report here, Dolly does NOT appear in the movie Women In Trouble that was released on DVD last week.

Facebook News
There's a new fan-operated page for Dolly fans on Facebook here. While you're over there, befriend your own Dollymania webmaster here, or check out the official page operated by Dolly's record label on her behalf here.

Feb. 23:
There's An App For That!
Owners of iPhones, iPod Touches and the upcoming iPad can now get a dose of Dolly on their screens, as her official record label website, DollyPartonMusic.net, has just released an iTunes application to tie into the website. The app features streaming music from her recent CDs, YouTube content from her video blogs, embedded Twitter stream, the website's retail store and more. It costs 99 cents. Download it here!

'London' Gone Overseas
It just lasted three weeks on the chart overseas, but that was much better than it fared in the U.S., as Dolly: Live From London this week drops off the top 100 pop albums in the U.K., down from No. 76 last week. Stateside, it didn't even approach the top 100, logging just one week at No. 195 pop and peaking at No. 36 country, her career worst non-holiday/non-compilation U.S. country chart performance, versus its one week at No. 1 country in Great Britain, where it peaked at No. 33 pop to become her seventh top 40 pop album there over the past 10 years.

Dolly On Another Best Of List
A critic for blog The Huffington Post this week came out with his list of the 100 best albums of the past decade, and there are several Dolly connections. Dolly herself shows up at No. 22 of the 2000s with her 2001 collection Little Sparrow. She also appears as a songwriter for "I'm A Drifter" on No. 3 Johnny Cash Unearthed and "Little Sparrow" on No. 51 Bettye LaVette's I've Got My Own Hell To Raise. Then she returns as both songwriter and singer with the Grammy-nominated duet on "Tomorrow Is Forever" from No. 67 Solomon Burke's Nashville. Read the full list here.

Music Of Olympic Proportions
Thanks to several readers who alerted me to a Dolly appearance at the Olympics. Well, she wasn't there in person, but her music was. In Monday night's performances at the ice skating competition French skaters Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat took home a seventh-place finish dancing to "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" as performed by Roy Rivers and Dolly from Rivers' 2004 album of that name (available here). Check out a note about the performance from CMT.com here.

Block Talks To British Press
Interviewed with the London version of Broadway World, 9 To 5: The Musical star Stephanie J. Block praised Dolly and said she was stumped why the show closed so early on Broadway. Read it here.

Feb. 22:
Gone Again Down Under
Sony's 2007 compilation The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 falls back off of this week's Australian country albums top 20, down from re-entering last week at No. 19 to mark a 48th chart week Down Under.

For the archive of monthly news stories, click here.