Fifty-five years ago Tuesday, Dolly records her first No. 1 country single, "Joshua;" it also peaks at No. 108 pop. Forty-seven years ago Tuesday, Heartbreaker enters its seventh of nine weeks at No. 1 on the country album charts; it reaches No. 27 pop. Forty-eight years ago Wednesday, "Here You Come Again" debuts on the adult contemporary singles chart; it would reach No. 1 country (a position it holds for five consecutive weeks, Dolly's longest stay atop the singles chart), No. 3 pop and No. 2 adult contemporary and become her first gold single for selling more than 1 million copies. Forty-two years ago Wednesday, "Islands In The Stream" enters its second of four weeks at No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart. Fifty-six years ago Saturday, Porter & Dolly's "Just Someone I Used to Know" debuts on the singles charts; it would reach No. 5 and earn them their first of four Grammy nominations for Best Country Performance by a Duo. Thirty-seven years ago Saturday, Dolly is inducted into the East Tennessee Hall of Fame for the Performing Arts. Thirty-six years ago Saturday, Kenny & Dolly's Once Upon a Christmas is certified double platinum (more than 2 million copies sold) five years after its initial release. Twenty-five years ago Saturday, Dolly and Vince Gill host a taping of a television special celebrating the Grand Ole Opry's 75th anniversary. Twenty-six years ago Sunday, Dolly's first bluegrass album, The Grass Is Blue, hits stores; the CD receives critical acclaim as one of the best of any musical genre released in the year and wins a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, International Bluegrass Music Association Award for Album of the Year, Association for Independent Music Award for Best Bluegrass Album and British Country Music Association Award for Top International Independent Label Artist.
Upcoming television appearances
(All times Eastern unless noted)
The RCA Sessions (1968-1976), 22-song digital collection of rare Porter & Dolly songs first released on the 2014 complete recordings boxed set, April 5
Love & Music 1973 Porter & Dolly album, digital release, March 29
We Found It 1973 Porter & Dolly album, digital release, Feb. 1
Rumors Of Dolly's Deathbed Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
Dolly had to take to video herself to tell fans worldwide she is not in the process of dying after her sister earlier this month inadvertently sparked a media frenzy over her health.
As fans well know, Dolly cancelled several recent public appearances citing health issues (two Imagination Library speeches due to an infection and then her announcement of the 2026 attraction addition for Dollywood due to kidney stones) before announcing that unnamed health issues requiring "procedures" would prevent her from rehearsing for her December residency in Las Vegas, postponing that to September 2026. As the health concerns dominated the media, her team was pressured to release more information and confirm the issues were a result of Dolly's kidney stones which required surgery.
A few days after the Vegas postponement, the press picked up on that she was not going to attend the ceremony to receive her honorary Oscar in November and said that was due to her health issues as well, which her management was quick to refute, explaining she had a scheduling conflct with that appearance which was relayed to them prior to the illness and had been disclosed months ago on the event invitation.
Then steps in the well-meaning sister. Freida Parton, Dolly's second-youngest sister, shared to social media the following post early afternoon Oct. 7: "Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly. Many of you know she hasn't been feeling her best lately. I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been lead to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me. She's strong, she's loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she's going to be just fine. Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you! ??"
Within hours, every major media outlet had picked up the story, making it sound like Dolly was on her deathbed, even though the post suggested nothing of the sort, giving the nonchalant description that Dolly just "hasn't been feeling her best lately.". (Granted, for those who were not raised in certain Christian denominations that emphasise prayer for all types of circumstances, when they hear a request for prayer they assume a person must be near death when in reality often prayer is requested for the most mundane circumstances.) Fans began sharing posts calling for prayer and protection and pondering what her passing as the world's most beloved celebrity would mean.
This spread to various AI-generated posts shared by bots showing fake photos of Dolly on her deathbed, often with visitor Reba McEntire. A couple of her nieces shared variations of only believe what Dolly says about Dolly's health, not anyone else, suggesting the issue had been overblown. Publiclists even took to reiterating the health issues are just kidney stones and "it got quite a bit blown out of proportion, weirdly," according to The Las Vegas Review Journal reported here. (Although Dolly has been notoriously private about her health for most of her life, she has acknowledged past issues with kidney stones requiring surgery, most recently on Dr. Oz in 2017.)
In response, Dolly's niece Danielle Parton shared to social media: "There has been no change in Dolly's health status from her statement last week. If Dolly had wanted to share more, give details, ask for prayers, whatever, she would have. If it doesn't come directly from Dolly it isn't authorized and unless she shared the information, you can bet it's private and none of mine or anyone else's business. Let's give her the space and grace she needs to handle whatever she is trying to handle. This hysteria isn't helping. In fact, it's causing undue stress for her and the rest of us. Even if good intentioned." The post resulted in a call from The National Enquirer, which she said on social media she declined to comment for, so they took quotes for their story from her post to make it look like she had granted an interview (something several tabloids have done in the past to your webmaster as well).
Less than 10 hours after the initial post, Freida shared the following clarification: "I want to clear something up. I didn't mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly. She's been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer. It was nothing more than a little sister asking for prayers for her big sister. Thank you all for lifting her up. Your love truly makes a difference."
But even that didn't end the chatter, prompting Dolly herself the next day, Oct. 8, to interrupt her taping of commericals for The Grand Ole Opry (awaiting announcement of what that project is -- maybe Opry performances to celebrate the opening of her new Nashville hotel and museum?) to assure fans she's fine. "I know lately everybody thinks I'm sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you?" she joked in the video here or in the media player above. She thanked folks for the prayers and explained she didn't take care of herself as well as she should have in husband Carl's final days and after he passed, and now she has to take care of several health issues she had been putting off. "I wanted you to know that I'm not dying," she explained, adding humorous digs at the AI-generated claims otherwise with her and Reba (who replied with a video of her own here and in the media player below.
"I'm not ready to die yet. I don't think God is through with me," Dolly said. "And I ain't done working."
Another niece, Jada Starr, Freida's daughter, found the humor in it, posting a "put down your finger" video about her mom "making the Internet and entire world panic with one of her Facebook posts . . . "
Regardless, the situation showed just how beloved Dolly is nationwide and how close tens of millions of Americans feel to her.
'Star Of The Show' Contest Starts To promote Dolly's new book, Star Of The Show: My Life On Stage on Nov. 11, Dolly is giving away a trip to her new hotel. One grand prize winner who enters by Nov. 16 will receive two tickets to Dolly's upcomiing Life of Many Colors Museum in Nashville, two nights at her upcoming SongTeller Hotel in Music City, two tickets to The Grand Ole Opry, two tickets for a daytime backstage tour or the Opry House, and a prepaid gift card of $1,000 to help with travel costs. Enter online here with your order number if you have pre-ordered the book. A free entry may also be made without purchase by sending your first and last name, home address, email address, and phone number with area code on a postcard postmarked by Nov. 17 and received by Nov. 21 to Star of the Show Sweepstakes, Penguin Random House, Attn: Allison Renzulli, 1745 Broadway - 1521, New York, NY 10019. Limit one entry per person regardless of method of entry. The trip must be taken at a date chosen by the winner within 12 months of the opening of the hotel, which is currently expected in June 2026.
Dolly Goes 'Dutch' With Lodge, Ovens That Is Thanks to Dolly, Lodge is releasing its first-ever enamel cookware with a series of Dolly-branded dutch ovens. The glitter-kissed ovens bear Dolly's name on the lid and come in the shades of Blush & Bashful, Islands In The Stream, Mountain Mist, and Hard Candy Christmas. Check out a story from The Pioneer Womanhere.
Second Round Of Joleans Jeans Released Dolly has released her second collection of denim clothing and accessories in her Joleans line under Good American, available in retail stores nationwide as well as the brand's website. A total of 24 new pieces are available including Joleans flare in a new wash and a straight-cut denim.
'9 To 5, Jr.' Musical Released Given its popularity in recent years as a high school and local theater production, Music Theater International has announced release of the edited middle school version of 9 To 5: The Musical as 9 To 5, Jr., running in at 60 minutes. Learn more here.
'London' Vinyl Tops U.K. Country Compilations Across the pond, the vinyl double-album re-issue of Live from London lands that title at No. 1 on the British country compilation chart this week, knocking Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 down one spot to No. 2, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection sits at No. 6, Glen Campbell's Ghost On The Canvas Sessions with a Dolly duet slips at No. 9, and Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series Volume 1 at No. 9 and Volume 2 at No. 10, both of which include Dolly appearances. Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, finds itself at No. 12 U.K. pop, No. 32 Scottish albums, No. 31 album sales, No. 29 physical album sales, and No. 11 streaming albums. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, is No. 14 country albums. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, finds itself at No. 8 Ameriana albums No. 20 British country albums.
Down Under, Carpenter is No. 8 pop albums, Malone No. 41 Australian pop and No. 2 country albums, and Beyonce No. 22 country.
Stateside, Carpenter comes in at No. 11 pop albums and Malone No. 73 pop albums and No. 7 country albums.
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
Oct. 7: Latest Fallout From Dolly's Health Postponements Since the news that health issues would postpone her Vegas residency in December, a few related items have popped up in the news. First, The Colosseum at Ceasar's Palace has announced that Tim McGraw has scheduled a mini-residency at the venue to replace most of Dolly's dates: Dec. 4, 6, 12, and 13, leaving her originally-scheduled nights of Dec. 7 and 10 open. A spokesperson told Deadline that her illness will not impact the development schedule for her Broadway biopic and its intended 2026 Great White Way debut. Also, her spokesperson told several media outlets, including USA Today, that her lack of appearance at the Nov. 16 Governor's Awards for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts to accept her honorary Oscar for humanitarian work was not because of her illness. The Academy was told in June when they notified her of the honor that a schedule conflict existed and she would have to accept remotely from Nashville that evening, and invitations issued shortly thereafter also noted the plan to skip the ceremony.
Two New Dolly Vinyls Coming Soon A couple of special edition Dolly vinyls will be released over the next two months, it has been announced. First, a mini-single four-inch vinyl of her collaboration with Motley Crue, "Home Sweet Home", will come out as a Target exclusive on Oct. 17 here. In addition, a fifth anniversary edition of her most recent holiday collection, A Holly Dolly Christmas, will come out as a vinyl picture disc Nov. 21. Reserve your copy here.
'Rainbowland' Teacher's Firing Upheld By Court A First Amendment suit by a Wisconsin teacher fired after publicly complaining her school prohibited elementary students from singing Dolly and Miley Cyrus' "Rainbowland" and Kermit the Frog's "Rainbow Connection" at a school function due to potential controversy of rainbows being associated with LGBTQIA+ acceptance was dismissed last week by a federal judge. Public school teachers, as government employees, enjoy freedom of speech protections greater than private employees and generally cannot be disciplined for off-the-clock and outside-the-classroom speech unless they falsely represent their comments as the position of the school itself or if the speech severely disrupts the learning environment. The judge found that calls from activists on both sides of the issue following her public disclosure of the controversy severely impacted the school's ability to function and therefore met the disruption exemption to allow her termination. Read more from Wisconsin Public Radio here.
EV Ports, Personal Charging Umbrellas Added To Dollywood Dollywood last week unveiled 14 new electric vehicle charging ports in its parking lot and 10 solar-powered umbrella personal device charging units in the park.
Down Under, Carpenter is No. 10 pop albums, Malone No. 3 Australian country albums, and Beyonce No. 20 country.
Stateside, Carpenter comes in at No. 14 pop albums and Malone No. 56 pop albums and No. 7 country albums.
Sept. 30: Vegas Residency Postponed A Year For the third time in the past few weeks, Dolly last week revealed a health issue prevented her from making a public appearance, but this time it appears to be more serious and will postpone her sold out Las Vegas residency to a year from now, nine months later than originally scheduled. In a message to fans on social media, Dolly revealed her continuing health issues will require surgeries to correct, preventing her from adequate rehearsal for the December string of shows at The Colosseum at Caesar's Palace. Her statement read: "I want the fans and public to hear directly from me that, unfortunately, I will need to postpone my upcoming Las Vegas concerts. As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures. As I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it's not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon! In all seriousness, given this, I am not going to be able to rehearse and put together the show that I want you to see, and the show that you deserve to see. You pay good money to see me perform, and I want to be at my best for you. While I'll still be able to work on all of my projects from here in Nashville, I just need a little time to get show ready, as they say. And don't worry about me quittin' the business because God hasn't said anything about stopping yet. But, I believe He is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you. I love you and thank you for understanding." The six shows Dec. 4-13 will now run Sept. 17-26, 2026. Tickets will be honored for the new dates, and refunds will be available for those who can't make it. No information was given about the nature of the medical issues or surgeries, but she had previously cancelled Imagination Library appearances last month citing an inner ear infection that prevented her from flying to New Mexico and Montana on Aug. 27, and then earlier this month she said a kidney stone that had led to an infection prevented her from driving from Nashville to Dollywood to announce the park's 2026 addition on Sept. 17. She historically has been very private about her health, rarely sharing information about health issues, which makes these three announcements concerning to fans who are praying for her recovery.
Dolly Helps Wiggles Get Nomination Kids entertainers The Wiggles received a nomination last week from the ARIA Awards in Australis for Best Children's Album for their country outing Wiggle Up, Giddy Up, which contains two Dolly covers and two additional Dolly collaborations. Winners will be announced Nov. 19.
'Butterfly' Falls From The Charts After one week at No. 1 on the country digital song sales chart and one week at No. 6 on the all-genre digital songs chart, Dolly and the Zac Brown Band's "Butterfly" falls off both tallies in the Sept. 27 Billboard numbers released last Tuesday. In other charts:
Down Under, Carpenter is No. 7 pop albums, Malone No. 2 Australian country albums, and Beyonce No. 16 country.
Stateside, Carpenter comes in at No. 14 pop albums, Malone No. 53 pop albums and No. 8 country albums, and Beyonce falls off the top 50 country albums chart.
Sept. 23: Reba Interview With Dolly Streams Thursday
Dolly on Monday announced TalkShopLive will on Thursday stream an interview Reba taped with her about a month ago to promote her upcoming book Star Of The Show: My Life On Stage. The interview will air here and in the media player above at 8 p.m. Eastern Thursday.
Dolly Misses New Ride Announcement Last Week
For the second time in a month, Dolly's health kept her from a scheduled public appearance. Last time it was an ear inflection preventing flying and this time it was kidney stones and an infection from them that prevented driving from Nashville to Dollywood to announce the park's 2026 ride addition, NightFlight Exhibition, a first of its kind in the world attraction combining flight, a coaster, whitewater rapids boating, and lake sailing in an indoor dark ride themed around bioluminescence.
Dolly welcomed the crowd Wednesday via a pre-taped video explaining her absence before park officials discussed the ride. Watch the announcement here or in the media player above, and learn more about the ride here.
"I'm just so proud that Dollywood has grown so much in its first 40 years that we're able to add a ride like NightFlight Expedition," Dolly said. "I have no doubt it's going to be a huge part of Dollywood's next 40 years. We're always trying to take the natural beauty of the Smokies and make it part of everything we're doing in the park, and they've definitely been able to do it with this ride. A lot of people ask me about my favorite season in the Smokies, but no one ever asks me what my favorite time of day is. Our new ride sends you out into the mountains at night, which is the time that I think they really come to life! Obviously, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is known for the synchronous lightning bugs, but I also love to just sit and listen to the owls calling or the frogs croaking, and I love to see the stars sparkling like rhinestones up in the big old sky. It's pure mountain magic."
The more than $50 million attraction in Wildwood Grove takes an amphibious ride vehicle through vivid multimedia projections, dynamic onboard and offboard audio, as well as special lighting effects, to immerse guests in an extraordinary Smoky Mountain adventure classified as an indoor family hybrid coaster and whitewater river raft ride. The five-and-a-half-minute adventure begins with a nighttime flight over the Smokies, followed by a whitewater rafting excursion through more than 500,000 gallons of surging water, a mountain ridge roller coaster ride, and a boat cruise across a mysterious shimmering lake. With a 39-inch height requirement, the ride operates in a temperature-controlled 44,000 square-foot building so it can operate independently of the park's weather. It is expected to open in spring 2026.
Check out additional coverage from Amusement Todayhere and The Knoxville News-Sentinelhere.
In addition, the park last week began taking presale orders for season pass renewals, announcing new pass purchasers will be able to buy in a presale starting Oct. 13 if they register in advance. Changes to passes include:
The Summer Fun Pass, introduced this season as an East Tennessee resident Volunteer Pass, will now be available nationwide for $125 to visit the park from mid-April to mid-September.
Silver pass, $160 in the presale, will still have the final three weeks of the season blacked out for ages 10 and up (no blackouts for ages 9 and under) but will no longer come with any free Bring a Friend tickets. Instead, passholders will be able to purchase up to three BAFs for $50 each with no blackout dates ($35 each for up to two additional at Splash if two-park pass). However, silver passholders will now receive a 10 percent discount on food and merch in the park. Previously, the silver discount was only applicable to lodging and you had to buy gold or diamond for food and merch discounts.
Gold pass, $235 in the presale, will still include one free BAF for the theme park (and a second free BAF for the water park if you buy the two-park version of the pass) plus the ability to buy up to three additional BAFs for $45 each ($30 each for up to two additional at Splash if two-park pass). They continue to offer 15 percent off lodging, food, and merch plus an all-season free refill mug, first hour timesaver access, and free parking.
Diamond Pass, $355 in the presale, remains two-park only and includes two free BAFs for the theme park and two free BAFs for the water park, plus ability to purchase up to three additional theme park BAFs for $40 each ($25 each for up to two additional at Splash). The pass's 20 percent lodging, food, and merch discount continues as well as the first hour timesaver access, free parking, cold/hot/frozen free refill tumbler, and free monthly cinnamon bread.
In addition, all presale purchases and renewals will receive a certificate for early rides on NightFlight. The military discount remains available for all pass types, and the free Imagination Season Pass will be available for children born in 2021 or 2022. Finally, as this season is the final season for the Platinum Passes distributed at the 20th anniversary, park officials confirm those lucky folks will have to purchase passes for 2026.
'Butterfly' Debuts No. 1 Country Digital Singles
Dolly and the Zac Brown Band's "Butterfly" sold 3,300 downloads in its first week of release, allowing it to debut at No. 1 country digital song sales and No. 6 all-genre digital song sales, but the track didn't have enough streams to break the top 100 pop singles or top 50 country singles tallies on the Sept. 20 Billboard charts released Tuesday. In other charts:
Across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 holds steady at No. 2 on the British country compilation album chart, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection inches up one to No. 6, Glen Campbell's Ghost On The Canvas Sessions with a Dolly duet holds slips eight to No. 14, while Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series Vol. 1 and Linda Ronstadt's entry in the series, both of which contain several Dolly appearances, fall back out of the top 20 down from No. 17 and No. 19, respectively. Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, finds itself at No. 11 U.K. pop, No. 30 Scottish albums, No. 30 album sales, No. 28 physical album sales, and No. 10 streaming albums. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, is No. 11 country albums. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, re-enters the top 20 country albums at No. 19 and rests at No. 5 Ameriana albums.
Down Under, Carpenter is No. 7 pop albums, Malone No. 2 Australian country albums and No. 36 pop, and Beyonce No. 17 country.
Stateside, Carpenter comes in at No. 11 pop albums, Malone No. 54 pop albums and No. 8 country albums, and Beyonce No. 50 country albums.
Christmas Goods Land At Dollar General Dolly's latest line of holiday-themed home goods is arriving nationwide at Dollar General stores, License Global reports here.
'Still Working'; Headed To West Hollywood The city of West Hollywood is screening the documentary Still Working 9 To 5 Oct. 11 as part of a triple-feature on women's empowerment to kick off LA Tech Week. Accompanying it will be Lilly and Show Her The Money. Get tickets here.
Dolly Track In TikTok Trend Dolly at Chet Atkins have made the top 10 trends on TikTok, according to Paradehere. Their 1976 duet of "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" has become the sound clip for a viral trend of showing you and your childhood best friend doing something together as kids and then something together today.
Sept. 16: Musical Run Attracts Nearly 80,000 The out-of-town premiere of Dolly: A True Original Musical, which ran for six weeks and 49 performances at Nashville's Belmont University, attracted more than 77,900 attendees to its theater. For context, if the Broadway transfer can attract similar audiences in New York next year, it would be the No. 1 or No. 2 show on the Great White Way. In a statement, Dolly said: "As we continue to workshop our musical for Broadway, I am excited to know that the Belmont University Dolly U partnership will continue, with students playing a part in the next step of our journey, just as they did for our Nashville premiere." Read more on Yahoo courtesy The Tennesseanhere.
Standby Line For Wednesday's Appearance Dollywood's announced last week that select Diamond passholders were invited to attend Dolly's Wednesday media appearance to announce the new ride addition for 2026 but added that a standby line will be available for Diamond passholders who were not invited to wait for seating at the announcement for any no-shows.
Ohio Library Added To Birth Certificates Ohio has added registration for their statewide affiliate of Dolly's early childhood literacy charity imagination Library directly to the state's birth certificate paperwork, allowing parents to register at birth by checking a box on the form. First Lady Fran DeWine made the announcement last week at a luncheon headlined by Zac Brown, who was celebrating his own Dolly connection having just released their duet "Butterfly" together. Read more from Spectrum Newshere.
U.S., U.K., Aussie Chart Updates Across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 slips one to No. 2 on the British country compilation album chart, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains six to No. 7, Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables falls off the top 20, Glen Campbell's Ghost On The Canvas Sessions with a Dolly duet holds steady at No. 6, while Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series Vol. 1 re-enters the top 20 at No. 17 and Linda Ronstadt's entry in the series falls two to No. 19, both of which contain several Dolly appearances. Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, finds itself at No. 11 U.K. pop, No. 28 Scottish albums, No. 28 album sales, No. 28 physical album sales, and No. 9 streaming albums. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, is No. 9 country albums. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, falls out of the top 20 country albums, down from No. 13, and rests at No. 4 Ameriana albums.
Down Under, Carpenter is No. 9 pop albums, Malone No. 2 Australian country albums and No. 42 pop, Beyonce No. 18 country, and Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection falls out of the top 40 country, down from No. 28.
Stateside, Carpenter comes in at No. 7 pop albums, Malone No. 58 pop albums and No. 9 country albums, and Beyonce No. 48 country albums.
Sept. 9: 'Butterfly' With Zac Brown Released
Dolly and the Zac Brown Band on Friday released their new collaborative single, "Butterfly," complete with a music video. Check it out on YouTube here or in the media player above, and download the duet here.
Dolly Visits Park Next Week, Earns Hall Of Fame Induction Dolly will be on park next Wednesday to announce Dollywood's largest-ever attraction, a yet-to-be-revealed ride coming for 2026. The media invitation to the announcement stated: "the company's newest attraction which soars into the park in 2026. Park officials will plunge media into the heart of the excitement about the largest single attraction investment in the history of Dollywood. Media attendees can climb their way through thrilling information designed to help them as they navigate the most exciting ways to share the news of this unparalleled new project. The announcement represents the next step in the $500 million expansion plan first unveiled in 2021." Invitations began to be sent this week to select Diamond Passholders to attend the announcement. It is unknown at this time whether Dolly will do her weather-permitting park tour or not. In related news, the theme park industry association, IAAPA, announced last week that Dolly will be inducted into its Hall of Fame as part of its 2025 class. Tickets to the ceremony Nov. 17 in Orlando are available starting at $399 each here. It hasn't been announced whether Dolly will be in attendance. Learn more from Theme Park Insiderhere.
Dollywood Wins Three Golden Tickets, Slips To No. 2 U.S. Park It took Harry Potter, How To Train Your Dragon, and Super Nintendo World, but a new theme park has dethroned Dollywood as the Best Theme Park in America after taking home the award for five consecutive years from the Golden Ticket Awards, known informally as the theme park world's Oscars. Dolly's park brought home three first place honors and several finalist spots this year.
Universal Epic Universe, the third Universal Orlando theme park to open, took the awards by storm in just its first three months of operation, debuting at No. 2 for Best Theme Park worldwide behind only Europa Park in Germany, making it by default the Best Theme Park in the U.S. Dollywood had held that No. 2 position, first in the U.S., four out of the past five years and took the No. 1 worldwide position from Europa Park two years ago.
Dollywood won Best Kids Area for Wildwood Grove for the sixth year, Best Family Coaster for Big Bear Mountain for the third year, and Best Guest Experience for the sixth year, an award that combines friendliness, cleanliness, operations, and value.
"We've really had a lot of fun this year celebrating our 40th season," Dolly said in a statement, "and it just keeps getting bigger. We've already won some great awards this year, and now our friends at Amusement Today have honored us with a few more. I'm humbled that so many wonderful people from all around the world who have visited us feel like our park is one of the best anywhere. I had big dreams 40 years ago about what Dollywood could become, but even I sometimes have a hard time believing it has become everything that it is now. And you know, when we share our next big idea very soon, I think it's going to have everyone's dreams soaring!"
"Play On" placed second for Best New Show, the park placed third for Most Beautiful Park, Thunderhead was ranked as the fifth best wooden coaster in the world (down from No. 4), Splash Country maintained its fifth place spot for Best Water Park, and Lightning Rod fell out of the top 25 steel coasters worldwide, down from No. 22.
The park's annual Harvest Festival kicks off Friday with the new Candy Corn Country in Country Fair and the return of the Great Pumpkin LumiNights.
'Little Golden Book' Getting Ultimate Fan Treatment Random House has announced that it is re-issuing its Dolly "Little Golden Book" biography (which your webmaster helped create) in an expanded fan edition with a new cover, 22 bonus pages, and a page of stickers. My Little Golden Book About Dolly Parton: Ultimate Fan Edition will hit stores Jan. 6.
Sept. 2: 'Broken Angels' Duet Released With The Grascals
"Broken Angels," the new collaboration co-written and recorded by Dolly and Grascals front man Jamie Johnson and inspired by a mutual friend struggling with addiction and recovery, was released Friday. Download yours from Amazon here or stream for free on YouTube here or in the media player above.
Ear Infection Cancels Appearances Dolly was forced to cancel two planned Imagination Library appearances last week to celebrate statewide expansions in Montana and New Mexico. Via video, she apologized for missing the events, explained an inner ear infection prevented her from flying, and said she would reschedule them. Watch her videos in coverage from Montana Right Nowhere and The Sante Fe New Mexicanhere.
Dolly In New Hag Documentary Dolly and Willie Nelson are interviewed in but don't perform in a new covers-heavy, three-hour long documentary by Ethan Hawke about the legendary Merle Haggard. Premiering at the Telluride Film Festival, Highway 99: A Double Album features mostly other singers interpreting Haggard's songs as it tells his life story.
Broadway-Bound 'Dolly' Ends Nashville Test Dolly: A True Original Musical ended its Nashville try-out on Saturday. It is likely the show will undergo more fine-tuning before it premieres sometime in 2026 in New York.
U.K., U.S., Aussie Chart Updates Across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 holds on to the top spot at No. 1 on the British country compilation album chart, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection slips six to to No. 13, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe falls out of the top 20, Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables inches down two to No. 12, Glen Campbell's Ghost On The Canvas Sessions with a Dolly duet holds steady at No. 6, while Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series Vol. 2 rises four to No. 11 and Linda Ronstadt's entry in the series re-enters the top 20 at No. 17, both of which contain several Dolly appearances. Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, finds itself at No. 13 U.K. pop, No. 17 Scottish albums, No. 21 album sales, No. 20 physical album sales, and No. 8 streaming albums. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, is No. 15 country albums. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, is No. 13 British country albums and No. 5 Ameriana albums.
Stateside, Carpenter comes in at No. 11 pop albums, Malone No. 42 pop albums and No. 9 country albums, and Beyonce No. 41 country albums.
Aug. 26: New Grascals Duet Coming Friday Dolly's former backing band The Grascals have a new collaboration with her coming out on Friday, the band revealed Monday. "Broken Angels," a new single written by Dolly and Grascals vocalist Jamie Johnson, will debut as a duet on Friday. Reserve your copy in advance through your favorite streaming service here.
Montana Getting Library Visit Wednesday Dolly will make a brief appearance in person in Montana at 1:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. Eastern) Wednesday to celebrate the statewide expansion of her Imagination Library early childhood literacy program with invited guests at a private event to be live streamed on NonStopLocal here, it was announced Monday.
Carpenter To Channel Dolly On VMAs Sabrina Carpenter, with whom Dolly collaborated on a reissue of her hit single "Please, Please, Please," has revealed when she sings a medley of hits on September's MTV Video Music Awards she will do so in a performance inspired by Dolly in the film 9 To 5. No word on whether Dolly will join her.
Aug. 19: Ted Miller Retiring, Jeff Conyers To Replace Dolly this week announced a major leadership transition on her team. Ted Miller, who has served as Dolly's business advisor for her East Tennessee ventures as president of Dolly Parton Productions since the mid-to-late-1980s, will retire at the end of this year and his role will be assumed by Dollywood Foundation President Jeff Conyers. In addition to retaining his role leading Dolly's Imagination Library program in the U.S. and abroad as well as her other philanthropic efforts, he will also serve as her liaison for her business ventures with Herschend Family Entertainment including Dollywood Parks and Resorts and WCI/ZMC (through which she owns and operates their various dinner theaters). Read more from The Mountain Presshere.
'Live From London' Coming To Vinyl Dolly announced last week that her concert album Live from London, recorded live at the O2 Arena in 2008, will be released on vinyl for the first time Oct. 10. The double-album will be available in standard black here, cotton candy vinyl in the U.K., and blue skies vinyl from Dolly's official online store. This could be the first of other vinul reissues to come, as Dollymania.net learned from insiders associated with Vinyl Me Please that Dolly's team chose to end their partnership with the boutique retailer after its first year of Dolly vinyl releases in the Vinyl Me Parton series because they wanted to start releasing her albums on vinyl themselves in the future rather than the limited editions through the collector site.
Dolly Musical Interferes With Cancer Appearance Dolly has continued making occasional appearances at the Nashville tryout of her Broadway-bound bio-musical Dolly: A True Original Musical as the show is tweaked by her and the creative team before its Great White Way transition next year. Unfortunately, the requirements working with the show forced her to cancel last Friday's planned live appearance at the multi-network fundraiser Stand Up To Cancer, organizers said. A new interview also came out of the show's promotions last week thanks to Woman's Worldhere.
Down Under, Carpenter falls two to No. 9 pop albums, Malone loses one to No. 8 Australian country albums, Beyonce falls out of the country top 40 albums, down from No. 39, and Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection dips three to No. 29 country.
Stateside, Carpenter comes in at No. 10 pop albums, Malone No. 36 pop albums and No. 5 country albums, and Beyonce No. 146 pop albums and No. 28 country albums.
Aug. 12: Dolly's Musical Officially Opens In Nashville
After three weeks of preview performances (when critics aren't supposed to write reviews so actors and technicians may work out bugs in the show), the Nashville tryout of Dolly: A True Original Musical officially "opened" with a red carpet Friday night. Reviews were mostly positive, with those from Knox News, American Songwriter, Cowboys & Indians and Music City Review summarized by Broadway Worldhere. Coverage from the show's official social media is available here and video of her post-show toast to the crowd from fan Sergio Garcia here. Other coverage includes Country Nowhere, Music Mahemhere, NewsChannel5 here, WAND here and Todayhere.
Dolly Speaks Of Reba, Kelly Grief Dolly told Entertainment Tonight her advice to Reba and Kelly Clarkson on the loss of their loved one, Brandon Blackstock, from her recent experience losing her husband, Carl, here
U.S., U.K., Aussie Chart Updates Across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 holds steady at No. 2 on the British country compilation album chart, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection rises two to No. 8, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe gains five to No. 13, Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables slips three to No. 14, Glen Campbell's Ghost On The Canvas Sessions with a Dolly duet climbs 13 to No. 7, Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series Vol. 1 re-enters the top 20 at No. 20 and Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series falls back out of the top 20, down from No. 14. Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, regains two to No. 8 U.K. pop, 13 to No. 19 Scottish albums, seven to No. 20 album sales, and six to No. 20 physical album sales, holding steady at No. 7 streaming albums. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, loses two to No. 15 country albums. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, gains one to No. 9 British country albums and dips one to No. 3 Ameriana albums.
Down Under, Carpenter regains two to No. 7 pop albums, Malone inches up one to No. 7 Australian country albums, Beyonce rises one at No. 39 country, and Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains two to No. 26 country.
Stateside, the Aug. 9 lists show Carpenter loses one to No. 16 pop albums and four to No. 25 sales, gaining two to No. 13 Canadian albums and one to No. 13 streaming. Malone falls one to No. 34 pop albums and nine to No. 33 Canadian albums, holding steady at No. 30 streaming albums and No. 6 country albums. Beyonce regains two to No. 107 pop albums, holding steady at No. 22 country albums and No. 10 Americana albums.
Aug. 5: Dolly Buys Another Florida Attraction Just a few weeks after opening her latest Pirates Voyage dinner theater, the chain's third location and first in Florida, Dolly has expanded her Panama City Beach holdings by purchasing the SkyWheel attraction in the city, which features an observation wheel, 18-hole mini-golf course, and ropes course. Coverage of the acquisition of the Pier Park facility includes this story from WJHG here.
'Whorehouse' BluRay Ordering Page Added Amazon has added an order page for the 2K BluRay special edition restoration of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas coming out Sept. 23 which was reported here two weeks ago. Reserve your copy here.
In Memoriam: Jeannie Seely Grand Ole Opry legend Jeannie Seely died last week at age 85. In a tribute on social media, Dolly responded: "I have known Jeannie Seely since we were early on in Nashville. She was one of my dearest friends. I think she was one of the greater singers in Nashville and she had a wonderful sense of humor. We had many wonderful laughs together, cried over certain things together and she will be missed." Seely moved to Nashville in 1966 where she joined Dolly as a Monument Records artist and briefly toured with Porter Wagoner as his girl singer after Norma Jean, being replaced by Dolly in 1967. She covered Dolly's "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" on her debut album and "Just Because I'm A Woman" on her fourth album.
Dolly Snags Five Spots On 'Opry' Top 100 If you haven't seen the full list of the Opry's 100 greatest country songs of all time, Dolly is tied with Willie Nelson and George Straight as the performer with the most appearances on the tally with five songs each. Dolly's are "I Will Always Love You," "Coat of Many Colors," "Jolene," "9 to 5" and "Islands In The Stream" See all 100 here.
Dolly Wines Bar Opens In Nashville Dolly has opened a small wine bar in Music City to promote her two Dolly Wines available in the U.S. The Dolly Wines Bar is located inside the Assembly Food Hall at 5055 Broadway Place in downtown Nashville. Check it out in a story from Music Universehere.
'Christmas Carol' Adds More Dates Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol last week added a few more dates to its first national tour to the ones reported here a week ago. The additions are:
Nov. 15, Owensboro, KY Riverpark Center
Nov. 22, Enterprise, AL Baker Center for the Arts
Dec. 18, Hamlet, NC Cole Auditorium
Dec. 22-23, Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall
Dollywood Named Among Best Women Employers Dollywood Parks and Resorts was named last week by Forbes magazine on the list of America's Best Employers for Women, the only theme park company included. Check out the full list here.
U.K., Aussie, U.S. Chart Updates Across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 holds steady at No. 2 on the British country compilation album chart, while her Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection loses four to No. 10, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe drops eight to No. 18, Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables moves up three to No. 11, Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series and Glen Campbell's Ghost On The Canvas Sessions with a Dolly duet re-enter the top 20 at No. 14 and No. 20, respectively, while Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series Vol. 1 falls back out of the top 20, down from No. 19. Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, inches down one to No. 10 U.K. pop, loses three to No. 32 Scottish albums, falls one to No. 27 album sales, moves down two to No. 26 physical album sales, and rises two to No. 7 streaming albums. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, loses one to No. 13 country albums. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, holds steady at No. 10 British country albums and rises five to No. 2 Ameriana albums.
Down Under, Carpenter loses two to No. 9 pop albums, Malone holds steady at No. 8 Australian country albums, Beyonce remains at No. 40 country, and Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains one to No. 28 country.
Stateside, the Aug. 2 tallies show Carpenter loses three to No. 15 pop albums, seven to No. 21 sales, four to No. 15 Canadian albums, and three to No. 14 streaming. Malone holds steady at No. 33 pop albums, falls four to No. 24 Canadian albums, and dips two to No. 30 streaming albums, losing one to No. 6 country albums. Beyonce tumbles 51 places to No. 109 pop albums, 12 to No. 22 country albums, and five to No. 10 Americana albums.
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