IBM at Sunday's Grammy Awards premiered a new commercial set to Dolly's "9 to 5." Watch it on YouTube here or in the media player above.
Adele Shows Off Her Inner Dolly Pop darling Adele caused a little stur on Tuesday when she posted a photo of herself dressed as a mid-1970s Dolly to Instagram with the tribute: "The effortless queen of song, Dolly Parton! We love you! We wish We could possess an ounce of your ability. You were the hero of our night! A hero of my life. I'll always love you." Given the past tense of part of the comment some fans feared Dolly had died but Dolly herself soon acknowledged the posting with her message: "I will always love you, too" followed by several hearts. Read more from The Daily Mailhere.
Dolly Tribute Going On U.K. Nationwide Tour After a sold-out run at Edinburgh Fringe and the booking of a month-long run at London's Soho Theatre, Sh!t Theatre's irreverent tribute to Dolly titled DollyWould has announced a nationwide U.K. tour from March through June. See the list of performances from Broadway Worldhere.
Dolly Art Exhibit Opening In London Also overseas, artist Waynedidit will exhibit six paintings inspired by Dolly's time on the silver screen titled "Dolly At The Movies" showing Feb. 5-28 at Greenwich Picturehouse in London.
U.S. Chart Updates The Feb. 3 Billboard charts released Tuesday showed Kesha's Rainbow, featuring the Dolly duet "Old Flames (Can't Hold A Candle To You)," inches down five spots to No. 127 Hot 200 pop albums in its 24th chart week.
'Drag Race' Features Dolly Drag Thursday "Dolly" will appear on Thursday's RuPaul Drag Race All Stars on VH1 or rather contestant Trixie Mattel will portray her in a competition to dress as entertainment's biggest gay divas. Mattel cites Dolly as her hero and the biggest inspiration for her drag persona, which includes a big blonde wig, tight jumpsuits and folk music a la circa 1976 Dolly. See a preview from YouTube here or in the media player below.
Jan. 29: Overseas Chart Updates The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe loses five on the British country compilation albums chart in 72nd chart week to No. 13, it was announced Friday. On the same tally, Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) gains five to No. 8 as Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) moves up one to No. 11 and Harris's Original Album Series, Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) inches up one to No. 17.
News On Library's Blind Program WDRB offers an update on the Braille book partnership of Dolly's Imagination Library program in a piece here which notes the books are made by prisoners in Kentucky's only women's penitentiary.
Still No Dolly On 'Grace And Frankie' Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin may have convinced producers to let Dolly appear on their Netflix series Grace and Frankie but they have yet to work out the scheduling to try and get her on the show and whenever it is worked out they won't tell other actors according to an interview with co-star Brooklyn Decker here.
Jan. 26: Dolly Ends Annual Pigeon Forge Parade After 32 years of consecutive annual appearances in the City of Pigeon Forge parade known officially as the "Dolly Parade" during Dolly's "Homecoming Weekend" at Dollywood, the city and theme park jointly announced Thursday that Dolly is stepping down as Grand Marshal. Those duties will be filled this year at the May 4 event instead by National Baseball Hall of Fame member Cal Ripken Jr., founder of the $22.5 million Ripken Experience youth baseball facility which opened in the city last year. The parade will also be renamed "Music In The Mountains Spring Parade."
In a press release, Dolly explained: "For 32 years, it's been my honor and privilege to serve as the grand marshal. In that time, Pigeon Forge has grown so much and so many new businesses and attractions have come to town, everyone agrees that this is the perfect time for me to step aside and share the spotlight with some other folks. Dollywood has hogged the spotlight long enough!"
Pigeon Forge City Manager Earlene Teaster added: "We want to thank Dolly for all that she has done, and we are so very grateful for the kindness and generosity she has shown to both our visitors and our residents. Given Pigeon Forge's progress and unprecedented growth during the last three decades, both Dollywood and Pigeon Forge city officials recognized that we have so much to celebrate with our parade."
As fans accused the city of playing politics and forcing Dolly out, the city's tourism department responded on Facebook: "it was a mutual decision between Dollywood theme park and the city of Pigeon Forge to have someone new in the grand marshall role."
The parade started in 1986 to celebrate the season opening of Dollywood and kick off the Pigeon Forge tourism season. Most years, Dolly rode atop a float designed to reflect the theme of the park's addition for the new season. As the park began opening earlier in the year in cooler temperatures and the park's opening weekend moved from April to March in 2008, the parade moved from April to May in the hope of better weather but it still often operated in cold rain under the new rebranding of "Dolly's Homecoming."
When the first 2018 season calendar for Dollywood was released online in November, it contained the Dolly Parade in Pigeon Forge on May 4 and Dolly's Homecoming Weekend May 4 and 5 at the park, but when the calendar was updated online in December or early January those two items were removed.
When asked if she would be making any appearances for her traditional Homecoming Weekend with the parade development, a park spokesperson on Thursday declined to comment and reiterated the park's general policy of not revealing Dolly's calendar of appearances at the park in advance, so it is unknown whether or not she plans to visit in May. However, the spokesperson did confirm to Dollymania.net that she plans to be on park for opening weekend, which takes place March 16-17.
U.S. Chart Updates Playlist: The Very Best Of Dolly Parton earns a third consecutive week on the Jan. 27 Billboard country catalog albums chart, slipping one to No. 9, it was revealed Tuesday. Kesha's Rainbow, featuring the Dolly duet "Old Flames (Can't Hold A Candle To You)," drops 25 to No. 122 Hot 200 pop albums in its 23rd chart week, falling back out of the Canadian top 100, down from No. 99, and top 100 current albums, down from No. 70.
Jan. 22: Midsouth Emmys Recognize Dolly
Dolly took home two Emmy honors Saturday night from the 32nd Annual Midsouth regional Emmy Awards. She and co-producers Nicholas E. Dugger, Danny Nozell, Pete Owens, Scott Durand, Shanna Strassberg, Edie Lynn Hoback and John Zarling were honored for Outstanding Community Service Program for last year's wildfires telethon Smoky Mountains Rise. Dolly then was presented with the 2018 Governor's Award for Lifetime Achievement for her philanthropic efforts. Dollywood Foundation President David Dotson accepted the award on her behalf at the ceremony and she provided a videotaped acceptance speech as well. The introductory clip for her award was posted to Dollywood's Facebook page here and in the media player above. The ceremony was streamed over Livestream here.
Stampede Protesters Complain Of Name Change About a dozen protesters upset about Dolly removing the word "Dixie" from the name of her Stampede chain of equestrian-themed dinner theatres as they plan to expand them outside of the South while also dealing with changing majority attitudes toward things seen as celebrating the Confederacy came out to Pigeon Forge Saturday to let their opinions be known and saw coverage from WBIR in Knoxville here.
Minogue Compared To Dolly Aussie singer Kylie Minogue is being criticized by fans that her newest music sounds too much like Dolly having released a dance record, which happens to be the exact flavor she told fans the new album would have, as she is a huge Dolly fan. Read more from The Daily Mail here.
Jan. 20: Dolly CD Goes Silver Overseas Dolly got a little metal from overseas as a surprise 72nd birthday present. The BPI, Britain's equivalent of the RIAA in America, on Friday certified her 2013 compilation album The Real as a silver record for selling more than 60,000 copies.
Reese Honors Dolly On Her Birthday Dolly fan Reese Witherspoon made her own gift to Dolly for her birthday pledging 100 percent donation of all profits from Friday sales at her four Draper James storefront locations as well as the online store to Dolly's Imagination Library charity.
Overseas Chart Update The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe loses four on the British country compilation albums chart in 71st chart week to No. 8, it was announced Friday. On the same tally, Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) gains one to No. 13 as Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) moves up five to No. 12 and Harris's Original Album Series, Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) re-enters the top 20 at No. 18. After 13 weeks, Dolly's children's CD, I Believe In You, falls off the top 20 U.K. country albums, down from No. 15.
Dollywood Book Set For Spring Release A new book examining Dolly's Dollywood theme park is coming from Ohio University Press on March 1, it has been announced. By Graham Hoppe, Gone Dollywood: Dolly Parton's Mountain Dream promises to examine the park's success in the greater context of Southern and American identity including review of tourism studies, cultural analysis, folklore and personal observations. Reserve your copy here!
Jan. 19: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOLLY! The Smoky Mountain Songbird turns 72 on Friday and fans around the nation are celebrating. WATE reports Cruze Farm on Asbury Road in Knoxville is giving away free double Dolly cones of sweet cream ice cream with rainbow sprinkles for fans from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Read more here. Drag show Poo Poo Platter in Austin hosts a second annual Dolly evening at 10 p.m. Friday at Elysium with DJ Daddie Dearest and a Dolly look-a-like contest. Learn more from The Austin Chroniclehere. And World of Wheels in Superior, Minn., will hold its 20th annual Dolly Roller Skating Birthday Party at 7 p.m. Saturday, according to The Duluth News Tribune here.
Dolly Celebrates RIAA, Emmy Recognition Dolly was presented this week with RIAA plaques for her recent digital gold singles for "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene" and digital platinum single for "9 To 5." The classic songs were certified for the new awards back in September, which Dollymania.net was the first media outlet at the time to report. The only new information from the ceremony was that Dolly was also given a songwriter's RIAA award certifying Whitney Houston's cover of "I Will Always Love You" for digital sales of 3 million or triple platinum (the official RIAA database doesn't yet list this award, although the physical non-digital single is certified four-times platinum for sales of 4 million units as of 1993, meaning its combined digital and non-digital single sales are more than 7 million copies). Learn more here. Dolly will also be honored Saturday with the Governor's Award from the Nashville regional Emmy Awards, where she's also up for an Emmy for Community Service Program for her telethon for wildfire victims, both of which were reported on Dollymania.net in early December. Read more from Dolly's official website this week here and watch the ceremony live online here at 9 p.m. Eastern Saturday.
Dollywood Reveals Spring Mix Concert Schedule Dollywood on Thursday released the full schedule for its Spring Mix concert series. The artist listed first each day performs at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. for an hour at DP's Celebrity Theatre and the artist listed second performs at 2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. for 40 minutes at Showstreet Palace Theatre:
April 11- Crystal Gayle and Suzy Bogguss
April 12- Shenandoah and Restless Heart
April 13- Janie Fricke and The Malpass Brothers
April 14- Connie Smith and Mandy Barnett
April 15- T.G. Sheppard and Sylvia
April 16- Pam Tillis and Exile
April 18- Amy Grant and The Martins
April 19- Chonda Pierce and Triumphant Quartet
April 20- David Phelps and Wayne Watson
April 21- Blind Boys of Alabama and Dallas Holm
April 22- The McKameys and Carman
April 23- Selah and Larnelle Harris
April 25- The Marshall Tucker Band and The Drifters
April 26- Orleans and Al Stewart
April 27- Atlanta Rhythm Section and Maureen McGovern
April 28- Firefall and In My Life: A Beatles Tribute
April 29- Debby Boone and The Tams
Jan. 18: Guinness Records Honor Dolly Twice For 2018 Book
As her 72nd birthday approaches on Friday, Dolly got an early gift with a visit from the Guinness World Records officials to inform her she appears twice in the 2018 edition of the awards: one for holding the record of the longest string of consecutive decades with top 20 country singles – six decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s) for her 74 top 20 hits – and one for the record of the most charted country singles by a female artist at 107. In a statement she said: "To receive these two Guinness World Records is so great. Joining so many wonderful singers and songwriters who have been honoured this way feels so special to me. You never know when you start out with your work how it's going to turn out, but to have these two world records makes me feel very humbled and blessed!" Dolly had previously appeared in past record books several times including for her record of the most female country No. 1 singles (which she still holds today) and for her time in the early 1980s when she was the highest-paid entertainer in Las Vegas based on her per-show contract rate. Read more on the newest honors here and watch an interview with on the official Guinness YouTube page here or in the media player above.
Grammy Hall Of Fame Chooses Dolly Song For Second Time The Grammy Hall of Fame announced Wednesday it is inducting Dolly's classic song "I Will Always Love You" a second time. This time it is Whitney Houston's smash 1992 cover of the song being added to the Hall. Dolly's original recording from 1974 was her first work to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008 (followed by "Jolene" in 2014). The Hall of Fame selects "recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance" that are at least 25 years old. Dolly's composition joins "Blowin' In The Wind," "Cocktails For Two," "Everyday I Have The Blues," "Georgia On My Mind," "Hound Dog," "Lovesick Blues," "Mack The Knife," "Misty," "Moanin'," "Mr. Tamborine Man," "My Girl"/"My Guy," "Proud Mary," "Star Dust," "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," "Unforgettable" and "What A Wonderful World" as the only songs with more than one version in the Hall of Fame.
ABC Shares Old Dolly Interviews ABC News this week posted several archival clips from a couple of 1980s Dolly interviews: three from one interview here, here and here and one from another here.
U.S. Chart Updates Playlist: The Very Best Of Dolly Parton earns a second consecutive week on the Jan. 20 Billboard country catalog albums chart remaining steady at No. 8, it was revealed Wednesday. Kesha's Rainbow, featuring the Dolly duet "Old Flames (Can't Hold A Candle To You)," loses 36 to No. 97 Hot 200 pop albums in its 22nd chart week and 13 to No. 70 top 100 current albums, falling back out of the top 100 U.S. album sales list, down No. 72, and re-entering the Canadian top 100 at No. 99. Holiday albums were last updated last week so Once Upon a Christmas with Kenny Rogers has ended its run for this season.
Jan. 15: Chart Updates Across The Pond The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe moves up one on the British country compilation albums chart in 70th chart week to No. 4, it was announced Friday. On the same tally, Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) gains two to No. 14 as Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) re-enters the top 20 at No. 17. Dolly's children's CD, I Believe In You, holds steady at No. 15 U.K. country albums.
Jan. 11: Stampede Name Change Angers Some As would be expected in today's highly polarized political climate, the dropping of the word "Dixie" from the name of Dolly's equestrian-themed dinner theatres, Dolly Parton's Stampede, has brought out the internet trolls once more to attack her personally and her company's business decision. Complaints were detailed by WATE here, WBIR here and Yahoo here. The subject even got its own Snopes page here.
'Believe' Sales Update, U.S. Chart Update Although it is no longer on the charts, SoundScan reports that Dolly's children's CD, I Believe In You, last week sold 300 copies to pass the 18,000-unit mark to 18,200 copies sold since its Sept. 29 release (no word on how many copies have been sold at retailers that don't report to SoundScan, if any). On the charts, Playlist: The Very Best Of Dolly Parton re-enters the Jan. 13 Billboard country catalog albums tally at No. 8. Once Upon a Christmas with Kenny Rogers gains four to No. 43 holiday albums and two to No. 27 holiday album sales but fall off the Canadian pop albums, down from No. 68, and country catalog albums, down from No. 9. Kesha's Rainbow, featuring the Dolly duet "Old Flames (Can't Hold A Candle To You)," moves up 40 to No. 61 Hot 200 pop albums in its 21st chart week and 19 to No. 57 top 100 current albums, re-entering the top 100 album sales list at No. 72.
Knox Libraries Celebrate Dolly's Birthday Fans in the Knoxville area will be able to celebrate Dolly's 72nd birthday on Jan. 19 by heading to their local Knox County Public Library branch for an Imagination Library themed party. Storytime crafts and cupcakes will be offered at each branch at 10:30 a.m. and children will help make Dolly an 8-foot-long birthday card. The Knox County affiliate of Dolly's early childhood literacy program has since 2005 distributed 2.5 million of the program's 100 million books, WATE reported here.
Jan. 9: Dolly's Stampede Drops 'Dixie' From Name One of Dolly's dinner theatres is undergoing a name change, it was announced Monday, as it loses the geographic part of its title. Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede located in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and Branson, Mo., wlll be rebranded Dolly Parton's Stampede this year. Her other two dinner theatres, Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Adventures in Pigeon Forge and Dolly Parton's Pirates' Voyage in Myrtle Beach, S.C., will not be changing their names. The reason given for the announcement was plans being finalized this year for future expansion of the chain outside of the South. Dolly said in a statement: "Our shows currently are identified by where they are located. Some examples are Smoky Mountain Adventures or Dixie Stampede. We also recognize that attitudes change and feel that by streamlining the names of our shows, it will remove any confusion or concerns about our shows and will help our efforts to expand into new cities." Jim Rule, CEO of Dolly's company that operates the establishments, World Choice Investments, said: "There is interest in several parts of the United States and internationally to host one of our unique dinner attraction shows. We provide spectacular family entertainment at a great value. We continually listen to our guests and our desire to expand coupled with our desire to stay relevant in today's changing world led us to simplify our shows' names." Stampede originally opened in 1988 in Pigeon Forge as a Civil War re-enactment themed dinner show and in addition to the Branson location also formerly operated in Orlando, Fla., and Myrtle Beach. Today it boasts to be the world's most-attended dinner attraction. Over time however the Civil War imagery has been reduced every few years (mostly replaced with Western settlement imagery) until the only remnants remaining last season were the fact the competition exists between the north side of the arena and south side of the arena, that the north side's staff wears costumes of gold and blue while staff on the south's side wears red and gray, and the name including the word "Dixie." But that didn't stop a national publication last year from taking on the establishment and calling it racist, possibly prompting the line in Dolly's statement about "attitudes change" and that the name change "will remove any confusion or concerns about our shows."
Jan. 8: Overseas Chart Updates The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe holds steady on the British country compilation albums chart in 69th chart week at No. 5, it was announced Friday. On the same tally, Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) loses two to No. 12 as Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) falls back out of the top 20, down from No. 20. Dolly's children's CD, I Believe In You, moves up one to No. 15 U.K. country albums.
Dolly Named 1981 'It Girl' Cosmopolitan magazine on Friday offered a piece naming the past several decades' annual Hollywood "It Girl" for the Golden Globes and giving Dolly that honor for 1981 thanks to her breakout role in 9 To 5 which earned her three Globe nominations that year: Best Actress, Best Song and Best New Film Star. Read the full list here.
Jan. 5: Dolly Reads For British Kids
Dolly made her second storybook reading appearance on the BBC's children's network CBeebies for the nightly Bedtime Stories program on New Year's Eve, as she read Stuck in the Mud by Garry Parsons and Jane Clarke. Watch the clip on YouTube here or in the media player above.
Doll Parts Perform Saturday For Dolly's Birthday New York City area fans will want to head this weekend to Union Hall in Brooklyn for a Saturday concert by Dolly tribute band Doll Parts in honor of her upcoming 72nd birthday. Learn more from The Brooklyn Paper here.
'Believe' Falls From Chart Dolly's children's album I Believe In You appears to have completed its chart run on Billboard, with the Jan. 6 charts released Tuesday showing it off the top 50 country album sales chart, down from No. 50 in its 11th chart week. Once Upon a Christmas with Kenny Rogers loses two to No. 47 holiday albums, off the top 50 country albums, down from No. 29, 28 to No. 68 Canadian pop albums and two to No. 9 country catalog, gaining three to No. 27 holiday album sales. "Hard Candy Christmas" by Dolly rises six on the holiday digital songs chart and holiday digital songs sales chart to No. 40 on each. Kesha's Rainbow, featuring the Dolly duet "Old Flames (Can't Hold A Candle To You)," moves up 19 to No. 101 Hot 200 pop albums in its 20th chart week and 18 to No. 76 top 100 current albums.
Jan. 1: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Dolly Named Knoxville Person Of The Year The Knoxville News-Sentinel over the weekend announced it had named Dolly its 2017 "Person of the Year" in honor of her wildfire recovery My People Fund, continued expansion of her Imagination Library charity, release of a children' CD to benefit the literacy program, continued expansion of Dollywood, her $1 million donation to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and her support of hurricane relief efforts. Her reaction to the news was: "Well, I am quite honored by the honor! When your own people tell you that they are proud of you, that means the world to me. There are so many people in East Tennessee who are heroes. It always feels a little awkward to be singled out for anything I have done. So I accept this award on behalf of everyone who tries to make the world a little better each and every day." Read more here.
'Dolly' On Get TV Get TV has announced it will celebrate Dolly's turning 72 with a late-night marathon of programming on the Sunday night/Monday morning closest to her birthday. The fun starts Sunday, Jan. 14, at 11:30 p.m. with an airing of the 1976-77 Dolly show featuring Ronnie Millsap followed at midnight by the Parton family episode, 12:30 a.m. by the Tom T. Hall episode, 1 a.m. by the Freddy Fender episode, 1:30 a.m. by the Chuck Woolery episode, 2 a.m. by the Lynn Anderson episode, 2:30 a.m. by the Anne Murray episode, 3 a.m. by the Trio episode, and 3:30 a.m. by the Parton family show again. A repeat of the 1977 Mac Davis special Feels Like Home airs at 4 a.m. with Dolly, Tom Jones and Donna Summer, and a repeat of the Merv Griffin Show with Dolly and Gloria Swanson airs at 5 a.m. The network will also show the Mel Tillis episode of Dolly at 11:30 p.m. Jan. 7, Tennessee Ernie Ford episode at 11:30 p.m. Jan. 21 and Kenny Rogers episode at 11:30 p.m. Jan. 28. Her episode of Designing Women airs at 4 a.m. Jan. 8.
