Feb. 24: Dolly's First Collab With The Wiggles Released
Australian children's performers The Wiggles on Thursday released a double Dolly single with one song being one of her two contributions to their upcoming country album, Wiggle Up, Giddy Up, and a re-worked cover of one of her most famous songs. In a press release, Dolly observed: "Well, I just wiggled my way out into the Wiggles' world! I had so much fun being a part of this project, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we have." The band released "Friends" with Dolly, available for streaming on YouTube here or in the media player above and available for download from Amazon here, and "Counting 1 to 5," a Wiggles cover of "9 To 5" re-written into a counting lesson, available on YouTube here or in the media player below. The band announced it will release its other collaboration with Dolly from the album, "We Will Always Be Friends," as a single the day the full CD is released, March 7. No word on whether it will also be a double Dolly single, as they also include a cover of "Love Is Like A Butterfly" on the album as well. Both "Friends" and "We Will Always Be Friends" are songs Dolly wrote about 20 years ago for adaptations of Imagination Library books for Dollywood's Imagination Playhouse Theater. Both songs appeared on the first edition of her children's album I Believe In You which had been sold exclusively to staff and volunteers of the book program in 2015, but both songs were removed from the final commercial version of the album released to stores two years later.
New Frozen Meals, Dessert Coming A new line of individual frozen meals from Dolly's food deal with Conagra and a third family-sized frozen dessert were revealed by the food giant at last week's Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference. While no date for shelving this year is yet to be revealed, officials from the company announced the chicken and dumplings, beef pot roast, shrimp and grits, and country fried steak will be hitting freezers at groceries nationwide as will a biscuit dough peach cobbler, which will join her cheesecake and chocolate pie. Click on the image at left from Conagra's presentation for a better look.
Imagination Library Becomes Political Fodder In Indiana Dolly's early childhood literacy program has been dragged into partisan politics yet again. Two years ago, Indiana became one of the now 21 states to invest tax dollars into the program to make it available statewide to all children as a key component of their comprehensive education strategy because research has shown it to be perhaps the single most cost-effective and impactful reading program available today, having been documented to dramatically raise incoming literacy levels of participating children and maintaining those gains through elementary school.
When the state allocated $2 million for the first year and $4 million for the second year at the urging of Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, he said at the time: "I learned from a very young age that reading is the key to education and opportunity. The ability to read can transport children to places they have never been before and open doors they never knew existed. By making Dolly Parton's Imagination Library available in every zip code, we are giving Hoosier children the tools they need for literary success." The state then went about helping each county that did not already have a privately-funded affiliate to establish one, relying on this state subsidy for half of the local share of costs.
Although the program operates in Dolly's name, she just covers its centralized administration through her Dollywood Foundation including sending regional directors to communities interested in starting the program and mentoring them in doing so, selecting the books, negotiating with the publisher, ordering the books, and mailing them. Local communities then pay just the actual book purchase and postage for the children in their community as their local share, about $24 per child annually. According to the program's most recent publicly-available tax return, the books cost about $60 million (the portion covered by local philanthropy) and administration and other programs about $5 million. The program operates across all 50 states but is statewide in 21 states where the state government has entered into a contract to provide all local communities a 50 percent match in state taxpayer funds to support the program, leaving each local affiliate to have to raise $12 per child annually instead of $24. This partnership, pioneered in Tennessee about 20 years ago, has allowed the program to expand exponentially in recent years and surpass over 260 million books distributed to over 3 million current enrollees per month in the U.S. plus Great Britain, Australia, and Canada.
Although Indiana has enjoyed multiple years of budget surplus and currently has a $2.5 billion reserve fund, new Republican Gov. Mike Braun decided the program was unnecessary and cut it from his budget. Democrats and some Republicans tried to restore it to the two-year budget, but the Republican supermajority in the legislature refused to do so. Parents, teachers, and public library officials were outraged and loudly complained from all over the state to the governor.
Dollywood Foundation President Jeff Conyers released a statement to The Daily Beasthere about the situation when asked, saying: "We are hopeful that Governor Braun and the Indiana Legislature will continue this vital investment by restoring the state's funding match for local Imagination Library programs. The beauty of the Imagination Library is that it unites us all—regardless of politics—because every child deserves the chance to dream big and succeed.For the past two years, the State of Indiana has been a proud partner in bringing Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to over 125,000 Hoosier children each month. Together, we've helped nurture a love of reading, given families precious moments of joy, and built a foundation for lifelong learning."
That comment was misreported by numerous media outlets as coming on behalf of Dolly personally by her spokesperson instead of explaining it was by the foundation president on behalf of himself.
The Indiana Library Federation noted this is the first time a state government has reneged on its obligations to the program after entering into an agreement to support it statewide in the program's 30-year history. As of this month, 125,000 Indiana children are enrolled in the program and over the past two years they have received 1.8 million books in 89 of the state's 92 counties. Officials had expected to begin operations in those final three counties before the end of this year.
In response to the outrage, Gov. Braun declined to ask the legislature to consider reinstating the funding, and his budget passed as proposed with the full cut to the program. However, he announced he has asked his wife, First Lady Maureen Braun, to take on responsibility for raising the entire sum from private philanthropy to continue supplementing the program statewide, a very difficult if not impossible task. Tennessee and other states with statewide programs have often sought additional funds from private sponsorship to add to tax dollars, but given the huge number of participating children and the overall cost, the scope of the program's statewide status makes it impossible to continue at that level without the majority of the match coming from a legislative allocation.
Conyers responded to the news, according to multiple reports, with the following statement: "I deeply appreciate Governor Braun's commitment to early childhood literacy and the leadership of First Lady Maureen Braun in championing Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. The Imagination Library brings the joy of reading to over 125,000 Hoosier children each month and we are encouraged by Governor and First Lady Braun's support to ensure its future in Indiana. We look forward to working with the Governor and First Lady, state leaders, and Local Program Partners to keep books in the hands of Indiana's youngest learners and strengthen this foundation for a lifetime of success."
'IWALY' Tops Another 'Billboard' Critics' Poll Billboard magazine's critics released another list last week with Dolly on top. After having named her the best country artist of all time and "I Will Always Love You" the best country love song of all time, their critics named her original recording of the track as the best break-up song of all time in all genres of music. Check it out here.
See Dolly's Heartsongs Costumes Thanks to correspondent Jason Worley for visiting Dolly's costume exhibit at Dollywood's Heartsong Lodge resort and sharing the images with us in a gallery here. The curated collection, open through March 12 in the Acoustic Lounge, is open to all resort hotel, dining, merchandise, or spa patrons daily and is also accessible Thursday nights for Tennessee residents and Dollywood season passholders without a stay or additional purchase. Operating hours are 10 a.m. to noon and 5-8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 10 a.m. to noon and 5-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Dolly Helps Sabrina Dominate U.K., Aussie Charts Dolly's new duet with Sabrina Carpenter will allow her Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition to recapture the No. 2 album spot in the U.S. when charts are released Tuesday, Billboard confirms, as the expanded edition sold 74,000 copies, had almost 2,000 album-equivalent single song downloads, and streams equal to 84,000 units for total credits of 160,000 for the week.
On the British charts, which are released on Fridays and capture new releases faster than the U.S. tallies, the album regains the No. 1 spot on the pop charts, up from No. 5, holding steady at No. 2 streaming and gaining 12 to No. 2 Scottish, 16 to No. 2 sales, 63 to No. 8 downloads, 16 to No. 2 physical sales, and 16 to No. 2 vinyl sales. Although the success is largely due to Dolly's new duet vocals on a re-recorded "Please, Please, Please," the U.K. charts didn't see fit to add Dolly's name to the single credit as it re-enters the pop top 100 overseas at No. 9, and gains 22 to No. 12 streaming, 36 to No. 20 sales, 64 mto No. 18 downloads, 19 to No. 16 audio streaming, and 45 to No. 6 video streaming. Elsewhere across the pond, Post Malone's country album F 1 Trillion, featuring a Dolly duet, holds steady at No. 5 country albums and re-enters the top 100 pop downloads at No. 97, while Beyonce's Cowboy Carter gains one to No. 2 country, holding steady at No. 1 Americana, and sliding 23 to No. 95 streaming and 21 to No. 87 downloads. On the country compilations albums chart, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 holds steady at No. 1, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection loses one to No. 4, Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables falls three to No. 10 in its fourth chart week, while Dolly's The Monument Singles falls back out of the top 20, down No. 6, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe re-enters the top 20 at No. 8, and Original Album Series by Linda Ronstadt falls back off the top 20, down from No. 18.
Down Under, Carpenter's album regains the No. 1 pop position, up from No. 4, while the song "Please, Please, Please," again without crediting Dolly, jumps 22 places to No. 17 on the Australian pop singles chart. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion rises one to No. 5 country and drops out of the top 50 pop albums chart, down from No. 47, while Cowboy Carter slips seven to No. 23 Australian country albums.
In the U.S., Post Malone's F 1 Trillion holds steady at No. 17 Top 200 albums, No. 3 country albums, and No. 14 Canadian albums, gaining two on the current albums list at No. 42. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter dips one to No. 5 country albums, holds steady at No. 2 Americana/folk albums, and loses 13 on the Top 200 to No. 32, eight to No. 36 sales, and one to No. 24 current sales.
Feb. 17: Sabrina Carpenter Duet Drops On 'Please, Please, Please'
Pop star Sabrina Carpenter on Friday released her promised expanded edition of her Grammy-winning album Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition fesaturing a remix of her No. 1 single "Please, Please, Please" as a duet with Dolly. The country-influenced arrangement also featured censoring of one line from a curse word at Dolly's request. Download your copy from Amazon here and stream on YouTube here or in the media player above. Dolly released behind-the-scenes footage of the two listening to the finished song to her social media here.
Potential Musical 'Dollys' Revealed, Symphony Singers, Too Dolly last week announced 15 finalists from the search for Dolly casting call for her upcoming bio-musical Dolly: An Original Musical. Check them out in a reel posted to social media here. She also last week revealed several vocalists who will be touring with the upcoming symphonic showcase of her music, Threads: My Songs In Symphony. Learn more about those singers here.
Dollywood Named A 'Forbes' Best Employer Forbes magazine last week named Dolly's theme park, Dollywood, to its list of the best 498 midsized employers in the U.S., one of just 15 companies in the travel and leisure sector.
U.S., U.K., Aussie Chart Updates Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables loses its pole position on the U.K. country compilation albums chart after two weeks, the charts released Friday confirmed. The album falls six to No. 7 for the week in its third chart week, while Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 regains one to No. 1, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection rises two to No. 3, and Dolly's The Monument Singles holds steady at No. 6, but The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe falls out of the top 20, down from No. 20, and Original Album Series by Linda Ronstadt holds steady at No. 18. Post Malone's country album F 1 Trillion, featuring a Dolly duet, regains three to No. 5 country albums while Beyonce's Cowboy Carter gains one to No. 3 country, holding steady at No. 1 Americana, and sliding 20 to No. 79 pop, off the Scottish chart (down from No. 85), eight to No. 72 streaming, off the top 100 sales chart (down from No. 71), and 46 on the downloads list to No. 20.
Down Under, Post Malone's F 1 Trillion rises one to No. 6 country, while Cowboy Carter slides two to No. 16 Australian country albums. Malone's album holds steady on the top 50 Australian pop albums at No. 47.
In the U.S., Dolly's Little Sparrow falls back off the bluegrass albums chart, down from one week at No. 14, the Feb. 15 Billboard charts released Tuesday showed. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion gains three to No. 17 Top 200 albums, and one to No. 3 country albums, falling one to No. 14 Canadian albums, and re-entering the top 50 current albums list at No. 44. Beyonce's post-Grammy push gives her Cowboy Carter, a 33-point gain to No. 4 country albums and 12-point climb to No. 2 Americana/folk albums, re-entering the Top 200 at No. 19, sales chart at No. 28, and current sales at No. 23.
Feb. 10: Dolly Duets With Sabrina Carpenter Fresh off her Grammy wins, pop artist Sabrina Carpenter last week announced she would be releasing a deluxe version fo her album Short & Sweet on Friday featuring a collaboration with Dolly on a remix of her No. 1 hit "Please, Please, Please." Announcing it on social media, Carpenter said: "as a thank you for giving this album 2 Grammy's :') short n' sweet deluxe is now available for pre order.. and yes that does say featuring Miss Dolly Parton…. she wouldn't want me to swear but holy shit!!!!!" Dolly responded with a heart and butterfly emoji. Reserve your copy here!
'IWALY' Named Country's Best Love Song By 'Billboard' Billboard on Friday named its critics' choices for the 50 best love songs in country music history and Dolly came in at No. 26 with "Rockin' Years" with Ricky Van Shelton (a song written by her late brother, Floyd Parton) and No. 1 with her own "I Will Always Love You." See the full list here.
'Jolene' Goes Triple Platinum Overseas Dolly's single "Jolene" was certified three times platinum in the U.K. on Jan. 31 for sales and steams equivalent to 1.8 million, it was announced by BPI on Friday.
Illinois Could Get Dolly Plates A bill was introduced last week in the Illinois Senate that if passed would make the state the third, after Tennessee and Ohio, to offer specialty license plates to benefit Dolly's Imagination Library early childhood literacy program if it passed. The legislation is SB 1506.
Hospital Gift Highlighted The Union Medical Center in Dolly's mother's hometown in rural South Carolina held its ribbon cutting last week and Dolly sent a video message in recognition of her $100,000 gift to build a healing garden on the property in honor of her mother. Check out a news story here.
'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' Reboot Nearing With Dolly EP Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans went crazy earlier last week upon news that the series was nearing closure on a deal with Hulu to order a reboot pilot starring and executive produced by lead Sarah Michelle Gellar. Variety shared the exclusive report here, which also noted Dolly has signed on to executive produce for Sandollar Films. The company she owned with her late manager Sandy Gallin produced the original film and co-produced the original TV show, but Gallin was the listed executive producer instead of Dolly. Now that he is deceased, she will take on that role.
Dolly Costume Exhibit Opens At Resort Dollywood may be temporarily closed until the new season starts but the park's Heartsong Lodge & Resort is hosting an exhibit of pieces from Dolly's wardrobe now through March 12. The curated collection is displayed in the Acoustic Lounge and is open to resort guests. Items include outfits from Dolly's 2021 appearance on Grace & Frankie, her 2002 Halo & Horns tour, her 1970 cover of The Fairest of Them All and other items from her archives selected by Dolly's niece and Director of Archive Services, Rebecca Seaver. The exhibit is open to all resort hotel, dining, merchandise, or spa patrons daily and is accessible Thursday nights for Tennessee residents and Dollywood season passholders without a stay or additional purchase. Operating hours are 10 a.m. to noon and 5-8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 10 a.m. to noon and 5-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Seattle Men's Chorus Plans Dolly Shows The Seattle Men's Chorus in April will debut a new tribute show about Dolly and her music which they will perform April 6 in Seattle, April 13 in Bellingham, May 3 in Tacoma, and May 18 in Everett. Read more about it from Broadway Worldhere.
Dolly Sends Wishes To High School '9 To 5'-ers Dolly sent video greetings to the actors at Elkhart High School appearing in a production next month of her 9 To 5: The Musical. Learn more from WNDU here.
Family Album Remains No. 1 In Minor U.K. Chart Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables retains its No. 1 position for a second consecutive week on the British country compilation albums chart, it was revealed Friday. The project falls off the overall album sales tally, down from No. 100, physical album sales, down from No,. 94, and Americana albums, down from No. 22. Elsewhere on the compilations list, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 regains three to No. 2, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection inches up one to No. 5, and top 20 re-entries are seen for Dolly's The Monument Singles at No. 6, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe at No. 20, and Original Album Series by Linda Ronstadt at No. 18. Post Malone's country album F 1 Trillion, featuring a Dolly duet, slips two to No. 8 country albums while Beyonce's Cowboy Carter sees an uptick following its Grammy wins, gaining three to No. 4 country and eight to No. 1 Americana while re-entering pop at No. 59, Scottish at No. 85, streaming at No. 64, sales at No. 71 and downloads at No. 20.
Down Under, Post Malone's F 1 Trillion holds steady at No. 7 country, while Cowboy Carter gains 17 to No. 14 Australian country albums. Malone's album re-enters the top 50 Australian pop albums at No. 47.
In the U.S., Dolly's Little Sparrow re-enters the bluegrass albums chart at No. 14 on the Feb. 9 Billboard charts released Tuesday. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion drops two to No. 20 Top 200 albums, losing one to No. 4 country albums and No. 13 Canadian albums, and falling back off the top 50 current albums list, down from No. 49. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, which won't see its post-Grammy bump on the U.S. charts until later this week, falls back out of the Top 200 albums, down from No. 179, losing seven to No. 37 country albums and two to No. 14 Americana/folk albums.
Feb. 3: Jimmy Carter Beats Dolly For Grammy Dolly on Sunday lost the Grammy for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording for the audio book of Behind The Seams: My Life In Rhinestones to the late former President Jimmy Carter for a collection of Sunday School lessons. Other nominees were The Beatles, George Clinton, and Barbra Steisand. The win marked Carter's fourth Grammy for spoken word recording. It marked Dolly's first nomination in the category, expanding her number of genres to 10. However, Beyonce's first-time nominations in the country and Americana genres took her out of a tie with Dolly for the female artist with the most nominations in different genres to 11. Their previous three-way-tie-holder Janet Jackson fell to third place with nine genres. Beyonce was the night's big winner, with her album Cowboy Carter, on which Dolly provides two voice-overs plus wrote the classic "Jolene" which is covered on the project, won Album of the Year as well as Country Album of the Year. In addition, she won Country Duo/Group Performance with Dolly's goddaughter Miley Cyrus for "II Most Wanted."
Dolly Musical, Dolly U Announced At Belmont
Dolly on Tuesday officially announced the dates and details of what she had previously revealed months ago: that her bio-musical Dolly: An Original Musical will debut in Nashville for a test run this summer prior to next year's move to Broadway. In an appearance at Belmont University here or in the media player above, she revealed tickets went on sale Tuesday for the four-week engagement which includes a world premiere preview Friday, July 18, continuing through Aug. 7, with the official opening night occurring Aug. 8. The run ends Aug. 17. She said her favorite song from the show was "I Wouldn't Be Here If You Hadn't Been There," about those who elevated her to where she is today and which she said she would be releasing as a single, and director Bartlett Sher said his was "God, Sex, and Music," which he said encapsulated Dolly herself and her contradictions. The show also served as the first project for Dolly U, a new partnership Dolly has created with Belmont to provide immersive educational experiences for students with the performing arts, working on all aspects of production. Tickets are available here. The show is still casting, with 126 video submission slots for members of the Actors Equity union eligible to submit to casting directors Carrie Gardner and Jason Thinger, by Feb. 14 for the three Dollys, Porter Wagoner, Carl Dean/Johnny Cash, young Judy Ogle, adult Judy, and Sandy Gallin.
'DNA' Debuts Overseas Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA -- Family, Faith & Fables must have shipped all of its U.K. sales last week because it debuted on the British charts much higher than it did in the U.S. The collection pops in at No. 100 overall album sales (includes downloads), No, 94 physical album sales, No. 22 Americana albums and No. 1 U.K. country compilation albums. Stateside, on the other hand, the album never sold enough in one week to appear on any all-genre sales charts and only appeared on the bluegrass albums list, one that only takes sales of a few hundred copies to enter the top 10. Elsewhere in Britain, Post Malone's country album F 1 Trillion, featuring a Dolly duet, slips three to No. 6 country albums while Beyonce's Cowboy Carterloses two to No. 7 U.K. country albums and five to No. 9 Americana albums. On the country compilation albums list, in addition to Dolly's family album, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 drops two to No. 5 and Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection inches down one to No. 6, while Original Album Series by Linda Ronstadt falls back out of the top 20, down from No. 20.
Down Under, Post Malone's F 1 Trillion loses two to No. 7 country, while Cowboy Carter slips three to No. 31 Australian country albums. Malone's drops out of the top 50 Australian pop albums, down from No. 49.
In the U.S., Post Malone's F 1 Trillion drops two to No. 18 Top 200 albums on the Feb. 2 Billboard charts released Tuesday, remaining steady at No. 3 country albums, losing one to No. 12 Canadian albums, and re-entering the top 50 current albums list at No. 49. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, loses 21 to No. 179 Top 200 albums, holding steady at No. 30 country albums, and gaining one to No. 12 Americana/folk albums.
