April 30: Dollywood Extends Passes To June 1, 2021 Dollywood on Wednesday followed sister park Silver Dollar City's lead from Tuesday and announced that 2020 season passes will automatically be extended to June 1, 2021, and renewing passholders will be able to purchase discounted passes next year to extend their use through the end of the 2021 season. An anticipated opening date, however, has yet to be set, the announcement noted.
Dolly's Coronavirus Donation Noted The official tracker of potential Coronavirus vaccines has added Dolly's name thanks to her funding of research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. The list here includes a preclinical project from AstraZeneca and Vanderbilt which is described as: "Global drug maker AstraZeneca signed a deal with Vanderbilt University Medical Center to develop antibodies identified at the school's lab. Vanderbilt has been screening the blood of Covid-19 survivors, isolating antibody-producing white blood cells, and using them to clone potential treatments. Under the agreement, Vanderbilt is providing those antibodies to AstraZeneca, which will choose the best candidates for clinical development. Vanderbilt's work has been funded by the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and Dolly Parton."
Circle To Stream Dolly Opry Backstage The new country music broadcast television network Circle will provide a special livestreamed night of programming online here Saturday night that opens with Scotty McCreery on Circle Sessions at 7:30 p.m., followed by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood on The Grand Ole Opry at 8 p.m. and Dolly on Backstage at the Opry: Dolly Week at 9 p.m.
Tillis Album Contains Tribute To Dolly Pam Tillis last week released her new CD, Looking For A Feeling, which features the Dolly tribute song "Dolly 1969." Get your copy here!
Watch 'Goodnight With Dolly' Thursday Evening Don't forget tune in at 7 p.m. Eastern Thursday to see Dolly read There's A Hole In The Log In The Bottom Of The Lake by Loren Long for her "Goodnight With Dolly" series on YouTube here or in the media player below.
April 29: Christmas Album Coming, Perry Interviews Dolly
Dolly's much-anticipated Christmas album, delayed since the 2017 holiday season, will be released this year, her Creative Director Steve Summers disclosed in an interview Tuesday with Linda Perry. He noted his team was working on preparations for album cover shoots for the project and that it would be coming out in 2020. The album had originally been planned, with a corresponding holiday tour, for 2017 release but was pushed back for the release of I Believe In You as an Imagination Library fundraiser and again in 2018 for the release of the Perry-produced Dumplin' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Nothing was mentioned about any possible tour this time, as all current music tours have been cancelled and many industry observers have expressed concerns that live concerts may not be able to return until 2021. Summers' interview, which focused largely on how he designs Dolly's wardrobe throughout the year, preceded Perry's interview with Dolly herself, where they talked about her spirituality, her songs (including the backstory for "Gypsy, Joe, And Me"), when Paul McCartney became starstruck around her, and when she discovered herself. The video podcast, which streamed as a fundraiser for the Grammy's MusiCares charity to assist with COVID-19 relief, was not available for viewing afterward as of press time, but Perry's We Are Hear channel on YouTube did have a separate 10-minute discussion that had been previously filmed at Sheryl Crow's house that featured her, Dolly, and Grimes being interviewed by Perry, which premiered after Dolly's Tuesday interview and is viewable here or in the media player above.
'Goodnight With Dolly' Reminder Don't forget to watch Dolly read There's A Hole In The Log In The Bottom Of The Lake by Loren Long Thursday night in her "Goodnight With Dolly" series on YouTube here.
'Dolly Parton's America' Wins Award, Is Nominated For Another The excellent podcast Dolly Parton's America on Tuesday won a gold medal from the New York Festivals Radio Awards and was nominated the same day by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences for a Webby Award for Best Mini-Series (Podcast), winners of which will be announced May 19.
U.S. Chart Updates "Islands In The Stream" by Dolly and Kenny Rogers falls back off the 25-position country digital song sales chart this week, down from No. 25, the May 2 Billboard charts released Tuesday showed. But downloads of the track continue to keep Ultimate Dolly Parton on the 50-position country albums chart, where it loses seven spots to No. 48. Dolly's collaboration "Faith" with Galantis featuring Mr. Probz inches up one place to No. 20 this week on the hot dance/electronic songs chart.
Latest On Dollywood's COVID-19 Closure Dollywood is still in the dark as to when Dolly's theme park could re-open. The Tennessee Governor on Tuesday extended his closure order that includes amusement facilities such as theme parks, which was set to expire, through May 31, meaning the earliest the park could open is June 1, but closer to that date the governor is expected to re-examine the situation and decide whether or not to extend the closure again. And even once given clearance from the state to open for the season, the park is expected to consult with its health partners at Humana and review CDC recommendations before deciding when to open, so it could be later than the state ends up allowing. Although the park has yet to address season pass concessions due to the closure, sister park Silver Dollar City, which likewise has no information yet on an opening date for the current season, on Tuesday announced it will extend all 2020 season passes to June 1, 2021, following competitor Hershey Park's lead. (Other major competitors, Cedar Fair, which owns King's Island, Carowinds, and Cedar Point, among others, and Knotts are providing free 2021 passes for 2020 passholders.)
South African Choir Tackles 'Jolene' Check out this cover of "Jolene" by the Ndlovu Youth Choir from South Africa making its rounds on Facebook. Listen here or in the media player below.
April 27: Linda Perry To Interview Dolly Tuesday Dolly announced on Facebook over the weekend she'll be a guest Tuesday on pal Linda Perry's live online streaming show "What's Up With Linda Perry" presented by Perry's We Are Here project to raise money for the MusiCares Foundation for COVID-19 relief. The program airs at 12 noon Pacific time/3 p.m. Eastern. Watch here.
Australian Chart Update Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) holds steady at No. 5 its 449th chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release.
'Buffy' Production Story Makes Rounds Again The story that Dolly's production company was responsible for the cult series Buffy The Vampire Slayer which makes the rounds every few years is circulating once again, surprising people who were unaware of the connection. Check out a story about it from Todayhere.
April 25: New Dolly, Zach Williams Music Video Premieres
Dolly and Zach Williams on Friday released the music video for their recent single, "There Was Jesus". Watch it here or in the media player above.
Television Station: Stampede, Other Theaters Opening May 9 Although there has been no announcement of when Dollywood will open for the season, and Dolly's dinner theatres aren't taking reservations online right now until May 23, a report this week from WBIR stated that her dinner shows in Pigeon Forge will reopen for performances May 9. Read the article here.
Vandalized Knoxville Mural Repaired Dolly's Knoxville mural that had been vandalized has been repaired and changed, with the hair and makeup changed to reflect a mid-1970s Dolly instead of mid-1990s Dolly, and it has been coated with anti-graffiti paint. Learn more from The Knoxville News-Sentinelhere.
Fonda Does Dolly On TikTok Jane Fonda took to TikTok this week with her quarantine routine set to Dolly's "9 To 5." Watch it here.
Vinyl Compilation Coming To Wal-Mart Facebook fan site Rare Dolly reports that an exclusive violet vinyl LP of the 2011 Sony Legacy compilation CD 16 Biggest Hits will be available from Wal-Mart in July.
U.K. Chart Updates The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe sits atop the British top 20 country compilation albums tally, retaining its No. 1 position this week, it was revealed Friday, while Essential Dolly Parton slips one to No. 4 on the same chart, Gold: The Hits Collection – Dolly Parton inches down one to No. 13, Ultimate Dolly Parton moves up four to No. 9, Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony gains 12 to No. 7 and 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) moves up three to No. 3.
'Goodnight With Dolly' Series Continues Dolly on Thursday read the fourth installment in her "Goodnight With Dolly" webseries for her Imagination Library, reading Max And The Tag Along Moon. Watch it here or the media player below.
April 22: Dollywood May, Or May Not, Open June 1 When will Dollywood open to the public during the COVID-19 crisis? While Tennessee's governor has announced he will not be extending his "safer at home" order beyond April 30, allowing businesses to resume normal operations starting May 1, no announcement has been made yet of when the park plans to open to welcome visitors for its 2020 season. The Pigeon Forge Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday announced a possible date in the comments section of a live video about most dinner theatres and attractions in the city re-opening May 9, answering a viewer's question with: "We are awaiting official word from Dollywood and Splash Country but the tentative date that we have is June 1." That led WBIR to contact the park and be told that the park is talking about it and making plans but isn't ready yet to announce an opening date, which will be dependent on guidelines from the state on safely re-opening. They added that the park plans to reveal the opening date to season passholders first and then to the general public.
'Islands' Back On The Charts With another batch of sales increases following memorials to the death of Kenny Rogers, his massive duet with Dolly on "Islands In The Stream" re-enters the 25-position country digital song sales chart this week at No. 25, the April 25 Billboard charts released Tuesday showed. The sales also returned Ultimate Dolly Parton back onto the 50-position country albums chart at No. 41. Dolly's collaboration "Faith" with Galantis featuring Mr. Probz slips one place to No. 21 this week on the hot dance/electronic songs chart.
April 20: Dolly Reads Story, Furloughs Remaining Park Staff
Dolly on Thursday night released the third installment of her quarantine storybook series for Imagination Library: "Goodnight With Dolly." This episode featured the book Llama Llama Red Pajama. Watch it here or in the media player above. In related news, Dolly last week released a message of encouragement during the coronavirus crisis to Tennessee's health care workers here, and WVLT reported here that Dollywood on Monday will furlough all remaining employees for the indefinite closure of the park until it is safe to open due to COVID-19.
U.K., Aussie Chart Updates Across the pond, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe re-enters the British top 20 country compilation albums tally at No. 1, while Essential Dolly Parton rises 13 to No. 3 on the same U.K. top 20 country compilation albums chart this week, it was revealed Friday, as Gold: The Hits Collection – Dolly Parton re-enters the top 20 at No. 12, Ultimate Dolly Parton gains seven to No. 13 and Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony re-enters the top 20 at No. 19 and 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) re-enters the top 20 at No. 6. Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) inches down one to No. 5 its 448th chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release.
April 15: Dollywood Goes Into 'Hibernation' Like a black bear in the Smokies, Dollywood is in "hibernation mode," the park told television station WATE here Tuesday. Uncertain as to when it will reopen due to the coronavirus pandemic, the parks and resort are retaining a skeleton staff at 50 percent salary and have furloughed all other employees until further notice with 100 percent premiums being paid on their health care insurance while out of work "for the next few months." In a statement the park noted: "We know this situation presents employees and their families with immense hardship. Every person that works at Dollywood's Parks or Dollywood's DreamMore Resort and Spa is essential and this decision was not made lightly." The park will continue to monitor the situation and consult with medical experts and follow public health recommendations to open this season as soon as possible, the story added the release said. All competing parks are also closed indefinitely and some are starting to announce special compensation for season passholders. Hershey Park on Tuesday revealed it hopes to open in early June and will extend 2020 season passes to June 30, 2021 (that park is usually only open weekends in April and May and then daily from Memorial Day forward). Cedar Fair, which owns Cedar Point, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, and Carowinds, among other parks, revealed Tuesday it will provide free 2021 season passes to all 2020 season passholders in addition to honoring their passes for whatever time in 2020 their parks eventually get to open. Dollywood has been responding to passholders that they anticipate announcing special benefits soon and have hinted that they may open extra days during the 2020 season for passholders. It is worth noting that the formerly "closed" dates of Tuesdays and Thursdays in August and September and Mondays and Tuesdays in November and December are now listed on the park's schedule as "TBD," suggesting they may open at least some of those dates to make up for lost time this season.
U.S. Chart Updates Dolly's collaboration "Faith" with Galantis featuring Mr. Probz loses two spots to No. 20 this week on the hot dance/electronic songs chart, the April 18 Billboard numbers released Tuesday showed. "Islands In The Stream" with Kenny Rogers falls off the country digital song sales chart, down from No. 20, and Ultimate Dolly Parton falls off the country albums chart, down from No. 43.
Dolly Re-Premieres 'I'm Gone' Video Dolly promoted last week's digital re-issue of her Sugar Hill recordings with a brief interview Tuesday in Paper magazine and an online streaming premiere of her previously-broadcasted 2003 music video "I'm Gone." Check them out here.
April 13: Dolly Celebrates Easter From Home, Sings 'He's Alive'
Dolly gave fans an Easter egg on Sunday with a social media greeting accompanied by an acoustic take on "He's Alive." Watch it here or in the media player above.
A&E Special Repeats Monday If you missed Sunday's U.S. premiere of the BBC documentary Dolly: Here I Am, which aired on A&E under the title Biography: Dolly, you can catch it again at 7 p.m, Monday before the network airs Kenny Rogers' farewell concert (featuring Dolly) under the title Biography: Kenny Rogers at 9 p.m. Dolly's show then repeats at 3 a.m. Tuesday.
U.K., Aussie Chart Updates Across the pond, Essential Dolly Parton drops eight to No. 16 on the British top 20 country compilation albums chart this week, it was revealed Friday, while Ultimate Dolly Parton loses seven to No. 20 and Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) falls off the top 20, down from No. 13 and The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe also drops off the top 20, down from No. 20. Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) inches up one to No. 4 its 447th chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release.
April 10: Sugar Hill Dolly Albums Released For Download Out of print and unavailable for digital purchase for almost 15 years, Dolly Records regained control of Dolly's Sugar Hill/Welk Music recordings and on Friday re-issued them for digital download. 2001's Little Sparrow, 2002's Halos & Horns, 2003's For God & Country, 2004's Live & Well and 2005's Those Were The Days are now available. (1999's The Grass Is Blue was recorded under a different rights contract and has remained available digitally from Sugar Hill since its original release.) In addition, Dolly Records on Friday also re-issued its own 2011 release Better Day, which had been removed from streaming services several months ago.
Dolly Jokes With COVID-19 Poem Dolly took humor to the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, sharing to social media a comedic poem about the quarantines. Watch it here.
More From London '9 To 5' Show Closing With the London closure of Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical, London Theatre Direct on Thursday shared a story on the show's West End run. Check it out here.
Dollywood Helps Local Charities With Dollywood still closed due to coronavirus, the park donated more than $16,000 to the local Sevier County Food Ministries and commissioned its wardrobe team and costume shop team to produce masks for East Tennessee Children's Hospital, delivering over 850 masks over the course of two days and have asked the employees to continue making masks at home using supplies on hand at the park. They also provided 200 ponchos to the Sevier County Emergency Management Agency, Pigeon Forge Fire Department and the Sevier County Ambulance Service.
'Goodnight With Dolly' Airs, Contest Announced The second Goodnight With Dolly storytime aired on YouTube here or in the media player below Thursday night with her own Coat Of Many Colors. Her Imagination Library charity on Thursday also announced a contest where fans may post a photo of their family watching the storytime with the hashtag #goodnightwithdolly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Twitter to be entered for one free autographed copy of that week's book. The contest will repeat each week, so they also announced the order of the remaining books in the series: Llama Llama Red Pajama, Max and the Tag Along Moon, There's a Hole in the Log, Last Stop on Market Street, Violet the Pilot, I Am A Rainbow, Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon and Pass It On.
April 9: Dolly Helps CMT Remember Kenny In Tribute
Dolly was among the stars paying tribute to the late Kenny Rogers on CMT Wednesday night from their own homes and studios. She accompanied herself on guitar to sing the 1977 Rogers-written hit "Sweet Music Man," which she had covered that year on her album Here You Come Again. Watch her performance here or in the media player above.
Coronavirus Updates For Statue, Musical, Storytime Someone has a sense of humor about the coronavirus pandemic and added a protection mask to Dolly's statue on the Sevier County Courthouse Square, WATE reported here. Unfortunately, the disease has ended the run for Dolly's West End production of her 9 To 5: The Musical in London, it was revealed this week as the order to close theatres there was extended to May 31. Shows had been closed through April 26, which would have allowed for a few more final performances before the extension of the show was scheduled to close. The show's official Facebook page on Wednesday thanked the city for supporting its 14-month run, noting it had been extended from an originally-planned six-month run, and that the cast hopes to soon launch another national tour once the theatre closures lift. In other news, Dolly's Imagination Library has announced that her "Goodnight With Dolly" story Thursday night will be her very own Coat Of Many Colors. A Facebook event page is available here.
More Rogers Sales Influences On U.S. Charts The post-death sales influx for Kenny Rogers benefitted his duet with Dolly on "Islands In The Stream" for a second week, the April 11 Billboard charts showed. The song falls 18 places to No. 20 country digital song sales but falls off the overall digital songs chart, down from No. 2, and Hot Country Songs chart, down from No. 20, where it marked Dolly's 74th top 20 single, 108th credited chart single on that tally and extended her record for the most decades with top 20 country singles, extending her record from six decades to seven. Their most recent duet, "You Can't Make Old Friends," falls off the overall digital song sales, down from No. 28, and country digital song sales, down from No. 12. On the Country Albums Chart, Ultimate Dolly Parton drops 29 places to No. 43 thanks to the downloads of "Islands In The Stream" counting toward album-sales-equivalents of the album (since the song does not appear on any of Kenny's current greatest hits collections due to rights issues, so it only appears on Dolly's compilations). Elsewhere on the charts, Dolly's collaboration "Faith" with Galantis featuring Mr. Probz loses five to No. 18 on the hot dance/electronic songs chart.
Dolly Has Message For Dollywood Customers Dolly took to Facebook on Wednesday to reach out to Dollywood's customers to encourage them to keep the faith. Check out her message here or in the video player below.
April 6: Watch Dolly All Over TV This Week
The coming several days are huge for Dolly fans to watch television while following stay-at-home advice to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. As was reported here last week, things start Monday with AXS's tribute to the late Kenny Rogers by airing the 1989 special Kenny, Dolly & Willie: Something Inside So Strong at 8 p.m. followed by the 1985 HBO special Kenny & Dolly: Real Love at 9 p.m. The two shows repeat throughout the week (check TV listings at the left hand column of this page for details). Wednesday night CMT gets in on the action with living room interviews and at-home performances from numerous stars, including Dolly, memorializing him in CMT Giants Kenny Rogers, which will also repeat a few times throughout the week. All three of those programs are being aired as benefits for the MusiCares COVID 19 Artist Relief Fund. On Thursday night, Dolly returns to YouTube for the second installment of her "Goodnight With Dolly" bedtime story series highlighting Imagination Library books, a project that was highlighted Sunday night on NBC Nightly News as the week's "There's Good News Tonight" segment, which you may watch here or in the media player above. Then, as was also previously revealed here, A&E brings its Dolly marathon to the television Sunday with Blue Valley Songbird at 1 p.m., Joyful Noise at 3 p.m., Dolly: 50 Years At The Grand Ole Opry at 6 p.m. and the premiere of Biography: Dolly at 8 p.m. (which repeats several times over coming days and is the American showing of December's Dolly Parton: Here I Am BBC documentary), followed the next day by the premiere of Kenny's farewell concert from 2017 as part of the premiere of A&E's new Biography: Kenny Rogers, which had been scheduled prior to his passing. (And thanks to Tracey for alerting me that BBC2 viewers will be able to catch Dolly: 50 Years At The Grand Ole Opry at 9 p.m. Monday, April 13.)
Australian Chart Update Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) rises six places to No. 5 its 446th chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release.
April 4: 'Kenny & Dolly,' 'Kenny, Dolly & Willie' Specials To Air
Two of Kenny Rogers' three classic television specials with Dolly will air next week in memorial to his recent passing, cable and satellite channel AXS TV announced Friday. The duo's 1989 NBC concert special with Willie Nelson, Kenny, Dolly & Willie: Something Inside So Strong, will air at 8 p.m. Monday followed by the pair's 1985 HBO concert special Kenny & Dolly: Real Love at 9 p.m. The former will repeat at 11 p.m. Monday, noon Tuesday, and noon Sunday, April 12, while the latter will repeat at midnight Tuesday, noon Thursday and 9 a.m. Sunday. April 12. During the programs, viewers will be encouraged to donate in Kenny's memory to the COVID-19 Artist Relief Fund at the MusiCares Foundation. Learn more here.
'Dolly' Continues Run On GET TV GET TV has confirmed its run of classic 1976-77 Dolly episodes will continue through April. The show airs at 6 a.m. on Saturdays with Tom T. Hall this week, Mel Tillis April 11, Freddy Fender April 18 and Ronnie Milsap April 25.
U.K. Chart Updates After one week at No. 63 thanks to sales following Kenny Rogers' death, his duet with Dolly on "Islands In The Stream" falls back off the top 100 singles chart in the U.K., it was revealed Friday. 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) drops back off the British top 20 country compilation albums chart this week, down from No. 20, while Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) gains three to No. 13, Essential Dolly Parton gains seven to No. 8, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe re-enters the top 20 at No. 20, and Ultimate Dolly Parton re-enters the top 20 at No. 13.
Dolly Gives Jolene A Handwashing Lesson Dolly on Friday gave Dollywood's social media a little handwashing lesson with a parody of her classic "Jolene," Watch here or in the media player below.
April 3: Dolly's Bedtime Stories Series Starts
The "Goodnight With Dolly" series of Imagination Library storytimes premiered Thursday evening on YouTube. Watch it here or in the media player above. To promote the program, she launched a TikTok account here and appeared via satellite on NBC's Today show here and here.
CMT Honors Kenny Rogers Next Week CMT on Thursday announced a virtual tribute to the late Kenny Rogers to benefit the COVID-19 relief fund of the MusiCares Foundation which will include Dolly. CMT Giants Kenny Rogers: A Benefit For MusiCares airs at 8 p.m. Eastern Wednesday with repeats at 8 p.m. April 10 on MTV Live and noon April 11 on CMT. It will feature interviews and/or performances from Dolly, Gavin DeGraw, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, Jennifer Nettles, Lady Antebellum, Lionel Richie, Michael McDonald, Randy Houser, Rascal Flatts, Vince Gill and more filmed in self-isolation. Viewers will be invited to donate to The Recording Academy's MusiCares Foundation COVID-19 fund.
April 2: Dolly Gives Vanderbilt $1 Million For COVID Research Dolly on Wednesday announced she was donating $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for COVID-19 cure research. She explained on social media: "My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who's been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure. I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations. Keep the faith, Dolly"
Dolly On Thursday's 'Today' Imagination Library on Wednesday announced Dolly will make several appearances throughout Thursday morning's Today show on NBC starting at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, presumably to promote her "Goodnight With Dolly" video series premiering that evening online at 7 p.m. Eastern. She had originally been scheduled to appear on the show to promote the nationwide screening of the documentary The Library That Dolly Built, which is being postponed to September due to coronavirus. In related news, SD Professionals, which oversees the Library's website and book ordering system, posted a blog about developing Dolly's webseries. Read it here.
April 1: Dolly's New Autobiography Audio Book Coming Oct. 6 Dolly's new autobiography, reported here back in September, now has a release date and title for the 11-CD unabridged audio version. Amazon is taking orders to reserve your copy of Songteller for Oct. 6 release here. I would expect the hardcover book form to likely come out the same day and be available for pre-orders soon. Thanks, Tony!
Dolly Makes New 'Billboard' Record For Top 20 Hits Dolly added a new record to her list of accolades on Tuesday when her 1983 hit "Islands In The Stream" with Kenny Rogers re-entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 20 on the April 4 Billboard tallies representing sales and airplay following Kenny's death. The entry gives Dolly the honor of being the only artist in history to have a top 20 single on the Hot Country Songs chart in seven consecutive decades from "Something Fishy" in 1967 through the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and now 2020s with "Islands In The Stream." She was recognized for the six-decade record in 2016 when a new recording of "Jolene" with Pentatonix made it to No. 18 as her 73rd top 20 single and 107th chart single. The song is No. 2 overall digital song sales and No. 2 country digital song sales, while their most recent duet, "You Can't Make Old Friends," debuted at No. 28 digital song sales and No. 12 country digital song sales. On the Country Albums Chart, Ultimate Dolly Parton re-enters at No. 14 thanks to the downloads of "Islands In The Stream" counting toward album-sales-equivalents of the album (because Kenny's current greatest hits collections, including the one at No. 1 country this week, due to him getting the rights to only his solo recordings from RCA when he left the label, so the song only appears now on her hits collections). Elsewhere on the charts, Dolly's collaboration "Faith" with Galantis featuring Mr. Probz rises four to No. 13 on the hot dance/electronic songs chart.
Dolly Thanks First Responders For Coronavirus Work Dolly on Tuesday posted to social media a note of appreciation to first responders, servicemembers and medical personnel on the front lines of the war against COVID-19. Watch it here or in the media player below.
