Dolly's family record label, Owepar, last week released a 1979 album recorded by her mother, Avie Lee Parton. Smoky Mountain Mama features remastered versions of songs she recorded in 1979 when she toured for the first and only time as a folk artist. Previously released on cassette in 1990, the new version lists Dolly as executive producer. Stream the album from YouTube here or in the media player above, and purchase and download it from Amazon here.
Missouri Slashes Dolly's Library Missouri is the latest state to pull back on Dolly's Imagination Library early childhood literacy program due to budget cuts. The state, unusual in that it fully funded all children in the state receiving the books since 2023 (while the other 20-something states that offer it statewide only cover half of the cost with taxpayer dollars, requiring local charities to raise the other half in each county to participate), reduces the allocation in its new state budget by two-thirds from $6 million a year to $2 million. The state has cut off enrollment of new children into the program and plans to continue sending books to existing enrollees until funding is exhausted. Read more here.
Dollywood Named World's Greatest Park Again For the fifth year in a row, the world's oldest and largest group of theme park enthusiasts have named Dollywood their favorite theme park in the world. Disneyland came in second. The award comes from the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA), whose voting members average lifetime visits to more than 110 theme parks each and on average visits to a dozen unique parks annually. In related news, the annual School's Out! Promo has returned to Splash Country through June 14 where ages 4-18 may show their report card for admission and a personal pizza for $35 plus tax. Also, the park has announced $5 admission Sevier County Days for locals will run June 1-7 at Splash and June 8-14 at Dollywood. Finally, the park announced last week that Royal Oak has become its official charcoal partner, which will result in cooking demonstrations, themed menu items, exclusive recipes, and integration of their product into several restaurants at the park.
U.K., Aussie, U.S. Chart Updates Across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 retains the top spot on the British country compilation albums chart at No. 1, while Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains one to No. 2, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe falls back out of the top 20, down from No. 15, Emmylou Harris' first installment in the Original Album Series advances three to No. 3 while her second installment rises two to No. 13 and Linda Ronstadt's installment advances two to No. 17 (all three contain several Dolly collaborations), and Ultimate Dolly Parton re-enters the top 20 at No. 20. Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, finds itself at No. 22 pop.
On the U.S. charts, Carpenter is at No. 28 pop and Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, is No. 91 pop and No. 20 country.
Down Under, Carpenter is No. 14 Australian pop albums while Post Malone is No. 8 Australian country.
May 19: Willie Joins Dolly In Seven-Decade Singles Club Willie Nelson last week tied Dolly's record as the only artist to appear on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in each of the last seven decades, from 1962 through 2026 thanks to his collaboration with Kacey Musgraves on "Uncertain, TX" debuting at No. 50 on the May 16 charts, his first chart single of the 2020s. Dolly's run thus far is from 1967 through 2024 with four chart singles in the 2020s to date. Dolly remains the only artist to have reached the top 20 on the country singles chart in each of the past seven decades, however. Read more here. Elsewhere on the U.S. charts, Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, finds itself at No. 29 pop and Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, is No. 87 pop and No. 19 country.
Across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 retains the top spot on the British country compilation albums chart at No. 1, while Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains one to No. 3, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe rises five to No. 15, Emmylou Harris' first installment in the Original Album Series advances five to No. 6 while her second installment dips two to No. 15 and Linda Ronstadt's installment re-enters the top 20 at No. 19 (all three contain several Dolly collaborations), and Glen Campbell's Ghost On The Canvas Sessions with a Dolly duet, falls back out of the top 20, down from No. 17. Carpenter's album is at No. 21 U.K. pop.
Down Under, Carpenter is No. 14 Australian pop albums while Post Malone is No. 7 Australian country.
May 12: Alabama Residents Oppose Pirates Voyage Residents of Orange Beach, Ala., are opposing Dolly opening a Pirates Voyage dinner theater along state Route 161, AL.com reports here. At a public hearing for the property last week, residents expressed worry about traffic, stormwater runoff, loss of trees, noise, and the ethics of using captive animals such as sea lions in the show. Dolly operates the dinner shows in Pigeon Forge and Myrtle Beach, with a Panama City Beach, Fla., location recently opening.
Dolly 1976 Outfit Up For Auction An outfit Dolly wore on her 1970s variety show is back up for auction. The costume sold for $4,480 in November in Julien's Auctions' "Played, Worn, & Torn" collection in Nashville and this time is back up for the auction house's Music Icons event in New York City May 29 and 30. As of press time Monday night, the bid was at $1,500 with the reserve not yet met. Check out the item here.
Cashless Splash Country Opens Saturday Dollywood's Splash Country Water Park opens for the season on Saturday and this year the water park (plus both of the park's resort hotels) are now cashless operations, requiring credit/debit cards and phone apps for payment as the only methods accepted. The theme park continues to accept cash for payment. New this season, Neon Nights will premiere as a ticketed extra event on select Fridays and Saturdays with neon lights, glow experiences, and entertainment 7:30-10:30 p.m.
'Son Of Jolene' Falls Off Charts Belle's "Son Of Jolene" with Dolly falls off the May 9 Billboard country digital single sales chart last week after one week at No. 11. Elsewhere on the U.S. charts, Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, finds itself at No. 27 pop and Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, is No. 85 pop and No. 18 country.
Down Under, Carpenter is No. 12 Australian pop albums while Post Malone is No. 8 Australian country albums and No. 49 pop, and Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, falls back out of the top 40 Australian country albums, down from No. 34.
May 5: Continuing Health Recovery Cancels Vegas Residency
Dolly on Monday shared a video to her social media (watch it here or in the media player above) providing an update on her health and cancelling her September six-concert Las Vegas residency as a result. She explained she was still recovering from her health issues last year that had initially resulted in the shows being postponed from December 2025 to September of this year. Without specifying the other illnesses she was being treated for in addition to the kidney stones she had previously disclosed, she generalized kidney, digestive, and immune system issues but noted doctors assure her every issue she currently has is treatable. She said she was responding well to the treatments but that some of the medications had resulted in vertigo, or "swimmy headed" as she noted her grandmother used to call it, preventing her from performing. "Of course, I can't be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars and such on five-inch heels. And you know that I'm going to be wearing them. Not to mention, all those heavy rhinestone outfits, the big hair, my big… uh, personality. Lord, those — that would make anybody swimmy headed," she explained. She gave an analogy that she was like an antique car that needed a lot of maintenance when they opened up the hood but that she'll be better than ever once rebuilt. She noted she was still working, making videos for various remote appearances, recording new music, popping in at Dollywood, working toward her Nashville hotel and museum opening later this year, and revising her Broadway bio-musical (which she said will now open in late fall or early winter). She added that she had experienced a bad time following her husband's passing last year with all of the "firsts" of widowhood such as her first wedding anniversary without him and holidays and especially the anniversary of his passing in March, but that the fans' outpouring of love and support, flowers and cards, lifted her spirits and helped her get through that time.
'Son Of Jolene' Debuts On U.S. Chart
Belle's "Son Of Jolene" with Dolly debuted at No. 11 country digital single sales on the May 2 Billboard charts released last week. It was the only chart to feature the track. Unfortunately, overseas the collaboration falls off the U.K. charts, down from one week at No. 33 downloads and No. 80 single sales. Elsewhere on the charts across the pond, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 retains the top spot on the British country compilation albums chart at No. 1, while Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains four to No. 11, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe falls off the top 20, down from No. 18, Emmylou Harris' first installment in the Original Album Series slips four to No. 15 while her second installment re-enters the top 20 at No. 17, and Glen Campbell's Ghost On The Canvas Sessions with a Dolly duet, re-enters the top 20 at No. 16. Sabrina Carpenter's Short & Sweet Deluxe Edition, with its Dolly duet, finds itself at No. 16 U.K. pop. Post Malone's F 1 Trillion, with its Dolly duet, falls out of the British country albums chart, down from No. 20.
Stateside, Carpenter is No. 21 U.S. pop albums, while Malone is No. 19 country and No. 97 pop.
Down Under, Carpenter is No. 12 pop albums, Malone No. 6 Australian country albums and No. 49 pop, and Beyonce's Cowboy Carter, with its Dolly appearances, at No. 34 country.
Dolly Named Among NYT's 30 Greatest Living U.S. Songwriters The New York Times Magazine last week released its list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters, and of course Dolly was on the tally. The publication did not rank the 30. The final list was determined by five or six critics from the newspaper and magazine from over 700 nominations that over 250 music industry artists and executives named. To give an example of the types of nominations received, they published the nominations submitted by 26 different major names (two-thirds of the lists published named Dolly among their nominees). Read more from that section of the magazine here and check out Dolly's profile on the list here.
Dolly Inducted Into Musicians Hall Of Fame Dolly was inducted over the weekend into the Musicians Hall of Fame. While she wasn't present in person, she accepted the honor via videotaped remarks you may watch here. Fellow inductee Keith Urban told People magazine he admires her for her fearlessness and recalled his idolization of her when he was a child. Read that piece here.
Dolly Surprises Radford University Commencement Dolly last week surprised students at Radford University's commencement with a brief videotaped message of congratulations. The university is the alma mater of Dollywood President Eugene Naughton. Check it out here.
Dollywood Sponsors NASCAR Driver Dollywood Parks & Resorts announced Monday that they are sponsoring diehard Dollywood fan Quinn Davis and her No. 85 ARCA Menards Series East machine for the remainder of the 2026 campaign, debuting her vehicle's new artwork Saturday at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. Check out a submitted photo at left (click on it for larger view).
