July 31: Hear Dolly's 2019 Newport Folk Festival Set Friday
The Newport Folk Festival has announced Newport Folk Radio will be available this weekend including Dolly's set as last year's surprise headliner. Dolly's set with female country supergroup The Highwomen and several other female artists curated by Brandi Carlisle, which they've titled "She's An Eagle," will be available at 6:15 p.m. Eastern Friday. You may listen on TuneIn here or the media player above, by asking Alexa or Siri to "play Newport Folk Radio" or by listening to WFUV in New York City, WMVY in Newport, or WEXT in Albany.
Dolly Announces Album Title, Guest List, Another Book Dolly called in Wednesday for Eddie Stubbs' final broadcast on WSM Radio in Nashville at his retirement from the station and as announcer for The Grand Ole Opry for an on-air interview. She repeated a lot of information that was already released in past interviews, including that she'll be releasing her Christmas album this fall, was going to announce the groundbreaking for a second Dollywood resort but postponed it due to COVID, and that she will soon launch her lifestyle brand with perfume, wigs, cosmetics, clothing and more. New details about the previously-announced projects included that the holiday album will be titled A Holly Dolly Christmas and will feature the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and collaborations with Michael Buble, Randy Parton and Heidi Parton, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon, and Miley Cyrus (she noted it will also include "Circle Of Love" but that had been announced a couple of years ago when she started working on the album) and that the park's new resort will be a "lodge." She noted she is continuing to work on her Broadway musical of her life she has been writing for a couple of decades now and expressed hope that the theme park would be back to normal by its Smoky Mountain Christmas festival in November. The only completely new announcement was that she is working with author James Patterson on a collaborative mystery novel set in Nashville (he frequently collaborates with others, including a thriller he co-wrote with former President Bill Clinton). Audio of the interview was posted by the station to its SoundCloud account here but had been deleted by mid-afternoon.
'Heartstrings' Wins GLAAD Media Award The "Two Doors Down" episode of Dolly's Netflix anthology Dolly Parton's Heartstrings on Thursday won a GLAAD Media Award for Best Individual Television Episode (for a show without a recurring LGBTQ character), besting episodes of Drunk History, Law & Order: SVU, Easy and Watchmen for the honor. The awards celebrate positive LGBTQ representation in popular media. As the ceremony was held virtually, she accepted via video, thanking everyone associated with making the episode and ending by singing a chorus of "Two Doors Down." Watch here or in the media player below. The awards repeat on Logo at 8 p.m. Monday.
July 29: 'Heartstrings' Earns Emmy Nomination For Dolly Dolly on Tuesday was nominated for the third time for a Primetime Emmy Award, her second as executive producer of a film up for Outstanding Television Movie, as the one movie-length episode of her Netflix anthology series Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, "These Old Bones," received the nod. It competes against HBO's Bad Education and Neflix's American Son, El Camino and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend. Winners will be announced on ABC Sept. 20. Dolly was previously nominated as executive producer of NBC's Dolly Parton's Christmas Of Many Colors: Circle Of Love in 2017 and for Best Supporting Actress in a Variety Show for her 1978 appearance on Cher . . . Special. (She has won two regional Emmy Awards from the Nashville chapter: a Lifetime Achievement Emmy and a competitive Emmy for Outstanding Community Service Program for her wildfires telethon in 2018.)
Paley Center Moves Dolly Panel To Virtual The Paley Center for Media announced this week that its PaleyFest LA will be held virtually for the first time ever. Panels, including Dolly's roundtable on her television career plus her Netflix Heartstrings anthology series, will be taped remotely between now and early August and then become available for Paley Center members and Citi credit card holders starting Aug. 7 and to the general public on the Paley Center's YouTube page starting Aug. 10. Dolly's panel will be moderated by TV Guide West Coast Bureau Chief Jim Halterman and also feature co-executive producer Sam Haskell and "These Old Bones" actors Kathleen Turner and Ginnifer Goodwin. Dolly's session, which had originally been scheduled for March 14, was one of the first major entertainment events in the U.S. cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus crisis.
'There Was Jesus' Remains No. 1 Christian Sales Dolly's "There Was Jesus" with Zach Williams earns a third week at No. 1 of the Christian digital songs sales chart, the Aug. 1 Billboard numbers released Tuesday showed. The song also continues to advance on the Hot Christian Songs chart, gaining one to No. 2. On the Christian airplay list it rises two to No. 4, on the Christian streaming chart it inches up one to No. 7, and on the all-genre digital sales chart it slips one to No. 39.
July 27: Dolly Leads U.S. Christian Sales, UK Country Comp Charts "There Was Jesus" with Zach Williams holds steady at the No. 1 song on the Christian digital song sales chart for the second consecutive week, the July 25 Billboard charts released Tuesday revealed. The song, her first No. 1 on that tally, also continues advancing on the Hot Christian Songs overall chart, where it's her first top 10, and gains one to No. 3. On the Christian airplay list it rises one to No. 6 and on the Christian streaming chart it shoots up 13 places to No. 8. Across the pond, for the fourth week in the row, the vinyl release of Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 kept Dolly on the top spot on the British country compilation albums chart, the album's 133rd overall chart week, Friday's tallies revealed. On the same chart, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe slips two to No. 7, while Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) holds steady at No. 11 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) rises two to No. 8. The new four-on-two-CD re-issue of We Found It/Porter 'N' Dolly/Say Forever You'll Be Mine/Porter & Dolly, Dolly's Gold and Essential Dolly Parton all fall off of the top 20, down from No. 15, No. 18, and No. 20, respectively. Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) inches up one to No. 9 its 462nd chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release.
CDC Recommends Tenn. Use Dolly To Encourage Mask Use A federal public health report to Tennessee recommended recruiting trusted celebrities from the state to promote the message of mask-usage to reduce COVID-19 infections including specifically suggestions of using Dolly, Taylor Swift, Chris Blue and University of Tennessee coaches, WBIR reported here. Dolly has previously encouraged her fans to wear masks in her music video for the COVID-inspired "When Life Is Good Again" single and requires mask usage at her Dollywood theme park and associated other businesses. Meanwhile, CBS's The Late Show With Stephen Colbert used "Jolene" and footage of Dolly singing it to a new recording of an anonymous singer pleading with "Karen" to please wear her mask in a music video during his show available here or in the media player below.
July 20: Dolly's Wal-Mart Greeting Cards Debut Wal-Marts around the country over the weekend started rolling out American Greetings' store-exclusive set of Dolly greeting cards. It appears there are 20 cards included in the debut collection, although only three are sold online via the store's website. Some feature Dolly photos or cartoons, and others feature generic art with Dolly quotes.
U.K., Aussie Chart Updates For the third week in the row, the vinyl release of Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 kept Dolly on the top spot on the British country compilation albums chart, the album's 132nd overall chart week, Friday's tallies revealed. The new four-on-two-CD re-issue of We Found It/Porter 'N' Dolly/Say Forever You'll Be Mine/Porter & Dolly fell six to No. 15 on the same chart, while The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe lost one to No. 5 on the same chart, Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) gained four to No. 11, 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) moved up three to No. 10, Dolly's Gold re-entered the top 20 at No. 18 and Essential Dolly Parton dropped three to No. 20. Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) regained four to No. 10 its 461st chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release.
July 16: 'There Was Jesus' Tops Christian Digital Sales Dolly this week earns her first No. 1 on the Christian digital song sales chart as "There Was Jesus" with Zach Williams advances one to the top spot for the week in the July 18 charts released Tuesday. (For King & Country reached No. 1 on the chart in September with "God Only Knows" thanks in large part to a re-release of the song as a collaboration with Dolly, but Billboard chose not to list the charted version with her name as a featured artist even though they counted the sales of her version toward the No. 1 because the majority of sales of the song that week were the original version without her, the magazine explained.) Her Williams duet continues to climb the Hot Christian Songs chart, gaining three to No. 4, while it inches up one to No. 7 Christian airplay and re-enters the Christian streaming chart at No. 21. Across the pond, the vinyl release of Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 kept Dolly on the top spot on the British country compilation albums chart for a second week, the album's 131st overall chart week, Friday's tallies revealed, although the set fell off the top 40 vinyl sales chart, down from one week at No. 24. The new four-on-two-CD re-issue of We Found It/Porter 'N' Dolly/Say Forever You'll Be Mine/Porter & Dolly also garnered a second week on the country compilation tally, gaining six spots to No. 9 while The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe held steady at No. 4 on the same chart, Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) lost two to No. 15, 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) gained three to No. 13 and Essential Dolly Parton re-entered the top 20 at No. 17. Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) lost four to No. 14 its 460th chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release.
Two More Dolly COVID-19 Vaccine Studies Published Two additional studies funded in part by Dolly to combat the COVID-19 crisis have shown promise, reports indicate this week. Studies made possible in part by her $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center were published this week in the journal Nature showing antibodies collected from two of the earliest cases in North America protected monkeys from infection, FOX 17 reported here, and in the New England Journal of Medicine finding a different potential vaccine showed no serious safety concerns in the first round of clinical trials, Out and About Nashville noted here.You may recall it reported here last week that another study Dolly helped fund which was published in the journal Cell Reports had shown promise in using the drug remdesivir to treat infected patients.
Dolly Wal-Mart Cards Available By Month's End Dolly's new line of Wal-Mart-exclusive greeting cards through American Greetings will be available later this month, she announced on social media this week.
Colorado Goes For Dolly's Library Colorado is the latest state to sign on for a statewide public-private partnership for Dolly's Imagination Library, with Gov. Jared Polis getting a video thank you from Dolly herself for signing legislation providing matching state dollars for communities that launch the program in the state, Denver's CBS Local reported here. Tennessee was the first to take the program statewide using this method, followed by Ohio. North Carolina, Arkansas and Deleware.
July 10: Dolly Gets First Christian Top 10 Single Dolly this week notched her first top 10 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart with her first song to chart on the tally, "There Was Jesus" with Zach Williams. The song advances six spots to No. 7 on that chart for July 11, it was announced Tuesday, while also gaining four to No. 8 Christian airplay (where she had previously charted once with "God Only Knows" at No. 41 in September). The song loses two on the Christian digital sales chart to No. 4, where it had peaked at No. 2 both in November and again last week, when it tied "When I Get Where I'm Going" and "From Here To The Moon And Back" as her third No. 2 on that list. Billboard noted the achievement in a subscriber-only article here.
Dolly To Appear On GLAAD Awards GLAAD announced Thursday that they will present the 31st Annual GLAAD Awards Media Ceremony virtually and that Dolly will make an appearance. The program, hosted by comedians Fortune Feimster and Gina Yashere, will stream on GLAAD's Facebook and YouTube channels at 8 p.m. Eastern July 30 with a repeat on Logo at 8 p.m. Aug. 3. Dolly is nominated for Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular LGBTQ character) for the "Two Doors Down" installment of her Heartstrings anthology series. She previously appeared at the GLAAD Awards in 2011 to introduce honoree and 9 To 5: The Musical co-producer Robert Greenblatt. She was previously nominated for an appearance on the premiere episode of So Graham Norton in 2002.
Sevier Co. Announces Masks At Dolly Statue Sevier County, Tenn., where Dolly was raised and where Dollywood is located, this week announced it will require those in public to wear masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and made the announcement on the Sevier County Courthouse lawn in front of Dolly's statue, which was adorned with a mask. Watch a report here. Dolly's theme park has been requiring masks since opening.
Dolly-Funded COVID Study Finds Potential Treatment A new study published this week in the Journal Cell Reports funded partly by The Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has provided "the first rigorous demonstration" that the drug remdesivir can block COVID-19 in mice and therefore be a possible treatment for humans, Eureka Alert reported here.
Special With Dolly Might Get Emmy Nod Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical director Jeff Calhoun spoke with Broadway World about how his Covenant House gala, which included an appearance by Dolly, came to be and is now an Emmy contender. Read it here.
Dolly Pinball, Dress On Display In New York The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame pinball exhibit which features Dolly's 1978 Bally pinball machine and the dress she wore on the backglass will be open at Universal Preservation Hall in Sarasota Springs, N.Y., July 26-Sept. 26 for those who wish to see it, the Saratoga Today newspaper reported here.
July 7: 'TV Guide' Interviews Dolly TV Guide posted a new interview with Dolly about her Netflix Heartstrings series on its "TV Insider" website here Monday as campaigning for Emmy nominations continue.
'Biography: Kenny Rogers' Coming To DVD Lionsgate has announced it will release a DVD of A&E's recent Biography: Kenny Rogers on Aug. 18. The two-hour special features interviews with many of his friends and associates, including Dolly, as well as extensive footage from his 2017 farewell tribute concert including his final performance with Dolly. Reserve your copy here!
U.K., Australian Chart Updates The vinyl release of Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 gave Dolly the top spot on the British country compilation albums chart this week, the album's 130th chart week, Friday's tallies revealed. The set also debuts at No. 24 U.K. vinyl albums. The new four-on-two-CD re-issue of We Found It/Porter 'N' Dolly/Say Forever You'll Be Mine/Porter & Dolly debuts at No. 15 country compilation albums while The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe slips one to No. 4 on the same chart, Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) stands still at No. 13 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) dips two to No. 16. Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) regains one to No. 10 its 459th chart week on the Australian country albums chart since its original 2007 release.
In Memoriam: Charlie Daniels Legendary country performer Charlie Daniels died Monday at age 83. Dolly commented via social media: "Well, the devil went down to Georgia, but Charlie went straight to heaven. My heart, like many millions of others, is broken today to find out that we've lost our dear friend Charlie Daniels. It was such a shock. He was one of the great people in the business and one of the greatest entertainers ever. He will live on in our hearts. Rest in peace, Charlie."
July 2: Dolly Participates In Netflix Pride, Mattel Sings 'Barbie'
As LGBTQIA Pride Month came to a close Tuesday, Dolly was among the participants in a virtual Pride celebration courtesy Netflix. At about the one hour and 14 minute mark, she talks about Pride and introduces drag queen Trixie Mattel, who performs a cover of her "Backwoods Barbie." Watch here or in the media player above.
'Goodnight With Dolly' Returns For Two Months Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program on Wednesday announced that thanks to viewer requests, Penguin Random House has agreed to extend the licenses to allow Dolly's reading of 10 books from the early childhood program to remain available for online viewing through Aug. 31. Check out "Goodnight With Dolly" here.
'Heartstrings' Nominated For Campiness Dolly's Netflix series Heartstrings captured a nomination this week from GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics for their inaugural Dorian TV Awards. It is up for "Campiest TV Show" against fellow Netflix offerings AJ and the Queen starting RuPaul and Tiger King as well as VH1's RuPaul's Drag Race and Hulu's The Great.
Nina West Chats Dolly Collab In 'Nerdist' Drag Queen Nina West spoke with The Nerdist this week about her "Kindness Is Queen" collection with Dolly. Read the interview here.
U.S. Chart Updates Dolly's duet with Zach Williams, "There Was Jesus", gains three to No. 12 Christian airplay and holds steady at No. 2 Christian digital single sales and No. 13 Hot Christian Songs but falls off the Christian streaming songs down from one week at No. 24, the July 4 Billboard charts released Tuesday noted.
