July 31: 'Barbie' Funko Pop Coming Although word had leaked about plans for the figure a year or two ago and some stores made it available for pre-order a week or two ago, Funko last week officially announced the upcoming release of its Backwoods Barbie Dolly POP figure as the first in a series of dolls based on her album covers. Read more from Comic Bookhere.
Emmy Awards To Be Delayed FOX and producers for the 75th Emmy Awards are delaying this year's ceremony due to the actors' strike, it was confirmed last week in multiple reports. The awards were scheduled for Sept. 18, and while producers are seeking a November presentation the network is pushing for January. A final decision is expected early next month. Dolly is nominated for Best TV Movie.
U.K. Chart Updates Overseas, the U.K. charts on Friday kept Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection atop the British county compilation albums chart, logging a 27th nonconsecutive week at No. 1 in its 35th week on the chart, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe slips five to No. 12, Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly duet and one Dolly cover) rises one to No. 10, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 gains three to No. 6, 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) jumps up 10 to No. 9 and Original Album Series: Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) falls two to No. 15.
Sinead O'Connor Dead At 56 Irish singer Sinead O'Connor died at age 56 last week, prompting media outlets to recall her sharing Dolly's letter thanking her for covering "Dagger Through The Heart" for her 2003 tribute album. Read the letter from Upworthyhere and listen to the cover on YouTube here or in the media player below.
July 27: Miss. Concert Ticket Info Coming Next Week Ticket information for Dolly's Aug. 26 concerts in Philadelphia, Miss., will be announced next week, organizers of the show revealed on Wednesday here one month prior to the performance. The Congress of Country Music, the museum founded by Marty Stuart that is hosting the fundraiser, confirmed what was reported here a month ago that there will be two Dolly concerts on Aug. 26 and revealed the curtain times for each: 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. They added that since the theatre only holds 500, Dolly has consented to them placing a "Dollytron" video screen in front of the building to simulcast the concert to everyone gathered outside that day who can't get in may watch.
'Champions' Video Debuts For Olympics
NBCUniversal on Wednesday released a music video they collaborated on with Dolly on her cover of Queen's "We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You" to promote their broadcast of the Paris Olympics in 2024. A few seconds from the video debuted on NBC's Today in the morning and then the full video on YouTube at noon one year in advance of the Opening Ceremonies. The song comes from Dolly's upcoming rock album Rockstar. "I love the Olympics! I do my best to plan my schedule to watch as much of it as I possibly can," Dolly said in a press release. "I tape it just in case I miss the live action on a certain day and watch it back as soon as possible. I laugh, I cry, I scream, there are no losers in the Olympics as they have all spent a lifetime preparing but I celebrate with the ones that go away with the gold, silver, and bronze medals." Watch it here or in the media player above.
'Forever Young' Collaboration Drops
As was promised, the single of "Forever Young" by Dolly with Daniel Grindstaff and Paul Brewster was released Tuesday. Download it here or stream it on YouTube here or in the media player above.
Dollywood Adds New TimeSaver Option Dollywood this week revealed a new level to its skip-the-line ride system: TimeSaver Premium, a $100 option that adds a one-ride slot for the new Big Bear Mountain coaster and makes rides on Wild Eagle unlimited in addition to unlimited rides on all other TimeSaver-eligible attractions. That compares to the Unlimited TimeSaver for $80 that allows unlimited rides on all eligible attractions except Big Bear Mountain and limits you to a one-ride slot on Wild Eagle or the regular TimeSaver for $60 that limits you to five rides on eligible attractions except Big Bear Mountain with a one-ride limit on Wild Eagle and Dragonflyer. This is the first time Big Bear Mountain has been available for TimeSaver skips.
U.S. Chart Updates Dolly's Run, Rose, Run slips one on the bluegrass albums chart to No. 6 in the July 29 Billboard charts released Tuesday.
July 24: 'We Will Rock You' Cover Released, Video Coming
Dolly on Friday released the fourth single from her upcoming rock album, Rockstar, with a cover of Queen's classic "We Are The Campions," which ends with a little of "We Will Rock You." Download it from Amazon here or stream it from YouTube here or in the media player above. An official music video for the single will debut on Wednesday, her social media accounts announced.
New Dolly Duet Coming This Week Also coming out this week is a new cover of Rod Stewart's reimagining of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" as a collaboration among Dolly, Daniel Grindstaff, and Paul Brewster. The track is supposed to becoming available for streaming on Tuesday, according to WJHL here.
Dolly Headed To Kansas Aug. 14 Dolly will visit Kansas on Aug. 14 to celebrate the statewide expansion of her Imagination Library there, its governor announced last week. No further details are available but if it is managed in the same fashion as her similar appearances in other states, the audience will be limited to one or two representatives from each of the program's affiliates within the state and closed to the general public. Learn more here.
Could Imagination Library Park Be Coming? Dollywood is surveying guests to gauge interest in a possible construction of a third theme park for the property, this one themed around Dolly's Imagination Library childhood literacy program. The concept would immerse families in their favorite stories from the Library such as The Little Engine That Could or Coat Of Many Colors through shows, rides, and parades while also celebrating education and the power of reading. In addition, the survey asks for opinions on theming the property's third resort after Dolly's music career and call it SongTeller and the fourth resort as an outdoor complex featuring camping, glamping, and small-house lodging under the name the Locust Ridge Outdoor Resort.
Dolly Jukebox Musical Covered Comedy writer Bruce Vilanch spoke with Forwardhere about his Dolly jukebox musical Here You Come Again, which concludes a six-city tryout tour in Chester, Conn., from Wednesday through Aug. 27. The article notes that the show will not aim for Broadway so it doesn't compete with Dolly's plans for a jukebox musical of her own for the Great White Way.
Fired Teacher Interviewed Melissa Tempel, the teacher fired over complaining that her elementary school students were banned from singing Dolly and Miley Cyrus's "Rainbowland," was interviewed recently at Democracy Nowhere.
Jerry Bradley, RCA Exec, Dies At 83 Former RCA Nashville head Jerry Bradley, who managed the label during the height of Dolly's early country stardom and the start of her pop superstardom crossover, died last week at age 83. He was hired at RCA as label head Chet Atkins' production assistant in 1970 and by 1973 when Atkins stepped away from his executive role, Bradley took over, running the Nashville office of the label until 1983.
Swift Nears Dolly Chart Record With 22 new singles on the Hot Country Songs chart for her entire re-recording of her Speak Now album, Taylor Swift is now just two songs away from surpassing Dolly's record 110 charted country singles, Billboard reported here last week. Dolly's chart career stretches a span of 56 years since 1967 while Swift's is just 17 years and includes three full albums of songs that were recorded and charted twice (as opposed to Dolly just having a couple of songs to get an additional appearance after re-recording). George Jones holds the record for the most country chart singles at 159. Dolly's Run, Rose, Run gains one on the bluegrass albums chart to No. 5 in the July 22 Billboard charts released Tuesday. Overseas, the U.K. charts on Friday kept Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection atop the British county compilation albums chart, logging a 26th nonconsecutive week at No. 1 in its 34th week on the chart, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe gains one to No. 7, Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly duet and one Dolly cover) rises nine to No. 11, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 increases six to No. 9, 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) and Original Album Series: Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) re-enter at No. 19 and No. 13, respectively.
July 17: Splash Country Adds More Dates The summer is hot but you'll have seven additional days to cool off at Dollywood's Splash Country water park this year, it was announced last week. The park has added operating dates Aug. 7, 9, 11, 15, and 17, and Sept. 16-17 before closing for the season.
July 13: 'Mountain Magic Christmas' Sees Two Emmy Nods NBC's Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas on Wednesday received two Emmy nominations: one for Outstanding Television Movie against Fire Island, Hocus Pocus 2, Prey, and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story and a nomination for Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Provi Fulp, Costume Designer; Jose Ramos, Costume Supervisor; and Steve Summers, Dolly's Wardrobe; against the costumes on Beef, Fleishman Is In Trouble, Swarm, and The Watcher. This marks Dolly's fourth nomination as a producer in this category, which Dolly Parton's Christmas On The Square won in 2021. The Emmy Awards are scheduled Sept. 18 and Creative Arts Emmys Sept. 9 and 10, but the writer's strike and possible upcoming actors' strike could interfere with the ceremony. The movie was also nominated earlier in the week for the Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards for Best Broadcast Network or Cable TV Movie against Black Girl Missing, Reno 911: It's A Wonderful Heist, and The Portable Door. (The HCA separates broadcast/cable and streaming movies into two categories, and the other four Emmy nominees are all of streamers, so they compete in a different category on the HCA.)
Teacher Fired Over Dolly Song Melissa Tempel, the Wisconsin teacher who complained to Twitter that her school had banned her elementary class from singing "Rainbowland" by Dolly and Miley Cyrus, a song about a fantasy utopia where everyone gets along, as potentially controversial, was fired Wednesday by a 9-0 vote of the Waukesha School Board. They said she was fired for making a public statement about the ban in violation of district policy that employees must talk with a supervisor prior to speaking in public. Dozens of supporters dressed in black held a silent rally outside in support of the teacher, who plans to pursue a federal lawsuit, since it is generally unconstitutional for public school districts as governmental entities to regulate teachers' speech outside of the classroom. Read more from CBS 58 here.
Jada Star Leaves 'Claim To Fame' Dolly's niece Jada Star was forced off of ABC's Claim To Fame reality show this week, where relatives of famous people try to hide their identity and must leave the show if their famous relatives' identity is guessed or if they incorrectly guess the famous relative of another contestant. Read more from USA Todayhere, Entertainment Weeklyhere and Hollywood Lifehere.
'Run' Returns To Bluegrass Charts Dolly's Run, Rose, Run re-enters the top 10 bluegrass albums at No. 6 in the July 15 Billboard charts released Tuesday.
July 10: Dolly Continues Promoting Fall's 'Rockstar'
Dolly's promotions continued last week for fall's Rockstar album. The full interview with Hits Daily Double, which was previewed here the previous week, dropped. Read it here. Dolly spoke with Metal Talkhere. She spoke with Australia's Sunrisehere. And an interview she filmed the previous week in London aired on Lorrainehere or in the media player above.
Fan Fair Documentary Heading To ABC Hulu's CMA Fest: 50 Years of Fan Fair featuring Dolly will air on ABC Tuesday, July 18, the network announced last week. The 75-minute documentary will start at 9 p.m. and stretch to two hours with commercials.
U.S., U.K. Chart Updates Dolly's second and third rock singles' chart lives were as shorter than her first, the July 8 Billboard charts released Tuesday showed. "Bygones" with Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx and John 5 fell off the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales after one week No. 19 while "Magic Man" with Heart's Ann Wilson and Howard Leese fells off the Rock Digital Song Sales after one week at No. 25. Her November Rockstar album's first single, "World On Fire," stayed for two weeks on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart, the second of which was at No. 1. Dolly's Run, Rose, Run falls off the top 10 bluegrass albums after a whopping 104-week chart week run, down this week from No. 7. Overseas, the U.K. charts on Friday kept Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection atop the British county compilation albums chart, logging a 24th nonconsecutive week at No. 1 in its 32nd week on the chart, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe inches up one to No. 8, Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly duet and one Dolly cover) dips one to No. 14, Harris'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) falls out of the top 20, down from No. 16, and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 re-enters the top 20 at No. 17.
July 3: Dolly Promotes 'Rockstar' In London
Dolly headed to London last week to promote her upcoming rock album Rockstar and her upcoming coffee table book Behind The Seams: My Life In Rhinestones. Among the topics she touched upon: she had postponed the trip from earlier this year due to an illness her husband suffered but Carl is fine now, and she noted her desire to stay close to home with him and the stresses of touring at her age are what prompted her to retire from touring; she doesn't want to be toured posthumously as a hologram like they are doing with Whitney Houston and others for she fears that or using artificial intelligence to record new music could have negative impacts on one's soul; and that her recent song slamming politicians isn't political, as she noted: "I don't march in the street. I don't carry signs. I'm not an activist, I'm not a feminist, I'm not any of that. And yet I'm all of that." She also playfully scolded a BBC interviewer on The One Show who suggested her voice may not work on all of the songs on the album here. Other coverage included Virgin Radio UK's Chris Evans Breakfast Showhere or in the media player above, PA Mediahere, The Mirrorhere and The Guardianhere.
New Dolly Interview In 'Hits Daily Double' Stateside, Hits Daily Double on Friday previewed an upcoming Dolly interview for its Nashville 2023 special edition coming soon focusing on the new rock album and written by Holly Gleason, who just a week ago won Entertainment Journalist of the Year, largely thanks to her cover story interview with Dolly last year in Pollstar. The preview for this interview is likewise engaging with Dolly talking here about recording in studio with Stevie Nicks, Debbie Harry, John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris, and Sheryl Crow as well as revealing she recorded two versions of "Free Bird." One with the original vocals of Ronnie Van Zant as approved by his widow will appear on her album, and a version with the same instrumentation but only Dolly's vocals will appear on an upcoming Lynrd Skynyrd project produced by her producer Kent Wells.
'God & Country' Gets VMP Vinyl Release Vinyl Me Please on Thursday announced that's Dolly's 2003 For God & Country has dropped through their service as one of the extra Dolly albums in addition to the 12 in her monthly Vinyl Me Parton club. The set is pressed on standard thickness vinyl instead of the heavier 180 gram used on most VMP pressings but is a two-LP set on "Red, White, & Bluegrass" colored vinyl limited to 2,000 units. Cost is $45 plus shipping for non-members and $40 including shipping for subscribers.
Writers' Strike Celebrates '9 To 5' Although Dolly wasn't there in person, her co-stars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda joined screenwriter Patricia Resnick for "Nine To Five Day" at the Writers Guild of America strike. The protest occurred Thursday in front of Netflix headquarters in Los Angeles, where the three women led the crowd in Dolly's song and some Dolly drag queens joined the picket lines. Coverage included Deadlinehere and Rolling Stonehere.
U.K. Charts Overseas, the U.K. charts on Friday kept Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection atop the British county compilation albums chart, logging a 23rd nonconsecutive week at No. 1 in its 31st week on the chart, her The Monument Singles Collection falls back out of the top 20, down from No. 14 in its sixth week, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe re-enters the top 20 at No. 9, Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) falls out of the top 20, down from No. 19, Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly duet and one Dolly cover) gains two to No. 13, and Harris'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. 16.
