Dollywood Shows Sold Out
Fans who tried to call in on Thursday to order tickets for Dolly's Sept. 25 and 26 benefit concerts at Dollywood were disappointed, as the show had already sold out, they quickly learned. A spokesperson for the park tells Dollymania: "Season passholder response was incredible." Season passholders, who are allowed to purchase tickets by mail for the shows each year prior to their going on sale to the general public by phone, bought up all seats for all four concerts before the Aug. 26 public sale date, it was confirmed. Usually, most seats on at least the back two or three rows remain available when the public sale opens, so selling out so far in advance with a fourth concert added this year (instead of the usual three shows) was not expected. However, it was noted that some tickets may become available shortly before the show when people find out they cannot attend and return their tickets to the venue to be sold to others.

Hear It Before You Can Buy It!
Sugar Hill Records asked that Dollymania let everyone know that CMT.com has created an online listening party for Dolly's Sept. 14 live concert double-CD and DVD Live And Well. Visit the page here, and you can listen to the entire album! And reserve your copy of the CD here or DVD collection here. Thanks!

Dolly On TV
Dolly and her park will be all over CMT next month, it has been announced. On Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. Eastern, the cable network will debut CMT's Greatest Road Trips, visiting what it claims are "10 of the most interesting places in America." Stops include Dollywood, Elvis' Graceland, Hank Williams' gravesite, London Bridge, the Field of Dreams and more. The show will repeat several times throughout the month (see TV listings on right-hand side of the page). And Dolly has a video included in CMT's 40 Greatest Done Me Wrong Songs, premiering at 8 p.m. Sept. 18. While Dolly's number has not been announced, songs on the list will include Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley P.T.A," Keith Urban's "You'll Think Of Me" and Toby Keith's "How Do You Like Me Now," in addition to tunes by Dolly, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn and Shania Twain, among others. In related news, I'm told to look for Dollywood on the upcoming ABC Family cable series Switched! premiering this fall. The show takes two strangers and has them live each other's life, including work or school and homelife, for four days. Filming of an episode took place at the park a couple of weeks ago.

Another Dolly Cover
Americana band Honeychurch has been getting a good bit of positive reviews over the summer for its second album, Makes Me Feel Better, released earlier this year. The CD includes a cover of the Porter Wagoner-penned number "Lonely Coming Down," which Dolly made famous (and which I personally consider the best song he's ever written and one of my favorite songs of all time), although their album mistakenly credits Dolly with having written the track. Order the CD here.

Support Mississippi Education
If you've got some free time Oct. 2, why don't you consider coming down to Mississippi for a good show and a great cause. Stars Over Mississippi, the bi-annual extravaganza by Dolly's longtime film agent Sam Haskell to raise money for education scholarships, takes place at 7 p.m. that night in little Amory, Miss. Although Dolly won't be there this year (she headlined the concert in 2000) the line-up includes Wynonna, Brad Paisley, Tony Danza, Patricia Heaton, Lance Bass of N*Sync, Doris Roberts, Brad Garrett, Sean Hayes, Jean Smart, Kirstie Alley, Michael Feinstein and more. Tickets are $30 on the football field or $20 in the stadium. Click here for more information (and look at the Dollymania coverage from 2000 here).

Aug. 27:
Omaha, Conn. Shows Confirmed
Additional Dolly concert confirmations for the fall are continuing to trickle in to Dollymania. Ticketmaster on Thursday noted the Oct. 30 show at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., announcing that tickets (ranging from $32 to $52) will go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 11 for the 7:30 p.m. show. In addition, The Hartford Courant in Connecticut on Thursday confirmed Dolly's Nov. 13 show at the nearby Mohegan Sun casino, noting that tickets will go on sale Oct. 1, although prices have yet to be determined. Also, officials with Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Calif., where Dolly is tentatively expected to play on Dec. 9, confirmed to Dollymania that she will, in fact, play the venue sometime late in the year, but the actual concert date has yet to be finalized. Likewise, a spokesperson for the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Penn., said there "is a good possibility" Dolly will play their arena soon, but the expected Nov. 17 date at the facility has not been finalized. Finally, the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, which earlier this week confirmed its 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 Dolly concert to Dollymania (tickets on sale Sept. 17), on Thursday posted a page on its Web site here dedicated to the event, revealing according to the the concert artwork (at left) that the tour is titled "Hello I'm Dolly," although the text accompanying it on the site mistakenly says it's Dolly's first tour in 15 years when in fact she toured in 2002 for the first time in a decade. The Schottenstein announcement also noted ticket prices for the concert will be in three tiers: $57, $44 and $29. The updated schedule of anticipated, possible dates on the "Hello I'm Dolly" Tour is listed below with confirmed dates noted (updated again evening of Sept. 2):

U.S. Chart Update
Norah Jones' Feels Like Home, with its Dolly duet "Creepin' In," falls eight places to No. 58 pop and comprehensive and is down six spots to No. 11 for Internet sales in its 28th chart week, according to the Sept. 4 charts released Thursday by Billboard. Mindy Smith's One Moment More, featuring Dolly harmonies on "Jolene," falls one notch to No. 19 in its 30th week on the independent labels albums chart. Kenny Rogers' 42 Ultimate Hits, including "Islands In The Stream," drops four spaces to No. 45 country in its 12th chart week. After logging five weeks at No. 1 on the country albums chart, Jimmy Buffett's License To Chill slips one to No. 2, also falling four to No. 11 pop. Big & Rich's Horse Of A Different Color rises two to No. 1 country and re-enters the pop top 10 at No. 10 with 63,000 copies sold in its 16th chart week.

And Up North
Jones' Feels Like Home falls two spaces to No. 22 in its 29th week on the Canadian pop albums chart.

Another Dolly Dulcimer Up For Auction
The Gatlinburg Special Events office is preparing for its Seventh Annual Taste Of Autumn fund-raiser, organizers tell Dollymania, and included in this year's live auction will be a dulcimer autographed by Dolly. Proceeds from the event, which features food from 38 of the area's finest restaurants (including a few at Dollywood itself) and a silent auction in addition to the live action, benefit the Sevier County United Way. Last year's event raised more than $19,000, and organizers hope to break the $20,000 mark this year. Admission is $25 for the 5 p.m.-8 p.m. happening at the Gatlinburg Convention Center on Sept. 16. Call 865-436-0506 for reservations. Thanks!

Aug. 26:
Three More Dolly Concerts Confirmed
Dollymania has confirmed three of the suspected Dolly concert dates as having been scheduled with tickets to go on sale soon. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, S.C., confirmed to the site the scheduling of her Oct. 14 show at the venue, which is expected to be the official kick-off for her fall 2004 U.S. tour. Tickets will go on sale for that performance on Sept. 11. Also on Wednesday, officials with the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Ga., confirmed what is believed to be the second stop on her tour, scheduled there for Oct. 15. A date for ticket sales at that venue has yet to be determined. And the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday confirmed her Oct. 20 show at that facility, with tickets scheduled to go on sale at 10 a.m. local time Sept. 17. Officials at several other concert halls and arenas listed on the suspected list of concert dates published here over the past couple of weeks would neither confirm nor deny her expected performances there, which usually means "Yes, she's coming here, but we can't say anything about it yet." Given that tickets for some shows will go on sale in just over two weeks, I'd expect a formal announcement on the tour confirming most if not all of the dates should come any day now. See the list of expected cities and venues in the Aug. 23 news update below.

Lexington Gets Dolly's Library
Kentucky's First Lady Glenna Fletcher was on hand in Lexington Tuesday to formally announce the start of Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program for residents there. The program, which provides one free book per month from birth to age 5 for any child whose parents register in more than 200 participating communities nationwide, will be sponsored in Fayette County, Ky., by the local United Way's Success By 6 education initiative. With a population of more than a quarter-million people, more than 16,000 of whom are of the ages eligible for Dolly's program, Fayette County, which includes the city of Lexington, marks one of the largest communities now in her library. Read a story from the Lexington Herald-Leader here and a press release from the United Way here.

More Dolly On DVD
The 1993 film The Beverly Hillbillies, featuring a Dolly cameo as herself singing "Happy Birthday" to Jed and part of her original song from the soundtrack, "If You Ain't Got Love," will be heading to DVD later this year. The film, long available on VHS, is scheduled for DVD release Dec. 14 from 20th Century Fox, it has been announced. The film, which starred the late Jim Varney as Clampett patriarch Jed, reunited Dolly with 9 To 5 co-stars Lily Tomlin (as Jane Hathaway) and Dabney Coleman (as Mr. Drysdale). Reserve your copy here! Thanks Tony!

Dottie Hints At Duet Appearance
Since Dolly and gospel legend Dottie Rambo will be at Dollywood at the same time next month, will they sing their No. 1 Christian country single, "Stand By The River"? "Well, you know, you'll just have to come and find out!" Rambo told a television audience on TBN in a program which aired Monday night and repeated on Tuesday. Rambo, who also talked on the show about the duo winning the Christian Fan Awards' trophies for Song Of The Year and Duo Of The Year, is scheduled to perform Sept. 24-26 at the park, and Dolly has concerts there on Sept. 25 and 26.

Aug. 25:
Time-Life Preparing Dolly 'Hee Haw' Release
Time-Life is apparently preparing to issue a sixth volume in its Hee-Haw collection containing an episode of the series featuring Dolly. She performed "Love Is Like A Butterfly" and "I Will Always Love You" on the show around 1974. While the company has put out five volumes on both DVD and VHS so far in the series, a sixth began showing up recently on ebay (apparently a promotional advance issue bearing the Time-Life label imprint) featuring the Dolly episode paired with one by Kenny Rogers. No commercial release date has been announced yet for the Dolly installment.

More Library Press
Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program got a plug in the Branson Daily News Tuesday spotlighting a reading fair held at Dolly's Branson Dixie Stampede over the weekend. See an abbreviated online version of the story here. In Branson, the Stampede pays for more than 5,000 children from two counties to participate in the reading program.

Concert Ticket Reminder
If you're not a Dollywood season pass holder or forgot to get your request in prior to last week's deadline for advance orders of concert tickets for Dolly's 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sept. 25 and 26 benefit shows at the park, remember that the remaining tickets go on sale first thing Thursday morning at 1-865-428-9488. Tickets are $75, $50 or $35 each (although usually the top two tiers have sold out before they go on sale to the general public), and they typically sell out completely before the day is over. A portion of each ticket ($20) is tax-deductible. Click here for more details.

Aug. 24:
Library Expansion In S.C.
Lee County, S.C., has joined Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program, says The Item in nearby Sumter. The local Lee County First Steps has secured funding for 100 children to participate in the project's first year there, the newspaper reported, and is seeking funds for future expansion. Dolly's program, in its eighth year in her native Sevier County, Tenn., and its fifth year nationwide, provides nearly 1.5 million free books per year to pre-schoolers in more than 200 communities across the country. It mails one hardcover book per month from birth to age 5 for any child whose parents sign up in a participating community. Read the paper's story on the program there here.

Aug. 23:
Grascals Change More Possible Dolly Dates
The Web site for The Grascals, Dolly's backing band and opening act for her upcoming tour, changed several concert dates Sunday night. As was first reported here a week ago, it is believed that these dates are those currently being negotiated as tentative stops on Dolly's upcoming tour. The changes posted over the weekend were moving the Oct. 13 Greenville, S.C., show to Oct. 14; moving the Oct. 15 show from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., to the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Ga.; moving the Oct. 16 show from the Grand Casino in Gulfport, Miss., 20 minutes down the road to the Biloxi Grand; moving the Dec. 4 show in Dallas from the Nokia Theater to the American Airlines Center in the same city (although this one may be an error because the Dallas Mavericks are set to play the Utah Jazz that night at the AA Center); adding a Dec. 5 show in Houston, Texas, at the Toyota Center; moving the Dec. 6 show in Phoenix, Ariz., at the Dodge Theater to Dec. 8; and naming The Hilton as the venue for the Dec. 11 show in Reno, Nev.
As was noted before, none of these dates has been officially announced as those for Dolly's concerts. However, all indications are that these are shows which her people are currently trying to finalize for her tour with The Grascals. The updated expected tour schedule is as follows (only confirmed dates are noted as such):

'Welcome Home' Up For CCMA Award
Dolly has snagged a preliminary nomination for the 10th annual Christian Country Music Association Awards, it was recently announced. Her video for "Welcome Home" from last year's patriotic and spiritual CD For God And Country is up for Video Of The Year. Other videos selected for the first round of voting are "American Soldier," Toby Keith; "If You Can Hear Me Now," Clifton Jansky; "Help Pour Out The Rain," Buddy Jewell; "I Love You This Much," Jimmy Wayne; "In My Daughters Eyes," Martina McBride; "Letters From Home," John Michael Montgomery; "Long Black Train," Josh Turner; "Raise Him Up," Randy Travis; "Streets Of Heaven," Sherrie Austin; and "Walk A Little Straighter Daddy," Billy Currington. The final five nominees should be released in about a month, and winners will be announced at the awards show in Nashville on Nov. 4 to air live on the Great American Country (GAC) cable network. Last year, Dolly was nominated for Mainstream Artist Of The Year and both Song Of The Year and Video Of The Year with Dottie Rambo for their duet "Stand By The River," but she didn't win in any of the three categories. Rambo, who will perform at Dollywood Sept. 23-25, is a preliminary nominee this year for Entertainer Of The Year, Female Vocalist Of The Year and Songwriter Of The Year (which she won last year). Dolly sister, Stella Parton, last year a nominee for Mainstream Artist Of The Year and The Pioneer Award (which Rambo won last year), is a preliminary nominee this year for Female Vocalist Of The Year and The Pioneer Award. For information on joining the CCMA so you may vote in this year's awards, visit their Web site here.

Jones Up Overseas
Norah Jones' Feels Like Home, with the Dolly duet "Creepin' In," inches up four spots to No. 24 in its 27th week on the U.K. pop albums chart, it was announced Sunday. It moves up one to No. 35 pop in Australia.

Dolly Tune On HBO
Astute viewers watching HBO's series Six Feet Under on Sunday night heard Dolly in the background. The show featured Mindy Smith's cover of Dolly's classic "Jolene" in the background of one scene. The version used was the one from Smith's debut album One Moment More featuring Dolly on harmony.

Live Liner Updates
I received a final copy of Dolly's Sept. 14 release Live And Well over the weekend from Sugar Hill Records including the full cover art, and the liner notes section for the album on this site has been updated to reflect changes from when the draft notes were released and published here more than a month ago to the final version used on the actual CD. Of note, they corrected the title "Appalachian Memories" to the "Smokey Mountain Memories" version performed on the recording (although "Smoky" is misspelled -- it shouldn't have an "e"), and the project is now copyrighted by Dolly, not the record label. Read that updated page here.

Aug. 21:
Dottie And Dolly Win Fan Award
Dolly and gospel queen Dottie Rambo were recently announced as winners of two of the Christian Fan Awards Association's annual trophies this year. Their duet "Stand By The River" from Rambo's album of the same name took the prize for Song Of The Year and brought the pair the Duo Of The Year Award as well. The song, which went to No. 1 on the Christian country radio chart, was previously nominated for a Dove Award and three Christian Country Music Association Awards but did not win. Rambo will be performing at Dollywood Sept. 24-26, the same weekend Dolly will hold her annual benefit concerts at the park. Thanks!

Plugging Live Collection
Sugar Hill Records has started the ball rolling to promote Dolly's Sept. 14 double-CD and DVD live releases Live And Well with prominent banner ads on CMT.com for the CD version of the collection that started appearing on Friday. Also on CMT.com, the network has added a two-minute excerpt of Dolly discussing and performing "Coat Of Many Colors" to its Dolly video page here from the British documentary Lost Highway: The History of American Country. (The episode from which the clip was taken repeats on CMT Aug. 28 and 29 -- see TV listings on the right-hand side of this page.) Order your live CD here and live DVD here! Thanks, Luke!

Muldaur Collection Includes Dolly Cover
I've learned that "Midnight At The Oasis" singer Maria Muldaur had a career retrospective album come out on Sony Music a few months back, and it contains her beautiful cover of Dolly's classic "My Tennessee Mountain Home," which she recorded on her 1974 debut album, Maria Muldaur (which also contained "Midnight At The Oasis"). The new collection, I'm A Woman: 30 Years Of Maria Muldaur, is in stores now featuring the remastered 1974 recording of Dolly's hit as well as 18 others from Muldaur's career. Order your copy here.

Aug. 20:
IBMAs Love Louvin
Dolly has snagged her sixth International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards nomination when nods for the honors were announced at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville Thursday morning. Livin' Lovin' Losin: Songs of the Louvin Brothers, on which she performs a duet of "The Angels Rejoiced" with Sonya Isaacs, is up for Recorded Event Of The Year. The CD, which won the Grammy this year for Best Country Album, faces competition from Sam Bush and David Grisman's Hold On, We're Strummin', Grisman's Life of Sorrow, the self-titled debut album from WhiteHouse and The Three Pickers by Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson and Ricky Skaggs. Unlike the Grammys, which do not honor individual contributors to various artist collections (instead awarding their trophy to the album's producer only), the IBMAs do honor all principal singers on such projects. Consequently, Dolly and Isaacs share their nomination with Joe Nichols, Rhonda Vincent, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Terry Clark, Merle Haggard, Carl Jackson, Ronnie Dunn, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Glen Campbell, Leslie Satcher, Kathy Louvin, Pamela Brown Hayes, Linda Ronstadt, Patty Loveless, Jon Randall, Harley Allen, Dierks Bentley, Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley, Marty Stuart, Del McCoury, Pam Tillis, Johnny Cash and the Jordanaires. Alison Krauss and Union Station have the most total nominations at nine (comprised of three with her band, two solo and four additional individual nominations for her band members). Winners will be announced at an Oct. 7 ceremony in Louisville, Ky. Dolly has previously won two IBMA honors: Album Of The Year in 2000 for The Grass Is Blue and Recorded Event Of The Year in 2002 with a slew of other artists for their collaborations on Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Sweethearts. She was nominated for Best Female Vocalist in 2001, the same year she shared multiple-artist nominations for Album of The Year and Recorded Event Of The Year for Big Mon: The Songs Of Bill Monroe, although none of those three categories produced a win for her.

U.S. Chart Slides
Norah Jones' Feels Like Home, featuring the Dolly duet "Creepin' In," falls a dozen spots to No. 50 pop and comprehensive but moves up one place to No. 5 for Internet sales in its 27th chart week, according to the Aug. 28 charts released Thursday by Billboard. Mindy Smith's One Moment More, and its Dolly guest vocals on "Jolene," slides down three points to No. 18 in its 29th week on the independent labels albums chart. Kenny Rogers' 42 Ultimate Hits, with the Dolly duet "Islands In The Stream," falls two places to No. 41 country in its 11th chart week. Jimmy Buffett's License To Chill remains at No. 1 country with 77,000 copies sold but slides four to No. 7 pop in its fifth chart week. Gretchen Wilson's Here For The Party remains steady at No. 2 country but is down three to No. 8 pop in its 14th chart week.

Better Up North
Jones' Feels Like Home inches up one notch to No. 20 in its 28th week on the Canadian pop albums chart. And on the country albums side, Dolly's Platinum And Gold Collection gains five notches to No. 66 in its second chart week up north.

Aug. 19:
Third Canadian Set Announced
Ticket sales are going so well for Dolly's two scheduled concerts with The Grascals at Canada's Casino Rama, that the casino has added a third set. Tickets will go on sale at the same three price tiers for Dolly's new 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24, show from Ticketmaster at noon on Thursday, it was announced Wednesday. Tickets still remain on sale in the lowest price tier for her previously announced 9 p.m. Oct. 22 and 23 shows at the resort. Thanks, Todd! The new date knocks out of the running apparent plans to try and schedule a concert that night at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich., one of the 37 new tentative dates announced by The Grascals earlier this week and reported here on Monday evening. As was previously noted, while those dates have yet to be announced as actual Dolly concerts, it is believed that those are the dates and venues currently being negotiated for Dolly concerts this fall, even though none appears to have been finalized at this time. (See news item dated Aug. 17 below for full details.)

European Cover No. 1 Again
For the fifth straight European CMA country singles chart, Arly Karlsen and Pat Roden's cover of the Porter & Dolly classic "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" remains at No. 1, it was announced in the bi-weekly chart's new edition on Wednesday. The 1974 No. 1 stateside for Porter & Dolly, who wrote it, remains at No. 1 for a second chart in Denmark and re-enters the top 20 at No. 9 for country airplay in Scandinavia, where it had previously peaked at No. 1 in July. The song falls out of the top 20 in Holland, down from No. 2, and in Germany, down from No. 18.

More Details On Upcoming McLean Duet
Kim McLean's management provided some additional information Wednesday to Dollymania on her new CD's duet with Dolly. The song, titled "Angels and Eagles," tells the tale of a mother putting her child on a plane for the first time, taken from the actual experience of McLean sending her daughter, Danielle, on a school trip to Paris and the emotions she felt saying goodbye. A CD of the song was sent to Dolly, who responded with a date to record the duet lines. The new album, Happy Face, was sent to the CD manufacturer last week, so an exact release date is not set, although it should be available in the next few weeks. A distribution deal for nationwide music stores is currently being negotiated, I'm told, and it should also be available online from Kim's Web site here and from Echo Music here as well as in Borders and Davis-Kidd bookstores and the Global Soup, a shop in Nashville. Thanks, Devon!

Aug. 18:
Release Date Announced For CD With Duet
Randy Korhs, formerly of Dolly's Blueniques backing band, has announced that his new album I'm Torn will be released Sept. 28 on Lonesome Day Records (cover art at left). As was previously reported here, the disc will feature his new duet with Dolly on the track "It Looked Good On Paper." The CD will be available both from Kohrs' Web site here and Lonesome Day's site (which has a great photo of the two on its news page here). Thanks, Ryan!

'Congeniality' Drag
I'm told there will be a Dolly female impersonator in the upcoming Sandra Bullock film Miss Congeniality 2. The film, currently in post-production, follows FBI agent Bullock through a new series of misadventures, this time in Las Vegas, including a drag show sequence. Although casting directors originally put out a call for female impersonators to play Dolly, Reba, Patti LaBelle, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Rivers, Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland and Britney Spears, only the "Dolly" character is billed in the cast list on the Internet Movie Database, and a film rumor site cited witnesses watching Bullock give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to Dolly in one scene, but I suspect that was the drag queen instead of the "real" Dolly . (In a personal note, a small role in the film is also portrayed by my old college acting professor, Nate Bynum. Congratulations, Nate!)

Aug. 17:
Back-Up Band Suggests Tons Of Possible Concerts
While no official announcement of Dolly's upcoming tour has been made, we may know where and when she's playing. The Grascals, who will serve as her opening act and backing band during the concert tour, on Monday posted a slew of dates for late 2004 on the tour page of their official Web site. Thanks, Dennis! Since many of the dates are in venues which seem to be way too large for newcomers to book, I strongly suspect most, if not all, of these shows will be Dolly's concerts. The dates posted on their Web site as Grascals performances include the previously-announced Dolly concerts at Dollywood on Sept. 25 and 26 and the ones at Canada's Casino Rama Oct. 22 and 23. In addition, the following dates are listed (see Aug. 23 news update for updated list):

Two New Dolly Collaborations On The Way
Kim McLean, a Dove Award-winning singer who formerly recorded under the name Kim Patton-Johnson and was featured last year in an episode of the sitcom Hope And Faith, will release a new CD later this month titled Happy Face (cover art at left), which, according to her official Web site, will include a new duet with Dolly! The CD, released on her own Hippie Chick Twang Records, will be sold at Davis-Kidd bookstores (Memphis, Nashville and Jackson, Tenn.) and, according to the label's Web site, should be available soon for purchase online at Echo Music, although I did not see an order section on their site. In related news, a reliable source tells Dollymania that Charlie Louvin has recently recorded a duet with Dolly as well for an upcoming project. No word yet on when it will be available commercially. Thanks!

Dolly Helps Charley's Victims
Although closed down itself for three days due to Hurricane Charley, Dolly's Orlando Dixie Stampede provided a helping hand for area residents this week. According to the Orlando Business Journal here, the dinner theatre was scheduled Monday night to open its doors for 800 storm victims to enjoy a free chicken dinner with all the trimmings. The storm hit Florida on Friday and the Carolinas on Saturday, forcing the closing of Dolly's Orlando restaurant since Friday (it re-opens on Tuesday) and the closing of its Myrtle Beach, S.C., location on Saturday (it re-opened on Sunday).

Don't Forget To Vote For Dolly!
If you haven't already voted, Tuesday is your final chance to cast an online ballot in favor of Dolly for Country Weekly magazine's annual Fan Favorite Awards. She is one of the 20 preliminary nominees for top female vocalist. The top five in each category will be announced as final nominees next month, when voting will resume to choose the winners. There is a limit of one ballot per e-mail address. Vote here! Thanks, Dawn!

Aug. 16:
Charley Forces Additional Dolly Closures
Dolly's Dixie Stampede in Myrtle Beach, S.C., was closed Saturday due to Hurricane Charley, following closure of the dinner theatre's Orlando, Fla., location due to the same storm on Friday. The storm, which made landfall in Florida on Friday with 145 miles per hour winds, still packed winds in excess of 100 miles per hour when it crossed Orlando Friday night. Turning back to sea, it made a second landfall on Saturday near Myrtle Beach with winds of 75 miles per hour. The Myrtle Beach location re-opened for business on Sunday, but the Orlando theatre remained closed on Saturday and Sunday as Florida dealt with the hurricane's aftermath. It is scheduled to re-open on Tuesday (the establishment is not open on Mondays during August).

Fund-Raising Begins In Knox County
Dolly's Imagination Library kicked off in Knoxville on Friday with a fund-raiser breakfast for the program there, according to a story in Saturday's Knoxville News-Sentinel here. The presentations included a videotaped message from Dolly, who joked that the high costs of bringing the project to one of the state's largest counties ($30,000 for its first year and up to $230,000 by year five) is still less than it costs her "to look this cheap," the report noted.

Jones Overseas Updates
Norah Jones' Feels Like Home, featuring Dolly on the duet "Creepin' In," creeps up four places to No. 28 in its 26th week on the U.K. pop albums chart, it was announced Sunday. It drops three to No. 36 pop in Australia.

Concert Tickets Still Available
There are still plenty of second and third tier price level tickets available for Dolly's Oct. 22 concert at Casino Rama outside of Orillia, Ontario, for $70.20 and $58.50 each, but as of this weekend the second tier had sold out except for a few single-seat tickets for the Oct. 23 show. Get yours from Ticketmaster Canada here. Also, as a reminder, Dollywood season pass holders planning to attend Dolly's Sept. 25 and 26 benefit concerts at the park must have their mail-in order ticket forms postmarked no later than Monday to reserve your seats. Those who ordered tickets the first day they became available began receiving theirs in the mail on Friday. Assuming the tickets do not sell out to season pass holders only (which has only happened once in the past, I believe), the remaining seats will go on sale to the general public the morning of Aug. 26 by phone at 1-865-428-9488.

Knoxville Gets Dolly Party
Phil over at Voice Of An Angel alerted me that The New Rainbow Club West, a gay club in Knoxville, will host a Live And Well preview party Sunday, Sept. 12, featuring an advance screening of the Dolly concert DVD to be released Sept. 14, several prizes from Sugar Hill Records and a Dolly Illusion Show with the drag queens all done up like Dolly at midnight. Thanks, Phil!

Your Store Updated
Over the weekend, I made some major updates to the Dollymania Store here, where you can find pretty much every Dolly CD and DVD available for sale commercially online. Most additions to the page were either recordings that had been in limited release earlier on small labels but have recently been re-issued in wider release or out-of-print CDs which have become available from individual sellers on Amazon.com's Marketplace. So if there are a few rare ones you haven't added to your collection, or you wonder if something's out there you just don't know about (especially in the guest appearances section for releases from a few years back), check out the Store here.

Aug. 14:
Hurricane Closes Fla. Stampede
Dolly's Orlando Dixie Stampede was closed for business Friday in anticipation for Hurricane Charley's landfall on the Florida coast. Patrons who had purchased tickets for that night's show will receive a refund or tickets to a future performance, according to a statement on the dinner theatre's Web site here. The category 4 storm came ashore with winds of 145 miles per hour at 3:45 p.m. Eastern time Friday near Fort Myers, Fla. The eye was expected to pass over Orlando around 9 p.m. Eastern.

Order 'Live' CD Now!
Just a little over four weeks from its Sept. 14 release, Amazon.com on Friday added an advance order page for the double-CD version of Dolly's concert recording Live And Well, but without a discount. The set sells for the $19.98 list price. Reserve your copy here! (And don't forget to get the DVD version here for $16.51!)

Aug. 13:
Jones Posts Gains On U.S. Charts
Norah Jones' Feels Like Home, with Dolly on the duet "Creepin' In," gains five places to No. 38 pop and comprehensive and inches up two spots to No. 6 for Internet sales in its 26th chart week, according to the Aug. 21 charts released Thursday by Billboard. Mindy Smith's One Moment More, with Dolly harmonies on "Jolene," moves up three notches to No. 15 in its 28th week on the independent labels albums chart. Kenny Rogers' 42 Ultimate Hits, including "Islands In The Stream," drops four spaces to No. 39 country in its 10th chart week. Jimmy Buffett's License To Chill remains at No. 1 country with 101,000 copies sold and climbs one to No. 3 pop in its fourth chart week. Gretchen Wilson's Here For The Party remains steady at No. 2 country and gains one to No. 5 pop in its 13th chart week.

And Up North, Too
Jones' Feels Like Home moves up seven spaces to No. 21 in its 27th week on the Canadian pop albums chart.

Another 'Jolene' Cover Out
Norwegian group Susanna & Magical Orchestra a few months back released their CD List Of Lights & Buoys containing yet another cover of Dolly's classic tune "Jolene." Read a review of the album, where that track it cited as its highlight, from Dusted magazine here, and order a copy of the CD here.

Aug. 12:
Dolly And Norah Sing Song Four Times!
Dolly and Norah Jones had to do four takes of their duet "Creepin' In" from Jones' CD Feels Like Home during Monday's invitation-only DVD concert taping at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, The Tennessean reported Wednesday in Brad Schmidt's Celebrities column. The paper reported that after the final performance, Jones told the audience: "''She's the coolest. Thank you, Dolly. God. … How do you follow that?" No release date has been announced yet for the Jones concert DVD.

Dollywood Still No. 1 In Tenn.
Dollywood is still the No. 1 man-made attraction in Tennessee, according to statistics recently released by the state's Department of Tourism Development. With 2.2 million visitors last year, Dolly's theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., remained at No. 1, where it has been for many years. If natural attractions are added, Dollywood comes in third, behind the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with 9.2 million visitors in 2003 and Cherokee National Forest, which borders the national park to the north and south, at No. 2. Dollywood's Splash Country, located adjacent to Dollywood, came in at No. 24 with 300,000 visitors, just one spot above the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville with 294,000. The complete top 10 man-made attractions in the state last year were as follows:

Aug. 11:
Dolly On Hall Of Fame Mag Cover
Dolly has landed herself a cover story on the new issue (Volume 23.3) of The Journal Of Country Music, a thrice-yearly publication of The Country Music Hall Of Fame. I haven't seen a copy myself yet, but I'm told the just-released magazine contains a wonderful 10-page article by Dolly biographer Alanna Nash (author of Dolly: The Biography) filled with more than a dozen photos of Dolly from throughout her career. The magazine is available on newsstands or by order from the Hall of Fame's online store here (although the Dolly issue wasn't listed for orders as of Tuesday). In related news, if you haven't visited the Hall of Fame Museum in Nashville in a while, they recently added a new audio tour for the facility featuring the voices of many of the genre's top stars, including Dolly. In her portion, which she recorded at historic RCA Studio B (itself is now part of the museum and where she recorded many of her late-1960s through early 1970s albums), she describes the Hall of Fame rotunda where members' plaques are displayed. Finally, since May, the museum has had on display one of the dresses and sets of shoes she wore earlier this year hosting CMT's Flameworthy Video Music Awards. It's the red beaded ensemble she donned at the show's start, and there is also a clip of her joking about the outfit shown on an adjacent screen. It is scheduled to remain on display through September. Dolly was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999 as its second-youngest member ever and is its youngest living member. Thanks Ron! (Magazine cover courtesy CMF Press. Used with permission.)

In 'CW,' Too
And speaking of magazines, the new Country Weekly out this week has a shot of Dolly in its fan photo section with 4-year-old Christian Ferguson of Nashville, who recently had his birthday wish come true to meet Dolly in person.

'Live' Online Preview Coming Aug. 23
Sugar Hill Records has announced that beginning Aug. 23 the label will offer online samples from its Listening Room page here of Dolly's forthcoming live DVD and double-CD concert release, Live And Well, coming out Sept. 14. As a preview, they provided a link in an e-mail to the label's mailing list on Tuesday for a streaming audio version of the live performance of "Little Sparrow" here. Although no song samples from the label's Web site, including "Little Sparrow," were working as of Tuesday evening, perhaps the problem will have been corrected by the time you read this. Also, if you didn't reserve your copy of the DVD from Amazon.com when the store first put up an order page on Monday, you've missed out on a great deal. The store on Tuesday upped the pre-issue price for the DVD from $13.29 to the new price of $16.51, which is still way below the suggested retail price for the release. Reserve your copy here!

Aug. 10:
Dolly Cover Still Rules Europe
For the fourth chart in a row, Arly Karlsen and Pat Roden's cover of the Porter & Dolly classic "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" takes the No. 1 spot on the European CMA's continental bi-weekly country singles chart, it was announced Monday. The song, which Porter & Dolly wrote and took to No. 1 three decades ago, gains one to No. 2 country airplay in Holland, where it had previously been No. 1; rebounds to No. 1 in Denmark, where it had previously peaked at No. 7 but fell out of the top 20 in the most recent chart; and re-enters the top 20 at No. 18 in Germany, where it had previously peaked at No. 2. It falls out of the top 20 in Belgium, down from No. 11 in the last chart and its earlier peak at No. 1; in Poland, down from its peak at No. 4; and the U.K., where the former No. 1 there is down from No. 7. Dolly's 1974 album cut "Blackie, Kentucky," which had been No. 19 for airplay in Malta in the previous chart, falls out of its top 20.

CMT: New Album Started This Week
CMT.com columnist Hazel Smith noted Dolly's upcoming tour and album projects with The Grascals in her weekly update Monday. Although the news was almost entirely re-prints from previous stories, it did include one new piece of information: that she began recording this week on the new solo studio album. Read her full column here. Image at left of Dolly and The Grascals in the studio last month while recording their bluegrass version of "Viva Las Vegas" featuring Dolly vocals. Click on the thumbnail for a larger version. Courtesy The Grascals. Used with permission.

Order Live DVD Now!
While the site hasn't added a page yet to advance order the double-CD version, Amazon.com on Monday began accepting orders for the DVD version of Dolly's Sept. 14 live concert release Live And Well at the discounted price of $13.29 each. Reserve your copy here!

Aug. 9:
Jones Overseas Updates
Norah Jones' Feels Like Home, with its Dolly duet, loses three places to No. 32 in its 25th week on the U.K. pop albums chart, it was announced Sunday. It drops 10 to No. 33 pop in Australia and falls out of the top 20 in Germany, down from No. 17 last week.

Wilson Likes Dolly
"Redneck Woman" Gretchen Wilson has worked Dolly into her live show, according to a review from Saturday's The Repository in Canton, Ohio. In a parody to the Beach Boys' "California Girls," the newspaper reports, she sings the line "There ain't nothing wrong with plastic surgery/Dolly Parton never looked better to me," before slamming Paris Hilton for her appearance. Read the full review here.

Rambo Getting Ready For Dollywood
Gospel legend Dottie Rambo made an appearance Friday at the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame to view an exhibit about her on display. She signed autographs for fans afterward and performed at a sold out show at the Renfro Valley Entertainment Center the next night. The singer, who duets with Dolly on the title track from her most recent album, Stand By The River, will perform at Dollywood during the Sept. 24-26 weekend, the same weekend Dolly will hold concerts at the park.

Canadian Tickets Still Available
While the top tier tickets, going for $81.90 Canadian each, had sold out over the weekend except for a few single seats, there were plenty of mid- and lower-tier tickets remaining as of Sunday evening for Dolly's 9 p.m. Oct. 22 and 23 concerts at Casino Rama outside of Orillia, Ontario. They are $70.20 and $58.50 each at Ticketmaster Canada here.

Aug. 7:
Saturday Ticket Reminder
Remember, as was reported here Friday morning, tickets for Dolly's 9 p.m. Oct. 22 and 23 concerts at Casino Rama outside of Orillia, Ontario go on sale at Ticketmaster Canada here at noon on Saturday. Prices from $58.50 to $81.90, Canadian. Since it is held at a casino, all audience members must be at least 19 years of age. I'm told the venue holds 5,000, so that means 10,000 tickets on sale this weekend. Read a brief about the show in Friday's London Free Press here.

BMG/Sony Merger Complete
Music powerhouses BMG (parent company to RCA Records, among other labels) and Sony (parent company to Columbia/CBS and Monument, among other labels) completed the merger of their two companies this week, they announced on Thursday evening. As has been reported here before, the deal is important to Dolly fans because now the vast majority of her recorded catalogue will be under the ownership of one corporate entity. To offer some perspective, Dolly has commercially released well over 800 songs over her career, including guest appearances on other artists' recordings. Previously, BMG owned the rights to nearly 55 percent of these, while Sony had about 17 percent. Combined, they now control 72 percent of her entire catalogue -- nearly three-quarters of it. In other words, if the new company wished to release a massive boxed set of all of Dolly's recordings it holds (it'll never happen, but we fans can dream), it would be a nearly 600-song collection, which would probably take up some 30 or 40 CDs. Warner Brothers has about 5 percent, thanks mostly to her collaborations with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, and about 3 percent came from her association with Universal Music Group labels, such as Decca and Rising Tide. Including her upcoming live CD, 10 percent of her recordings have come over the past five years through Welk Music, including its Sugar Hill label. The final 10 percent, mostly guest appearances, is split among a couple dozen other labels, each holding less than 2 percent. Read the press release on the merger here.

Norton Out Next Week
Don't forget the DVD of The Best of So Graham Norton, featuring Dolly's February 2001 appearance on his British series, hits U.S. store shelves on Tuesday. Get your copy here. (And if you haven't caught his hilarious new series on Comedy Central, new episodes air each Thursday at 10 p.m. Eastern!)

Aug. 6:
Update: Dolly In Canada
Although any type of full tour has yet to be announced, Dolly will be doing two shows at a Native American casino in Canada in October, it was confirmed Friday morning. The concerts, at Casino Rama, will take place at 9 p.m. Oct. 22 and 23 at the venue outside of Orillia, Ontario. Tickets go on sale at Ticketmaster Canada here at noon on Saturday. Thanks, Marie!

'Ultimate' Gone Again
After a brief re-appearance, Ultimate Dolly Parton falls back out of the 75-position country albums chart in the Aug. 14 numbers Billboard released Thursday, down from No. 74 the previous week. The disc, which had peaked at No. 20, has spent 44 weeks on the chart. Norah Jones' Feels Like Home, featuring the Dolly duet "Creepin' In," gains one spot to No. 43 pop and two notches to No. 43 comprehensive but loses four places to No. 8 for Internet sales in its 25th chart week. Mindy Smith's One Moment More, featuring Dolly on "Jolene," drops five spaces to No. 18 in its 27th week on the independent labels albums chart. Kenny Rogers' 42 Ultimate Hits, with "Islands In The Stream," falls four notches to No. 35 country in its ninth chart week. Jimmy Buffett's License To Chill remains at No. 1 country with 117,000 copies sold but falls two to No. 4 pop in its third chart week. Gretchen Wilson's Here For The Party remains steady at No. 2 country and inches down one place No. 6 pop in its 12th chart week. On the singles side, one week after topping Dolly's record for the longest stretch of career No. 1 hits for a female country artist, Reba slips to No. 4 with "Somebody" as Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" recaptures the No. 1 country singles spot.

And Up North
Jones' Feels Like Home falls five to No. 28 in its 26th week on the Canadian pop albums chart.

Have A Bluegrass Good Ole Time
Dollywood on Thursday released the performance schedule for its Red, White & Bluegrass Blast Sept. 24-26, the same weekend as Dolly's benefit concerts for The Dollywood Foundation. Due to Dolly's shows, The Del McCoury Band, Ralph Stanley and Ronnie Bowman & The Committee, all of whom were originally scheduled to perform in the Celebrity Theatre, will move to The Pines Theatre. The full schedule, including the weekend's performers to kick off the two-month-long Southern Gospel Jubilee, is as follows:

Wishful Thinking, Perhaps
When Whistler's Blackcomb Mountain near Vancouver landed Faith Hill for a concert there, taking place this weekend, it was considered a major coup, but now they're aiming for Dolly -- and Norah Jones. The organizer of the Hill show says he wants to mount additional concerts at the outdoor venue throughout the year and top on his list is to get Dolly and Norah to perform there, according to a story in Vancouver's The Province. Read it here.

Aug. 5:
Label Releases New Photos
Sugar Hill Records on Wednesday released four new shots of Dolly in concert to help publicize their Sept. 14 live CD and DVD release, Live & Well. View them here.

Dolly Look-A-Like On TV
They say it's the most sincere form of flattery, and impersonators will get their own special on CMT later this month, the network announced this week. The next installment of its CMT Most Shocking series will be "Imposters: The Life of a Celebrity Impersonator." In Las Vegas, they take a look at people who make a living pretending to be Dolly, Shania, Garth, Reba and more. It premieres at 9 p.m. Eastern Aug. 14 and repeats throughout the month.

Story Upsetting Readers Is Tabloid-Based
Several readers wrote in Wednesday about a story circulating in mostly the foreign press claiming Dolly is facing horrible back pain due to breast implants and will have breast reduction surgery. Well, I doubt the tales are true because the reports (which have surfaced in news outlets in India, the U.K. and even Florida) are based on a story which appeared in the British gossip magazine The Daily Star, which itself took the story from the American supermarket gossip tabloid The National Examiner, and we all know how inaccurate that publication's reporting tends to be.

Jones Disc To Be Re-Issued
Norah Jones' Feels Like Home, featuring the Dolly duet on "Creepin' In," will get a second life Sept. 21 with the re-issuance of the album as a two-disc set featuring three unreleased songs and a DVD with live versions of four songs, including "Creepin' In," although without Dolly singing with her, Billboard reported Wednesday.

Aug. 4:
Dollywood Surveys Kid Ideas
Some people on the Dollywood e-mail list received a survey this week asking for opinions on possible future developments at the park. While these types of surveys do not necessarily indicate exact additions to attractions, they can offer some insight into the thought processes on future expansions and offer a good sign that park officials are seeking input and are dedicated to future expansions. Survey-takers were asked their opinions on the importance of various aspects of the current park, including rides, food, shopping, festivals, shows and time waiting in line; their thoughts on popular children's characters from Dr. Seuss to Scooby Doo; and their feelings about several possible festival ideas, including one involving a children's character who is a ballerina mouse, motocross extreme sports, a kids' dragon show and trick skating.

Another Tenn. County In Library
Claiborne County, Tenn., has joined up with Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program, the nearby Middlesboro Daily News in Middlesboro, Ky., reported Tuesday. The county mayor announced the program on Monday, lauding Gov. Phil Bredesen (D-Tenn.) for making state matching funds available for any community in the state that wishes to sign up. Read more here.

Another Grascals Note
The Great American Country (GAC) cable network's Web site, Country Stars, on Monday picked up news of the Grascals' new album featuring the Dolly bluegrass version of "Viva Las Vegas," their working on Dolly's upcoming studio album and their touring with her later this year. The only new piece of information is that the Grascals' debut album with the Dolly track should come out in early 2005. Read it here.

Aug. 3:
Confirmation On Overseas Live Release
Sugar Hill Records confirmed on Monday that Dolly's live CD and DVD set will be available in several countries, but in a break with previous tradition, the products will actually be released on the Sugar Hill label and just be distributed by other record distributors overseas, instead of being released by different labels as their Dolly CDs have been in the past. Executives confirm its release will be sometime around the U.S. issue date of Sept. 14, although final dates have not been released, in Great Britain, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Thanks!

Flame Worthy Poster Contest
The guys at Dolly On-Line asked that I let readers know they have a new contest underway, the Sizzlin' Summer Giveaway. CMT has provided them with five of the 2004 Flame Worthy Music Video Award posters featuring Dolly and five copies of Country Music Today magazine with Dolly on the cover for five lucky winners. Visit their site here and click on the contest banner to enter. Thanks, Chris and Chris!

Aug. 2:
European Releases Of Live Collection Coming
Although I haven't confirmed it officially with Sugar Hill Records, some fans tell me they contacted the label and were told Dolly's live concert CDs and DVD will, in fact, be released in Europe in September. It was reported here Friday night that Sanctuary Records, which for the past five years has been the exclusive distributor of Dolly's Sugar Hill recordings in the U.K., confirmed they were not scheduled to release Live & Well overseas. Well, according to the fans who contacted the label, that's because the products will be released by someone other than Sanctuary. Instead, they will apparently come out on other labels in the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Thanks, Gerard and Thea!

Site: New CD To Be Recorded In Aug.
Dolly plans to enter the recording studio this month to record her next studio CD, according to the official Web site of The Grascals here. As was reported Friday night, the newly-formed band has signed on to open for Dolly on her upcoming tour and serve as her backing band both on the tour and on the new CD. Thanks, Greg!

Jones Overseas Updates
Norah Jones' Feels Like Home, featuring a Dolly duet, loses five places to No. 29 in its 24th week on the U.K. pop albums chart, it was announced Sunday. It remains steady at No. 23 pop in Australia and No. 17 in Germany.