Sept. 29:
Chart Updates From Across The Pond
The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt this week falls two to No. 7 on the British country compilation albums chart in its 107th chart week. Also on the U.K. country compilation albums chart, 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 Ronstadt) slips one to No. 15, while Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) dips two to No. 11 and Harris's Original Album Series, Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) falls back off the top 20, down from No. 19.

Pre-Order Milsap Duets Album
After announcing the title and release date for his duets album on Thursday, Ronnie Milsap on Friday made the collection, which features a duet with Dolly on "Smoky Mountain Rain," available for advance ordering. Reserve your copy of Ronnie Milsap: The Duets, coming out Jan. 18, here.

Sept. 28:
Dailey & Vincent Release Holiday Track With Dolly

'Here I Am' Sales Numbers Released
As was reported here Tuesday night, Dolly's duet with Sia on the re-recording of "Here I Am" debuts this week at No. 37 country singles, No. 2 country downloads, and No. 27 all-genre pop downloads. Sales figures released this week showed that the chart positions were based on the track selling 10,000 downloads in its first seven days of release.

Dolly Visits Netflix Movie Set
Dolly this week shared on Instagram a photo of her on the set of the first installment of her Netflix movie series, presumably These Old Bones, which has been filming the past two weeks in Georgia. Check out the image here.

Milsap Duets CD Release Date Announced
People magazine has announced the release date of Ronnie Milsap's upcoming album of duet re-recordings of his biggest hits, which as was previously reported here features Dolly on "Smoky Mountain Rain." Ronnie Milsap: The Duets will come out Jan. 18, a day before Dolly's 73rd birthday. Read the story, which focuses on his collaboration with Kacey Musgraves, here.

Sept. 26:
'Here I Am' Breaks Country Top 40 Singles
Dolly is back on the U.S. country charts, as "Here I Am" with Sia debuts on the Sept. 29 Billboard Hot Country Songs tally at No. 37, giving Dolly her 108th career chart country single and her second single in the 2010s to make the tally, following 2016's re-recording of "Jolene" with Pentatonix, which earned a Grammy Award and reached No. 18, making Dolly the only artist to have a top 20 country single in each of the past five decades. The new single also debuts at No. 2 on the Country Digital Song Sales chart, her fourth career entry on that list and second top 10, following the Pentatonix collaboration. It also makes it to No. 27 on the all-genre Top Digital Songs chart, her third entry there. Download the song here. In related news, Carrie Underwood's new album debuts at No. 1 pop and country, tying her with Dolly for the third-most No. 1 country albums at seven each (behind Reba with 13 chart-toppers and Loretta Lynn with 10). And Carrie promoted her album last week with Jimmy Fallon performing several songs, including a duet with the host on Dolly and Kenny Rogers' "Islands In The Stream" which you may watch here.

Gucci Loves Dolly In Paris
Gucci featured a couple of Dolly outfits in its runway show over the weekend for Paris Fashion Week, with a painted Dolly face on a sweatshirt and a Dolly image with her mid-1970s logo on the back of a denim jacket. Check out a review of the show from Vogue here.

Dolly's Wildfires Charity Closing
Two years after the devastating Smoky Mountains wildfires, it was announced over the weekend that the charity helping residents recover using money Dolly had raised through her telethon is shutting down. Dolly collected more than $12 million for wildfire relief, $9 million of which was paid by her My Peoples Fund in the six months immediately following the fires directly to 900 families who had lost their homes. The remaining $3 million was donated to a new charity, Mountain Tough, to focus on longer-term recovery. The organization provided direct aid to more than 400 families recovering from the fires with rent and utility assistance, construction costs, household items, and rental assistance as well as building a dozen new homes through the Appalachian Service Project, planning three new homes with the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, providing counseling services, and opening two new food pantry satellites. Remaining funds will be held in reserve by the Dollywood Foundation. A story is available from The Knoxville News Sentinel here.

Dollywood Welcomes Harvest Fest, LumiNights, Gospel
Dollywood's Great Pumpkin LumiNights returns to the Harvest Festival this week with illuminated pumpkins in more than twice the area as last year and many new immersive displays including a couple inspired by Dolly herself. Season passholders will get a special preview of the activities Thursday night before opening to the public on Friday. In a press release, Dolly noted: "We knew families were going to love all those glowing pumpkins last year, but with the way they responded, we found they were looking for a different and fun, family-friendly way to spend time together during this special time of year; Great Pumpkin LumiNights was certainly it. That's why we're givin' them even more to love during this year's festival. During the day, they can see all those beautiful colors God has painted across the mountains, and at night, they can experience the fun of a Smoky Mountain harvest." In addition, the Southern Gospel Jubilee comes to the park during the festival. Dolly added: "You really can say my career started back in those days when we'd visit all those small country churches just singin' about God. That music is close to my heart, so I'm truly proud we're able to offer our guests so many opportunities to hear this great music during the Harvest Festival at Dollywood."

Sept. 24:
Overseas Chart Updates
The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt this week slips one to No. 5 on the British country compilation albums chart in its 106th chart week. Also on the U.K. country compilation albums chart, 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 Ronstadt) gains five to No. 14, while Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) rises one to No. 9 and Harris's Original Album Series, Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) re-enters the top 20 at No. 19. Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) holds steady this week on the Australian country albums chart at No. 25 in its 366th chart week since its original 2007 release.

Overseas Chart Updates
RuPaul's WOW Presents over the weekend posted an episode of Fashion Photo Ruview focused on Dolly's looks from 2008 to today featuring commentary by Tennessee drag queens Eureka and Kameron Michaels. Watch it here or in the media player below.

Sept. 19:
Dolly's Constitutional Amendment Song Released

Learn More Of UT Imagination Library Documentary
The University of Tennessee Knoxville's Torchbearer profiled the class working on a documentary on Dolly's Imagination Library book program with a story on Tuesday here.

Dolly Says London '9 To 5' Will Feature New Music
Dolly appeared on UK network ITV's This Morning program on Tuesday to promote next year's London West End run of her 9 To 5: The Musical and announced that the version on Britain's Broadway will contain at least one new song never before released in the U.S. Check out the interview here or in the media player below (Thanks, Tracey!), and check out some of the other media coverage of the interview from Contact Music here and Metro here.

Sept. 17:
'Very Best' Still On Aussie Chart
Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) holds steady this week on the Australian country albums chart at No. 25 in its 365th chart week since its original 2007 release.

Dolly To Be On ITV Morning Show Tuesday
Thanks to Tracey for alerting me Dolly is scheduled as a guest on ITV's This Morning on Tuesday in the U.K.

Publication Looks At 'Tennessee Mountain Home'
The Paris Review last week offered a thoughtful and in-depth review of Dolly's 1973 album My Tennessee Mountain Home. Read it here.

Sept. 15:
'Here I Am' Tops iTunes Country Chart, Breaks Pop Top 5
Dolly's duet with Sia on "Here I Am" from the Dumplin' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack proved very popular on Friday with its midnight release. The song garnered much attention in the entertainment media and quickly climbed the iTunes charts, by the end of the day taking the No. 1 country spot and No. 5 pop spot. Over on Amazon, it was lower, coming in at No. 23 country downloads and No. 108 pop as well as No. 33 overall albums (likely because the way they listed the song for purchase: once as a song and once as a one-song EP album, thus splitting the sales totals between the two instead of just listing one to show its actual sales position.)

GetTV Schedules Dolly Marathon This Weekend
Get TV will celebrate Dolly Sunday night/Monday morning with six and a half hours of programming featuring her at her 1970s best. The night starts at 11 p.m. with a repeat of the special Mac Davis: Sounds Like Home featuring Dolly, Tom Jones and Donna Summer and then moves into 11 episodes of her 1976-77 variety series Dolly: Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris at midnight and 5:30 a.m., The Parton Family at 12:30 a.m., Kenny Rogers at 1 a.m., Tennessee Ernie Ford at 1:30 a.m., Lynn Anderson at 2 a.m., Anne Murray at 2:30 a.m., Chuck Woolery at 3 a.m., Ronnie Millsap at 3:30 a.m., Mel Tillis at 4 a.m., Tom T. Hall at 4:30 a.m. and Freddy Fender at 5 a.m. The broadcast network often airs these episodes once or twice a year, sometimes on a one-show-a-week basis and sometimes in a marathon of four or five episodes. This marks the first time they've run this many in one night.

U.K. Chart Updates
The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt this week holds steady at No. 4 on the British country compilation albums chart in its 105th chart week. Also on the U.K. country compilation albums chart, 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 Ronstadt) dips eight to No. 19, while Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) rises seven to No. 10.

Sept. 14:
'9 To 5: The Musical' Heading To London's West End

First 'Dumplin'' Single Released
As was announced on Wednesday, Dolly's duet with Sia on "Here I Am" from the Dumplin' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released at midnight Eastern Thursday night and is available for purchase and download from Amazon here and streaming from YouTube here or in the media player below. The full Dolly soundtrack hits stores Nov. 30 and the movie airs at a yet-to-be-announced date later this year on Netflix.

Sept. 13:
'Dumplin'' CD Coming Nov. 30, Single Friday, Movie To Netflix
Dolly's much-anticipated Dumplin' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will be released Nov. 30 on Dolly Records and RCA Nashville, it was announced Wednesday, while the project's first single, a duet of her 1971 song "Here I Am" performed with pop star Sia, will be released at midnight Eastern Thursday night/Friday morning. The news came along with the announcement that streaming service Netflix had purchased the film for broadcast later this year, although a limited theatrical run is planned (likely to make the project Oscar-eligible). As was previously reported, the soundtrack – consisting of six new recordings of classic Dolly tracks and six new compositions co-written by soundtrack executive producer Dolly and soundtrack producer Linda Perry – features collaborations with multiple female artists. The announcement repeated several previously-announced participants for the soundtrack in its "partial list" of guest vocalists including Sia, Miranda Lambert, Mavis Stamples, Rhonda Vincent and the film's stars, Danielle Macdonald and Jennifer Aniston (who must have decided to go through with recording her vocals she had indicated she may or may not do) and newly identified Elle King and Alison Krauss as singing on it as well. (Macy Gray and Miley Cyrus, who had previously been announced as participants, were not included on the partial list, but that doesn't mean they won't appear on the final project.) Read the full announcement from Dolly's official website here.

'These Old Bones' Begins Filming Without Dolly
Dolly's "These Old Bones" movie, the first in her Dolly Parton Theater film series for Netflix, began principal filming in Cartersville, Ga., this week, but contrary to social media rumors in advance of the shooting, Dolly was not present, The Daily Tribune reported here.

Stella Chats With British Press
Dolly's sister Stella continues to get coverage overseas from her appearance on the BBC's Celebrity Master Chef. Her new interview appeared this week in The Evening Express here.

'i Will Always Love You' Makes Another Talent Show
America's Got Talent contestant Noah Guthrie chose Dolly's "I Will Always Love You" as his semi-finalist performance this week. Check it out here.

Sept. 11:
Dolly Reacts To Golden Ticket Award Wins
Dolly reacted Monday to Dollywood's three first-place wins at Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards over the weekend. She said in a press release: "I've said it before, but back when I started Dollywood, I remember just prayin' that people were going to come visit us that very first year. Here we are in our 33rd season, still earning some of the biggest awards and honors you can get, and I can't tell you how proud I am of what we're accomplishing. I started Dollywood because I'm proud of the Smoky Mountains and wanted more people to come experience the beauty God has put right here in our back yard. We're adding Wildwood Grove next year, and I know it's going to give families more room to explore, imagine, play and spend time together here in the Smokies. The other reason I started Dollywood was because I wanted to hire the good people of Sevier County to work in the park. I knew when folks came and met the people who live and work here, they'd want to come back year after year because they would feel like part of the family. It must be working; we just won Friendliest Park for the seventh year! I'm so proud of the job our people do treating our guests well and going above and beyond to give them a truly memorable experience."  As was reported here Sunday night, the park took first place honors for Friendliest Park (seventh consecutive year), Best Shows (10th consecutive year) and Best Christmas Event (11th consecutive year). In addition, six more top 10 finalist positions were earned: second place for Best Food (an award it won first place for last year), third place for Cleanest Park (down from No. 2 last year), fourth place for Best Water Park at Dollywood's Splash Country (same ranking as last year), fifth place for overall Best Park in the world (down from No. 3 last year), sixth place for Best Wooden Roller Coaster with Lightning Rod (down from No. 5 last year) and 10th place for Best Wooden Roller Coaster with Thunderhead (down from No. 8 last year).

Report: Dolly Filming In Georgia
It appears Dolly's first installment of Netflix's 2019 Dolly Parton Theatre movie series, presumably "These Old Bones," may have started filming. Bartow News and Emergencies reported on Facebook here that the back parking lot of Southern Mugs in downtown Cartersville, Ga., will be closed on Tuesday for Dolly to film. Thanks, Dennis!

Sept. 10:
Dollywood Takes Home Three First Place Golden Ticket Awards
The annual Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards ceremony was held over the weekend at Dollywood's sister park Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo., over the weekend and Dolly's park took home three first place finishes this year: Best Christmas Event (its 11th consecutive first-place win in this category), Best Shows (its 10th consecutive first-place win in this category) and Friendliest Park (its seventh consecutive first-place win in this category). Last year, Lightning Rod brought the park a fourth first-place with Best Food, but the park did not win this year. The full list of additional top-five finishes for the park was not available yet from Amusement Today as of press time Sunday night. (Ed. Note: This item has been corrected to update the previous year comparisons to 2017 as they had originally been reported compared to the park's 2016 wins instead.)

Dolly Gets Fox News Coverage
This is a week late, but Dolly was apparently last week's Fox News Sunday's "Power Player Of The Week" in recognition of her Imagination Library literacy program. MSN shared video of the report to its website here on Friday.

Overseas Chart Updates
The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt this week loses one to No. 4 on the British country compilation albums chart in its 104th chart week. Also on the U.K. country compilation albums chart, 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 Ronstadt) falls three to No. 11, while Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) slips six to No. 17. Down Under, the "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) regains four spots this week on the Australian country albums chart to No. 25 in its 364th chart week since its original 2007 release.

Another Stella Interview Overseas
Dolly's sister Stella continues to get noticed in the British press this week thanks to her appearance on the BBC's Celebrity Master Chef. Check out an interview from The Express here.

Sept. 7:
In Memoriam: Burt Reynolds
Dolly on Thursday released a statement memorializing The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas co-star Burt Reynolds, who passed away earlier that day from a heart attack at age 82. She said: "Oh how sad I am today along with Burt's millions of fans around the world as we mourn one of our favorite leading men. I know we will always remember his funny laugh, that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and his quirky sense of humor. You will always be my favorite sheriff, rest in peace my little buddy and I will always love you, Dolly." The 1982 film, Dolly's second, grossed $70 million ($220 million adjusted to 2018 ticket prices), and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Charles Durning and Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture and Best Actress for Dolly. Both CNN here and USA Today here cited the film and Reynolds' portrayal of Sheriff Ed Earl as among the five essential roles of his career. The two remained close friends after filming, with Reynolds appearing on Dolly's variety series and once at a Dollywood event and Dolly appearing on Reynolds' "Conversations With" interview program. In a recent interview with Andy Cohen back in March, Reynolds called Dolly: "The kindest, the sweetest, just the most special lady I ever worked with."

Dolly Falls Off Social 50 Chart
After debuting last week for the first time ever on Billboard's Social 50 chart of social media activity, Dolly falls out of the top 50 this week, down from No. 31, the magazine reported. Her entry had been due to a meme of hers applying "Jolene" to the distracted boyfriend photo going viral.

Sept. 5:
Grammys Announces Dolly's MusiCares Honor
The Recording Academy on Tuesday evening formally announced what was leaked to the New York Post's "Page Six" gossip column over the weekend and reported here Sunday night, that Dolly will receive the MusiCares Person Of The Year Award in February. Coverage of the announcement included Dolly's official website here, Variety here and My News LA here. The full press release was as follows:

Dolly Parton, country music's most-honored female performer of all-time, is about to add a very prestigious achievement to her list: 2019 MusiCares Person Of The Year.

Recording Academy and MusiCares President/CEO Neil Portnow announced today that Parton will be the honoree at 29th annual benefit gala. Proceeds from the event will provide essential support for MusiCares, a charity founded by the Recording Academy that ensures music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical, and personal need. The tribute will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 8, 2019, two nights prior to the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards.

"Dolly Parton has always been and continues to be a courageous trailblazer and indomitable inspiration for creators and artists—so for us to have the opportunity to honor her at our annual MusiCares Person of the Year gala is to pay tribute to a true pillar of strength and someone who we all look up to and cherish," said Portnow. " Dolly also knows the power of philanthropy and she has used her stardom to contribute to a wide range of causes from natural disasters to education and literacy programs."

"I am so excited and humbled to be honored as MusiCares Person of the Year," said Parton. "It's even more special knowing the gala benefits music people in need. I can't wait to hear all of the great artists singing my music."

Parton was recognized by the Recording Academy in 2011 with the Lifetime Achievement Award. With this latest honor, the country music icon earns the distinction of becoming the first artist from the Nashville music community to be honored at the annual GRAMMY Week gala benefiting music people in need.

"I couldn't think of anyone more deserving to be the first MusiCares Person of the Year representing the Nashville music community," says Parton's manager, Danny Nozell, CEO, CTK Management. "It's been a privilege to witness her generous heart firsthand for the last 14 years."

The MusiCares Person Of The Year tribute ceremony is one of the most prestigious events held during GRAMMY Week and includes a reception and silent auction offering an exclusive selection of one-of-a-kind items for bidding guests followed by a dinner and tribute concert featuring renowned musicians and other artists paying tribute to Parton's music and legacy.

Parton joins a prestigious list of recent MusiCares Person Of The Year honorees including Carole King, Lionel Richie, Tom Petty. and last year's honorees, Fleetwood Mac.  

Anniston Talks About Working With Dolly
Ellen on Monday shared to YouTube a video from Jennifer Anniston's stop by to wish the host happy birthday back in February where she talked about Dolly working on the Dumplin' soundtrack and that she had jokingly suggested she join Dolly on one of the tracks, which Dolly took seriously. At the time of the interview, she said she had not decided whether or not to go ahead with the recording session. Watch the clip here.

Sept. 3:
Report: Dolly To Receive Grammys' Philanthropic Honor
The Page Six gossip column of The New York Post over the weekend broke the news that Dolly has reportedly been chosen as 2019's Grammy MusiCares Person of the Year, the annual honor that the Recording Academy's charity arm gives out to recognize significant creative accomplishments in a musician's career as well as their longtime support of a number of charitable causes. The honoree is recognized at a star-studded tribute concert gala held a week or two prior to the Grammy Awards, proceeds from which help fund MusiCares, which provides musicians with aid in time of financial, medical or personal need. The concert usually airs as a prime-time television special. If true, Dolly would become the first artist from the country music genre chosen for the award in its 29-year history as well as just its seventh female honoree (after Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Cole, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, and Carole King; Fleetwood Mac, which has two female members, was honored last year as the first band to receive the award). A Recording Academy spokesperson told the newspaper they could not confirm the selection because 2019's award details have yet to be finalized. Dolly has previously won eight regular Grammy Awards plus its Lifetime Achievement Grammy and has three songs in the Grammy Hall of Fame (two as the song's singer and songwriter, one as songwriter only). Her career 47 Grammy nominations are second only to Beyonce for the most nods by a woman in Grammy history. In philanthropy, she is most well-known for her Imagination Library early childhood literacy program, which earlier this year celebrated distributing its 100 millionth free book to a child, but she also has been a seven-figure donor in recent years to her local Sevier County hospital as well as Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, raised $13 million for Smoky Mountain wildfire relief in 2016, provides annual college scholarships for graduates from each high school in her native Sevier County, and has supported numerous other charitable causes throughout her career. Read more from FOX News here.

Australian Chart Update
The "gold series" re-issue of The Very Best Of Dolly Parton (Australian Tour Edition) loses a dozen digits this week on the Australian country albums chart to No. 29 in its 363rd chart week since its original 2007 release Down Under.

Stella Talks About Growing Up Parton
Dolly's sister Stella spoke with London's Telegraph over the weekend about growing up in the Parton family. Read the article, part of the publicity surrounding her appearance as a contestant on the BBC's Celebrity Master Chef, here.

Sept. 1:
Dolly Debuts On Billboard Social 50 Chart
Thanks to her distracted boyfriend meme going viral, Dolly debuted for the first time on Billboard's Social 50 chart tracking new followers of artists' social media accounts, page views, and engagement such as likes and shares. For the tracking week ending Aug. 23, a total of 123,000 Twitter reactions to Dolly's "Jolene"-themed meme put her on the chart at No. 31. Read more here.

Overseas Chart Updates
The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt this week dips two to No. 3 on the British country compilation albums chart in its 103rd chart week. Also on the U.K. country compilation albums chart, 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 Ronstadt) dips two to No. 8, while Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) gains four to No. 11.

Miller Tribute With Dolly Released
Don't forget that King Of The Road, the Roger Miller tribute featuring Dolly's version of "The Last Word In Lonesome is Me" with Alison Krauss and her on a various artist version of the title track, hit stores on Friday. Get your copy here!

Feinstein Announces Duets Album Name
Thanks to Todd for alerting me to an interview he conducted with Michael Feinstein at Cabaret Scenes here in which he said he intends to call his album of Gershwin covers as duets with country artists Gershwin Country. He had said in a previous interview that a collaboration with Dolly was the first track recorded for the project.