Oct. 30:
Slipping On The Americana Chart
Dolly's Halos & Horns lost five more places on the Americana Radio Chart released Tuesday, down to No. 30 with 238 recorded "spins" of its songs.

Oprah, Meet Dolly
Daytime TV diva Oprah Winfrey will join the ranks of her pal Dolly when she receives the AAP Honors Award from the Association of American Publishers in February, it was announced Tuesday. The award recognizes those who have excelled in promoting books and reading in America. Dolly was honored with the award in 2000 for the national expansion of the Imagination Library by her Dollywood Foundation. The program mails one free book per month from birth to age 5 to every child whose parents sign up for the service in participating communities. Previous recipients include National Public Radio and C-SPAN. (Read the text of Dolly's acceptance speech of her award here.)

A Brief Hiatus
There will be no Dollymania updates from Oct. 31 through Nov. 4, as your webmaster will be on vacation. Count on a recap of any Dolly news from those five days upon my return. And please take this opportunity to peruse other portions of the site which you may not have read, including the FAQs, Dolly awards page, store, Collectors' Connection, Letters To The Webmaster and more. Links to major pages may be found on the left-hand side of each page on the site, and links to some older features on the site are also listed on the right-hand side of the news page just below Dolly's scheduled television appearances and list of recent releases.

Oct. 29:
Making Joyful Noises
It was Christmas in October at my house on Monday night as I listened to two great new holiday releases featuring Dolly. Both Patty Loveless' Bluegrass & White Snow: A Mountain Christmas and Selah's Rose Of Bethlehem hit stores Tuesday. On Selah's disc, Allan Hall sings about the first half of Dolly's "Once Upon A Christmas," with Dolly taking over for the second half -- plus leading some beautiful "ahhs" in the background over instrumental areas. In the liner notes, Hall says that he first heard Dolly's duet of the song with Kenny Rogers and "loved the minor key and the world of imagery throughout the song. Dolly, who wrote the song, excels at painting pictures for the listener in concise, well-written lines." On Patty's record, Dolly and Ricky Skaggs provide clear harmonies on the album's title cut. Both CDs also contain a wealth of other great songs, including Selah's gorgeous rendition of one of my all-time favorites, "What Child Is This," with Nicol Smith on lead, and a decent cover of "Light Of The Stable," which you may recall was the Trio's first released recording (actually a quartet consisting of Dolly, Linda, Emmylou and Neil Young on Emmy's Light Of The Stable in 1976). Patty offers her versions of many classics, including beautiful takes on "Silent Night," "Joy To The World," "The First Noel" and more. Get Patty's record here and Selah's here!

Giving Dolly Her Due
The Associated Press finally picked up a story Monday on the planned tribute album to Dolly on Sugar Hill Records. In the article, Dolly is quoted as saying : "I'll recommend songs I'd like to hear different people do, if they ask me. I don't know who all they're going to get to be on it, but I would say if they get so-and-so, they should do so-and-so." About others wanting to perform her songs, she says: "You feel like you're leaving something in the world today that wasn't there yesterday." The only specific artist and song mentioned in the story is that Shania Twain has asked to perform "Coat Of Many Colors." Read the story here. CMT.com also posted a brief about the album Monday, listing previously-reported acts who may participate, including Shania, the Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow and Alison Krauss, as well as noting: "Label officials expect several rock acts to participate in the tribute that could be released sometime in 2003." Read their brief here. Country Now first broke news of the tribute album nearly three weeks ago, and Dollymania was the first Dolly site to report on it at that time.

Report: CMT To Air Austin Special
According to an Associated Press story Monday, it appears that CMT will air the concert special taped in Austin last week with Dolly, Vince Gill and Ray Benson regardless of whether the series is picked up for a full season. According to the article, the show will be broadcast as a special in February, with ratings to determine whether it becomes a regular series. Read it in Florida's Sarasota Herald-Tribune here.

More Dolly-Dottie Praise
Got a quote forwarded to me today from WSM's Opry Star Spotlight host Matthew Gillian, who premiered Dolly's duet with Dottie Rambo, "Stand By The River," a few weeks back. About the song, Gillian says: "It's always a thrill to be the first one on the radio to play a song from a new project! But to have the honor of being the first to play a recording from legendary artists, well, that's taking things to the next level. I have been a true fan of Dottie Rambo for as long as I can remember. Her divinely inspired music has touched my heart in ways that no other music has. Whether it be a soul-touching song of praise, or a hand-clapping, foot-stomper, that lifts your spirit to the heavens, Dottie has always found the way to make you listen, enjoy, and be moved by the tunes she is given. Now, team Dottie Rambo up with Dolly Parton for a little home-grown gospel music and you've got an instant revival to attend! This new single 'Stand By The River' is an awesome duet that lights up my phones every it's played. Dottie and Dolly are two of the most awarded, most recorded, and most loved artists I know in the music industry. I am very proud to know them both and to share this piece of musical history with my listeners! So, come 'Stand By The River' with all of us! We'll be waiting and watching for you!" The song is on gospel radio now, where it is getting heavy airplay, and the album which will contain it should be released by early next year. Thanks!

More Library Coverage
Dolly's Imagination Library going statewide in South Dakota continues to get mentions in the press. Television station KOTA reported on it in the Black Hills area on Monday, saying nearly 1,100 children have signed up there already. Read their online version here.

Oct. 28:
Off British Charts Again
Dolly's Halos & Horns fell out of the British pop albums top 75 chart again this week, it was announced Sunday, dropping from No. 75 in its seventh week on the chart. (However, it is likely still in the top 3 on the country albums chart, but that one is no longer publicly available to my knowledge.) The CD also falls out of the top 40 of the British independent albums chart, down from No. 40. It spent about 10 weeks at No. 1 on the country side of the chart overseas.

Austin Recap, News
A special thanks to Natalie, who submitted her notes and photos from Dolly's concert filming last week in Austin for a possible CMT series with host Ray Benson. (Unfortunately, she asked me to obtain her photos from her personal website, but it had been closed due to surpassing its traffic limit Friday afternoon, so I was unable to access them until later in the weekend. Sorry for the delay.) She got a to see a few minutes of Dolly's rehearsal and tried and tried to buy a ticket from someone before the show, until a kind older lady handed her one, refusing even to take the $100 she was offering to buy it. She also snuck in a camera and took some great shots which are available on Dollymania here. Another fan who attended (but didn't leave a name) recounted that Dolly joked a lot about everyone reading lines off monitors and even took a few lines away from Ray when he took pauses that were a little too long, eventually joking with him: "Ray, can't you read? It's right there on the monitors!" She performed "Jolene," "Coat Of Many Colors," "I Will Always Love You" with Vince Gill, "Leave That Cowboy Alone" with Ray and "On The Road Again" with the entire cast. Thanks! News 8 Austin reported on the show Thursday night, noting that should CMT decide to pick up the series, the pilot with Dolly could air as early as February or March. Read their story here (they also have a video clip posted, but it doesn't show any footage from the concert.) Also, you may read CMT.com's story on the show here posted Saturday night.

'Dollies' And A Bull?
Wanna party as Dolly on Halloween? A club called Mr. Moe's in Coconut Grove in the Miami area will host a Dolly lookalike contest on Wednesday night. All contestants, however, must ride a mechanical bull, the Miami Herald reports. Entries of "all shapes, sizes and genders" will be accepted.

More Imagination Library Coverage
The Rapid City Journal in South Dakota had a story over the weekend on Dolly's Imagination Library program there. Read it here.

A Mention
Dolly was mentioned in an article over the weekend on Ohio.com about the Akron Civic Theatre. It was noted that when Dolly first played there with Porter around 1967 or 1968, they were just referred to as "Porter Wagoner and Girl Singer." Even so, there was a line at the orchestra pit after the show for her autograph, and she refused to leave until she had signed her name for every fan who wanted it. "She stood there for probably an hour," the theater manager said. "I thought, 'Boy, what an attitude.'" Read the full story here.

Poll: Looking Forward To Martina
On CMT.com's daily poll Friday, voters were asked who would provide the best performance on the CMAs. Fans overwhelmingly picked Martina McBride, who took in nearly half of the vote. Dolly and Shania each had about 20 percent, and Faith Hill was last with 12 percent.

Oct. 25:
CMA: Dolly Will Sing
Although Dolly herself had broken the news earlier this month, the CMAs officially announced on Thursday that she will appear on the Nov. 6 broadcast of the awards show. She will perform her Sept. 11th-inspired "Hello God" from Halos & Horns and induct former longtime duet partner Porter Wagoner and Grand Ole Opry member "Jumpin" Bill Carlisle into the Country Music Hall of Fame (Dolly herself was inducted in 1999 and is the Hall's youngest living current member). As you may recall, Dollymania was the first U.S. media outlet to report more than two weeks ago that Dolly had confirmed in an overseas interview that she was booked to perform the song on the program. Other performers announced thus far include Nickel Creek, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Travis Tritt, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, George Strait and Shania Twain. The show airs live from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. Eastern on CBS. Read the official press release on PR Newswire here.

Down Some, Steady Some On U.S. Charts
Dolly's Halos & Horns loses four more spaces on the Nov. 2 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday, coming in at No. 42 in its 15th chart week. The album remains steady on both the independent albums chart and bluegrass albums chart, at No. 26 and No. 5, respectively. The Songcatcher soundtrack, with the Dolly duet "When Love Is New," falls off the bluegrass albums chart after 11 weeks, dropping from No. 10. Pinmonkey, with gorgeous harmony from Dolly on her original "Falling Out Of Love With Me," falls off the pop 200 albums chart and is down 13 notches to No. 30 in its second week on the country albums chart. Pam Tillis' It's All Relative, which also includes Dolly harmony, falls back off of the country albums chart, down from No. 68 in its fourth week last week. The Sweet Home Alabama soundtrack, which features Dolly's "Marry Me," remains steady at No. 3 on the soundtrack charts and moves up 15 places on the pop albums chart to No. 46 in its third chart week, while the Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling soundtrack (one of Dolly's companies is producer of the UPN series) falls three on the soundtrack chart to No. 12 and 41 places on the pop albums chart to No. 181 in its third week. Faith Hill's overtly pop album, Cry (which is an amazing record; think of it as Faith's Heartbreaker) debuts at No. 1 on both the country and pop albums charts with nearly half a million copies sold in its first week.

Americana Chart
On the Americana chart released Wednesday, Halos & Horns fell five spaces to No. 25, with cuts receiving 238 spins on radio, down from 259 the previous week.

Austin Update
News 8 Austin reported Thursday a little more on Dolly and Vince Gill's concert taping there that night, including a note that it might not air on television. According to the television station, the show, hosted by Texan Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel, is being shot as a pilot for a music variety show he is pitching to CMT. The network is expected to announce next month whether it will air the special and pick up the series for a full season. All 1,300 tickets for the taping had been given away before the show, the report noted. Read the full story here. (And if you're lucky enough to attend the taping, please send reports and, if possible, photos here. Thanks!)

Pinmonkey Notes
Dolly got a mention in a CMT.com story Wednesday on the new self-titled CD from Pinmonkey. The article noted that Dolly's "Falling Out Of Love With Me" has been a staple number in the band's concerts for many years and that Dolly recorded her harmony vocals for the track on their album while they were on tour. Checking in via telephone, they caught Dolly in the studio singing and were told: "She's in there working her ass off for you guys." Band member Michael Reynolds explained: "She really loved the song and went in and just gave it 110 percent. We always say that was a bigger compliment than her agreeing to do the song in the first place -- the fact that she just came in and gave it her all." Read the full article here.

More On Dolly In Hollywood
The Reuters news service on Thursday posted to its wire a Variety story on Dolly's concert last week in Los Angeles to promote Tennessee's film and music industry to entertainment officials on the West Coast. Commenting on Dolly's new role as the state's official film and music ambassador, state film and music commission director Pat Ledford said: "Dolly's involvement in promoting Tennessee's film and music industry will be a tremendous asset to our economic development efforts. She has the unique combination of film and music credits that represents everything Tennessee can bring to a film project." Read the full story on Lycos here and see a pic here!

Oct. 23:
Dolly's Got Hair!
Dolly was great Monday night on A&E's documentary Uncut: The True Story of Hair. She was interviewed probably more than any one else on the two-hour program, offering her opinions on segments about perms, wigs (of course), big hair, Elvis, bald men, bad hair, Madonna, hair coloring, blondes and more. (Plus Dolly said Crystal Gayle had the best hair in the world, and Crystal said Dolly!) The show featured probably more photos of Dolly as well than anyone else, ranging from the late '60s through the '90s. Check out some stills of Dolly from the program and a few of the shots they used of her throughout here. The special repeats at 5 p.m. Eastern Saturday.

In The Press
I'm told there are quite a couple of Dolly mentions in some magazines on shelves now. Women Who Rock (fall issue with Tori Amos on the cover) features an interview about Halos & Horns (although their website doesn't contain any text from the story), and the Rolling Stone issue dated Oct. 31 celebrating women in music selects Best Of Dolly Parton at No. 34 in the 50 Essential Albums Of Women Singers (likewise, that magazine's online version doesn't contain that list). Thanks, Manuel! (P.S. Get votes in for Dolly in the 2002 Rolling Stone Readers' Poll here!)

Oct. 22:
More British Updates
Got a reminder today that the BBC still posts the British independent album and singles charts (although they just list the top 40 instead of the full 75), and Dolly's Halos & Horns is No. 40 on this week indie albums list, down from its re-entry into the chart at No. 30 last week. On the singles chart, "If" falls out of the indie top 40 this week, down from its re-entry at No. 15 last week. Thanks, Michelle!

Great New Interview
Tuesday's New Zealand Herald includes a great Q&A with Dolly called "Dolly and her dangerous curves" covering her family background, her career and her look. Read it here.

Well, She Is Known As A Bitch
Joan Collins, the 69-year-old British actress best known for "bitch" characters, slammed Dolly in recent comments made during a BBC interview. The quote, made while she was promoting her new book about beauty, was picked up by the wire services and repeated all over the place on Monday. In talking about cosmetic surgery, she argued: "I think liposuction is something so horrible - they have so many disasters with it. Dolly Parton has face like a doll, you know, it doesn't look right to me." TV Guide.com posted the story in its daily gossip update (here) with the headline "Don't Mess With Dolly!" and the note that Collins "is taking potshots at Dolly Parton." Read the Reuters wire version on News 24 here.

Oct. 21:
British Chart Update
Dolly's "If" from Halos & Horns falls off the 75-position British pop singles chart after just one week at No. 73, it was announced Sunday. As was reported here last week the, single was just Dolly's sixth appearance on the chart across the pond. The CD itself drops a dozen spots on the pop albums chart to come in at No. 75 for its seventh week (which would make its ninth or 10th week at No. 1 on the country albums chart, if it were still published).

More On ABC Story
ABC News on Saturday posted an electronic version of the World News Tonight story on the changing face of country music, including an additional comment on Dolly. The Tennessean critic Craig Havighurst is quoted as saying Dolly's current albums are among some of the best music of her career, and the story notes about them: "Recorded mainly with acoustic instruments, the songs feature primarily Parton's still-haunting voice — songs not loud or bold enough to push their way onto the charts, but certainly beautiful works of music." Read it here.

A Mae Mention
Dolly's upcoming Mae West tele-film made the LA Daily News gossip section over the weekend. Read it here.

Bus Tidbit
I'm told there was a Dolly mention in Friday's "Escapes" section of the New York Times. In an article about John Madden's tour bus that takes him across the country for his football game commentaries due to his fear of flying, it mentioned that the first time he required a bus, CBS didn't have one, so they rented Dolly's for him. Thanks, Horacio!

Tales Of The Wigs
Remember to catch Dolly on A&E's documentary Uncut: The True Story of Hair, premiering Monday night at 9 p.m. Eastern on the cable network. It repeats at 1 a.m. Tuesday and 5 p.m. Oct. 27.

Oct. 19:
IBMA Win!
Dolly took home another International Bluegrass Music Association Award Thursday night. Clinch Mountain Sweethearts won Recorded Event Of The Year for Ralph Stanley and guests Dolly, Iris DeMent, Pam Tillis, Patty Mitchell, Gillian Welch, Maria Muldaur, Sara Evans, Joan Baez, Kristi Stanley, Gail Davies, Chely Wright, Melba Montgomery, Jeannie Seely, Lucinda Williams and Valerie Smith. Dolly performed a duet on "Loving You Too Well" with Stanley on the disc, and the award was presented in the names of all who sang on the album. Previously, Dolly was nominated for Best Female Vocalist at the IBMAs in 2000 and 2001, winning Album of The Year in 2000 for The Grass Is Blue.

Dolly On ABC News
ABC's World News Tonight on Friday evening featured a story on the struggle in country music to balance the traditional sounds which are largely absent from today's radio with the glossy pop numbers which are considered country today. Although the promos which aired throughout the day featured a clip from Dolly's "Dagger Through The Heart" and asked viewers to turn in to find out why Dolly isn't heard on radio these days, her only appearance in the story was a snippet from the video with the narrator's comment that even Dolly has seen her most recent singles ignored by radio. The story featured music from pop-country divas like Shania Twain and Lee Ann Womack and sounds of traditional performers like Rhonda Vincent. However, the piece ended with optimism that the success of some recent traditional music, such as the Dixie Chicks' amazingly successful new CD, will convince radio to start playing that style again.

'I Will Always Love' . . . Saddam?
The first time I saw this in a commentary column a week or two ago, I thought it was a joke, so I didn't pass it along here. But the Sacramento Bee on Friday featured a story confirming it was true. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who won re-election in his one-candidate race this week, used Whitney Houston's version of the classic Dolly composition "I Will Always Love You" as his campaign theme song, having it played continuously on election broadcasts on all three of that nation's state-owned television stations. Read the story here.

Tribute Press
The Birmingham Post-Herald on Friday became the first newspaper I've seen pick up the news that Sugar Hill Records is working on the Dolly tribute album. See the brief here.

Dottie Chart News
I've been told that Dolly's duet with gospel legend Dottie Rambo, "Stand By The River," will debut this weekend much higher than anticipated on the PowerSource Top 20 countdown of Christian-themed country music. As was reported here earlier in the week, it was expected to debut at No. 16, but instead it should come in at No. 7! The countdown airs on Sundays. Check out their website for affiliates.

Prizes In The Mail
Prize packs were mailed out by Sugar Hill on Friday to the winners in the Dollymania/Sugar Hill Records Contest . Grand prize winner Calvin Bailey III of Middletown, N.Y., wrote in to say: "Thank you very much. I appreciate it very much. I enjoy your website very much. Not a day goes by that I don't visit it at least once. You are the number resource for all things Dolly. Thanks again." Congratulations again to Calvin and the three first-place winners, and thanks to Sugar Hill for making the contest possible!

Oct. 18:
Contest Winners Announced!
Congratulations to Calvin Bailey III of Middletown, N.Y., who takes home the Grand Prize in the Dollymania/Sugar Hill Records Contest! He'll receive an autographed copy of Dolly's Halos & Horns, a promo CD of the radio show to promote the album, an album flat and promotional photo of her from Sugar Hill Records. The three lucky first place winners (each of whom will receive the radio show CD, album flat and promo photo) are Brenda Willis of Cherryville, N.C., Jeff Lewis of Ringgold, Ga., and Mike Gleason of Georgetown, Ohio. Congratulations to all of you! And thanks to the hundreds of readers (from 40 states!) who entered the contest (and the dozens from outside the U.S. who had tried to enter but couldn't; sorry -- the record label restricted entries to U.S. residents only). To those who didn't win, check back soon. I plan to hold another contest in a few weeks, likely with a Dolly item or two of which I have an extra copy. And thanks again to Sugar Hill Records for making the contest possible!

U.S. Charts Updated
Dolly's Halos & Horns continues a slow descent on the Billboard charts released Thursday. In its 14th chart week, the CD loses four spots on the Oct. 26 country albums chart to come in at No. 34 and eight places on the independent albums chart to register at No. 26, but it remains steady at No. 5 on the bluegrass albums chart. Pinmonkey marks a strong debut with its self-tilted album which features gorgeous Dolly harmonies on a cover of her "Falling Out Of Love With Me." Their disc charts at No. 17 country and No. 126 pop. The Songcatcher soundtrack, with the Dolly duet "When Love Is New," drops two notches on the bluegrass albums chart to reach No. 13 in its 11th week. Pam Tillis' tribute to her father, It's All Relative, makes a return to the country albums chart this week after a brief absence; it comes in at No. 68 for a fourth chart week. And related to Dolly, the Sweet Home Alabama soundtrack, which features her song "Marry Me," inches up three spots on the pop albums chart to No. 61 and two on the soundtrack albums chart to No. 3, while the Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling soundtrack (one of Dolly's companies is producer of the UPN series) loses 38 places on the pop albums chart to come in at No. 140 and one spot on the soundtrack albums chart to No. 9.

Dolly In LA
Brad Schmidt's daily celebrity column in Thursday's The Tennessean reported on Dolly's performance Tuesday night at the Directors Guild of America's annual meeting in Los Angeles as a promotional event for Tennessee's music and film industry in her new role as the state's official music and film ambassador. Read the full story here. (And Phil over at Voice of An Angel was lucky enough to get a photo which he posted from the show. Visit his news page to see it.)

Whose Building Is That?
Thursday's issue of Nashville Scene includes an interesting column on the 10 structures in town that people always ask about and wonder what exactly they are because they look so unique. No. 1 on their list is a stucco-and-timber compound located at the corner of 12th Avenue South and Elmwood Avenue which reminds one of the Alamo. Turns out that the complex is Dolly's office in town, which she purchased and renovated in 1989. The paper calls it: "Fantasyland architecture in 12 South, courtesy of one of Tennessee's most fantastic creations." Read the full column here.

Faith Compared To Dolly
Chet Flippo, who is very fond of citing (and praising) Dolly in his weekly "Nashville Skyline" column on CMT.com, mentions her again in this week's installment posted Thursday. In a column focusing on backlash from both the pop and country communities against Faith Hill for the pop sound of her new album, Cry, which hit stores on Tuesday, he brings up the similar circumstances Dolly faced in the late 1970s, although he doesn't seem to view the latter years of her pop career as very successful. Read his story here.

Imagination Library Story
The Free Press in Kingston, N.C., had an article in Thursday's edition on Dolly's Imagination Library coming to town, with the Greene County Board of Education paying the local cost share of the literacy program. Read it here.

Oct. 17:
Reserve 'Whorehouse'
You may now reserve your copy of the Jan. 7 DVD release of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas for less than $14 from Amazon.com by clicking here!

More Irish Pics
Showbiz Ireland on Wednesday posted some new shots of Dolly at her recent Dublin CD signing. See them here!

Oct. 16:
'Power' Dolly
Dolly is all over the new issue of Power Source magazine. The Quick Takes column includes a photo of Dolly with the title "On The Big Screen," detailing her Mae West television movie soon to be filmed, her appearance as an angel in the upcoming Disney animated film My Peoples, "Marry Me" being included on the Sweet Home Alabama soundtrack and her duet with Dottie Rambo on "Stand By The River." An article titled "Selah Says Hello Dolly!" mentions her new recording of her "Once Upon A Christmas" for the Christian band's Oct. 29 release Rose Of Bethlehem, and the "Road To Success" section contains a publicity shot of Dolly and Dottie with brief bios of the two and quotes from major DJs in large markets saying their single is in heavy rotation. The story notes: "The similarities in Dolly's and Dottie's writing style and their heartfelt vocals have often linked these two, but this is truly music history as these two legends in American music combine their talents to create a song, which will surely go down in Christian Country Music history." Also, the magazine's Top 50 bluegrass chart debuts two Dolly cuts: "Stand By The River" at No. 21 and Dolly's "I'm Gone" from Halos & Horns at No. 18. The duet also makes the chart on the Country Gospel Connection's October tally, debuting at No. 3.

Scotland Show Again Posted
BBC Scotland has posted a separate link to Dolly's recent interview on the Tom Morton Show, which I'm told will remain online as long as there's an interest in hearing it. (Previously, it had been available on the network's "Listen Again" page, where programs are deleted after one week -- meaning Dolly's interview had been removed as of Monday.) Visit the show's page here to listen to the interview! Thanks, Kirsteen!

Americana Chart Update
Halos & Horns drops a bit on the Americana Radio Chart released Tuesday, down eight spots to No. 12 with 259 radio spins recorded.

Oct. 15:
Dolly In Sweden
My pal Anna in Sweden says Dolly was amazing over the weekend on BingoLotto, that nation's highest-rated TV show. She performed three songs on the program: "Halos And Horns," "If" and "I Will Always Love You." Thanks, Anna!

Vote Today
Dot Music, the top British music website, again has opened voting for its annual music awards. Among the three categories for which fans may vote is the Peoples' Choice Award for best music website. Last year, Dollymania ranked in the top 500 of the nearly 3,000 total sites considered which collectively received more than 150,000 votes. If you'd like to cast your vote for Dollymania (and be entered to win a JVC digital camera), click here or on the graphic below. The winner, as well as the top 1,000 sites, will be announced in November. Thanks!

Oct. 14:
'If' Debuts In England
Dolly's cover of Bread's song "If" from her CD Halos & Horns debuts this week on the British pop charts, it was announced Sunday. The song comes in at No. 73 on the 75-position chart, her first time on the singles chart there in eight years. Although she's always been very popular across the Atlantic, she hasn't had much chart success there with singles. Her only previous songs on the U.K. chart were "Jolene" (No. 7, 1976), "9 to 5" (No. 47, 1981), "Islands In The Stream" (No. 7, 1983), "Here You Come Again" (No. 75, 1984) and "The Day I Fall In Love" with James Ingram (No. 64, 1994). The album Halos & Horns also returns to the top 75 pop albums chart for a sixth week, coming in at No. 63.

More Dolly-Dottie Chart News
Dolly and Dottie Rambo's gospel duet "Stand By The River" is racing up various Christian music charts, it's been reported here in the past week or two. And now there are two more! The single is No. 5 for October on the U.S. Gospel News chart and designated that chart's "moving up fast" selection. And it is expected to debut this week at No. 16 on the Power Source Top 20, a syndicated radio program of country singles with a Christian message.

New Dolly Interview
Sunday's Irish Independent featured an interesting interview with Dolly, including what I believe is her first-ever public affirmation that she's had breast enlargement surgery -- so long ago that the procedure cost only $3,000. However, she's quick to point out, "I always had big boobs." (She's often joked that she got her chest enlarged with the royalty check after "Jolene" was a hit, but this time she appeared to have said it in seriousness.) In addition to plastic surgery, she talks about her background, religion and more. Read the full article here (but you first must register with their site for access; that's free).

Selah Photos
Allan Hall of Selah contacted me over the weekend and provided some photos of the band with Dolly from the recording of a new duet version of Dolly's "Once Upon A Christmas" for their holiday album Rose of Bethlehem due out Oct. 29. Allan says: "She sounds GREAT!! We had such a blast with her! She's as funny and sweet as she seems in the movies or on TV. This was a dream come true for me, as I've been a big Dolly fan since I was a kid. I grew up in East Tennessee also, so Dolly and I hit it off pretty quickly!" Photos of the gang with Dolly in the studio are available here. Order your copy of the CD here. Thanks, Allan!

Chick Loves Dolly
I'm told the October issue of Redbook features a cover story on the Dixie Chicks in which Martie Maguire answers that Dolly is the person she most admires. "I love that she's not afraid to be a girly girl," Maguire said. "She's the epitome of class and not taking yourself too seriously." Thanks, Hollie!

Oct. 12:
'Whorehouse' To Hit DVD Shelves
Ten months after its release in Europe and Australia (in versions unreadable in the U.S.) and about three months after its release in Mexico (in a version readable in the U.S. but not sold here), MCA/Universal has announced that it will finally issue Dolly's classic film The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas on DVD in the United States! The suggested retail price is $20, but most retailers will likely be selling it between for $15 and $17 when it first comes out. The film, which hit screens in 1982 as Dolly's second movie, grossed $105 million in its original release (approximately $202 million adjusted for today's inflation). Look for it in stores on Jan. 7. Thanks, Dusty!

Dolly To Do Austin Taping
Dolly is scheduled to perform later this month at a CMT concert taping in Austin, it has been announced. Texas native (and Dolly's Wild Texas Wind co-star) Ray Benson put the show together and will act as host. The show is billed as "starring" Dolly and Vince Gill with special guests Bruce Robinson, Stephanie Davis and more. It will be held Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Riverbend Center, and the only way to get tickets is to win them from Austin radio station KVET. No information yet on when CMT will air the program. Thanks, Natalie!

More Tribute Details
Sugar Hill Records has released a tiny bit more information on the upcoming Dolly tribute album. In a press release, it was confirmed that the album will be issued on Sugar Hill and that artists who have "expressed initial interest" include Alison Krauss, Sinead O'Conner, Norah Jones, Aimee Mann and the Dixie Chicks. No recording or release dates have been scheduled, it was noted. Dolly's longtime co-producer Steve Buckingham, who is also vice president of the label's parent company, said in the release: "I believe the exciting news about this project is that Dolly has agreed to participate in the song selections as well as possibly performing with some of the guest artists. Dolly's involvement will make this the 'authorized biography' of her music so to speak."

Oxford Photos
Wire Image has posted some pics of Dolly's Wednesday CD signing in Oxford, England. View them here.

Queen Dolly
The Kentucky New Era on Thursday had an interesting article by Ryan Craig on how much he enjoyed Dollywood and Dixie Stampede on a recent visit to Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Read the story, titled "Where Dolly Parton rules the world," here.

'Vanity Fair' Details
I finally got a copy of the Vanity Fair music issue, and Dolly looks great! Her Annie Liebovitz photo covers pages 318 and 319. She is shown atop a brown horse holding a large American flag and dressed in a shimmering (and very short) red cowgirl costume with the Dollywood train behind her. The accompanying copy notes her record-holding achievements (including 89 country top 40 singles, 24 No. 1s, seven Grammy Awards and her Country Music Hall of Fame induction), her stardom in the pop and film fields and her recent return to roots music. However, it has a few errors: First, it says she's released 55 albums (actually, she is generally credited with 69 albums -- 58 studio albums, two live albums, six official greatest hits packages and three film soundtracks where she was the principal vocal performer). Secondly, it says she's "reportedly" written 3,000 songs (actually, 3,000 is the documented number from about 10 years ago or so which she had published -- meaning individual songs that she had at that time composed, transcribed to paper, catalogued at her music publishing house and registered with the copyright office; as she writes daily, she's probably published closer to 4,000 by now and has thousands of songs she simply hasn't transcribed and published yet). Finally, a music "dictionary" published in the issue includes an entry on Porter Wagoner, and while it correctly details Dolly's debut on his television show and their duet partnership, it claims the two were also romantically involved, something both have publicly denied.

AOL Interview Available
Phil over at Voice Of An Angel has obtained and posted the AOL address to access Dolly's AOL Sessions interview. Watch it here! Thanks, Phil!

Oct. 11:
U.S. Chart Slips
Dolly's Halos & Horns takes a dip for its 13th chart week on the Oct. 19 albums tallies released Thursday by Billboard. The CD falls eight spots on the country chart to No. 34; it had peaked at No. 4. Over on the bluegrass charts, it drops two places to No. 5, and it's down two on the independent label albums chart to No. 18. The Songcatcher soundtrack, featuring a Dolly duet, is up one notch to No. 11 on the bluegrass chart. And reporting on a couple of Dolly-related products: The Sweet Home Alabama soundtrack, which includes Dolly's "Marry Me," jumps up 33 notches on the pop albums chart to No. 64 for its second chart week and up one place on the soundtracks chart to No. 5, and the soundtrack for the Buffy The Vampire Slayer musical episode, "Once More, With Feeling," plummets 53 spots on the pop charts to No. 102 and five on the soundtracks chart to No. 8. Dolly's Sandollar Television is co-producer of the hit series.

Dolly On The BBC
The BBC has posted video of Dolly's interview on the network's Thursday evening news program online. You may watch the nearly three-minute clip here.

Flippo's Country Barriers
Chet Flippo had another very interesting commentary in his weekly CMT.com column, this time saying most country music is easily separated into red and blue areas -- "red" is the largely conservative rural fan base which favors boisterous acts like Toby Keith or Charlie Daniels, while "blue" is the largely liberal urban fan base which favors more traditional, bare-boned acts like Nickel Creek. (He points out this difference is easily found in other genres as well, such as "red" pop acts like Kid Rock and "blue" acts like James Taylor or Bruce Springsteen.) However, there are a few "bonus" populist artists who can blend fan bases across those lines, such as Dolly, George Jones, the Dixie Chicks, Alan Jackson, Willie Nelson and others, who produce what he calls "purple" music, which has a unifying quality. Read his full column here.

Oct. 10:
Report: Dolly Tribute CD Coming!
Country Now, a country music news service, reported Wednesday night that a tribute album to Dolly is in the works. The Dixie Chicks and Alison Krauss are among artists who have already signed on to participate in the project, which will also include some vocals by Dolly herself, the site reported. It's about time!!!

Dolly And Dottie No. 1
A Hot Country Singles Chart sponsored by Hill Topper Music Group and Glory Train Records of indie singles based on repeated airplay puts Dolly and Dottie Rambo at No. 1 for the Sept. 14-Oct. 4 chart period for their new duet "Stand By The River." Dolly also comes in at No. 28 for "Dagger Through The Heart" (plus sister Stella's current single is No. 61, and her band leader Randy Kohrs' single "Little By Little" is No. 62)!

'Vanity' Dolly
Dolly is among many music celebrities photographed by Annie Leibovitz who appear in a music issue of Vanity Fair magazine which hit newsstands Wednesday (although it may take an extra day or two to reach some markets). Of the issue, New York Post columnist Liz Smith opined: "If you're interested in the music scene, yesterday, today and tomorrow, Vanity Fair for November will put a melody in your heart."

Dolly In 'CMM' Anniversary Special
Also on newsstands now is the October/November issue of Country Music Magazine as a special 30th anniversary edition of the publication with Dolly featured throughout. Thumbnail reproductions of dozens of the magazine's covers are shown, including five of Dolly's (with nine cover shots, four of which are missing from this issue, she is second only to Johnny Cash for the most times gracing the front of the magazine). Her split with Porter Wagoner in 1974 is one of the editors' picks for the 30 top moments that shaped country music in the past 30 years because it predicated her ascension to become the genre's biggest star of all time. There's also a quote about herself from 1973, excepts from the magazine's original reviews of My Tennessee Mountain Home and Here You Come Again, Dolly's comments congratulating the magazine on its anniversary, several great photographs of her and a new review of Halos & Horns, which the magazine gives three and a half stars noting that it and her two other Sugar Hill releases rank up there with her early albums (which the reviewer says are "among the greatest country music ever made") and saying that the album "finds the Blue Ridge Mountain Girl still planted on an artistic peak."

Up On The Americana Chart
And speaking of Halos, the album jumped up seven spots on this week's Americana Music Chart to No. 12, with its songs registering 322 spins on radio across the country.

'Hello God' Going To Radio
Darlene at CCMA confirmed Wednesday that Dolly's "Hello God" from Halos will be sent to Christian radio around the first week of November as part of a promotional compilation disc by HMG Music in Nashville which will also contain her duet with Dottie. The pair is also slated to grace the cover of Power Source, an industry magazine published by HMG, in February. Thanks, Darlene!

Europe Recap
Dolly performed her new European single, "If," on the British television show GMTV on Wednesday wearing a pale blue dress with gold details and her shoulder-length feathery wig. The show posted a few notes on Dolly and a couple of quotes from her interview on its website here. She also appeared Tuesday night on The Frank Skinner Show in a pink dress with gold flowers. Her appearance on that show featured discussions of Dollywood, the international success of "I Will Always Love You," and a performance of "Hey Good Lookin'" with Ian Thorpe and The Appleton Sisters. Thanks, Suzi! And Voice Of An Angel has reported that remaining stops include appearances on Gloria Hunniford Open House and BBC-1's 6 p.m. newscast on Thursday, a second GMTV performance on Friday and The Des O'Conner Show on Monday, during which she'll tape several song performances to be broadcast throughout next week. Thanks, Brian, for reminding me of these listings!

Pinmonkey News
Pinmokey's self-titled sophomore album dropped Tuesday, complete with its Dolly-harmonizing cover of her classic "Falling Out Of Love With Me." USA Today reviewed the disc on Tuesday, giving it three stars and saying: "It moves you with simple, well-sung songs that use elemental . . . imagery." The review further said the cut with Dolly is one of "two unlikely cover tunes (which) show just how much potential Pinmonkey has." Read the full review here. In addition, CMT.com is promoting the album by posting one full song per day on its website (the songs disappear from the site at the end of the day). Dolly's will be available on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Visit the site's page here. Also, if you haven't gotten your hands on this amazing album yet, order it here!

Oct. 8:
Dolly: I Will Sing On CMA Awards
Although her appearance hasn't been officially announced or publicly confirmed by awards officials, Dolly said on a radio program in Scotland Monday that she will, in fact, perform her Sept. 11th tribute song, "Hello God," on the Nov. 6 CMA Awards broadcast. She also said that the song will be the second U.S. single from Halos & Horns. This is the first time Dolly has indicated that she is scheduled to sing on the program. Prior to this week, she's been saying that she "hopes" it will be a single and that she "hopes" to sing on the awards show, but this week she said that she "will." The awards program will be broadcast live on CBS. Dolly's comments came during The Tom Morton Show on BBC Scotland Monday. Other topics of conversation included the popularity of roots music, her songwriting and the new album. An interesting comment concerned her cover of "Stairway To Heaven" from the new CD. She said some people like it, some don't, and still others don't like it the first time they hear it but become more fond of it after a few listens, including her husband. She said she didn't let him hear it before it was finished, and when he took a listen for the first time she could tell he wasn't very fond of it but didn't want to hurt her feelings, telling her only: "Well it's different. I'll give you that." You may listen to the entire nearly 25-minute interview through the end of the week by visiting BBC Scotland's Listen Again page here. Scroll down to "Tom Morton" and click on "Mon." Dolly's portion starts about 18 minutes into the program.

Oct. 7:
European Dolly
Dolly's publicity tour is on a roll overseas, kicking off with a CD signing in Belfast on Friday (see a photo and read a brief in The Irish Independent here, but you must first register for their site). Other notes: