Thirty-three years ago Monday, Dolly is the guest speaker at the National Dropout Prevention Conference in Nashville, where she is lauded for the highly successful education efforts of The Dollywood Foundation. Thirteen years ago Monday, Dollywood opens for its 25th season. Fifty-three years ago Tuesday, Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca debuts on the albums charts; it would peak at No. 4 country, No. 137 pop. Forty-four years ago Tuesday, Variety reports Porter Wagoner has filed a $3 million breach of contract suit against Dolly; it is later settled out of court for $1 million. Forty-two years ago Tuesday, 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs marks its seventh of 10 weeks at No. 1 on the country album charts (Dolly's fourth and longest stay atop the chart); it also reaches No. 11 pop and gold status for more than 500,000 copies sold (Dolly's fifth). Thirty-six years ago Tuesday, Trio debuts on the albums charts; it would spend five weeks at No. 1 on the country chart, reach No. 6 on the pop chart and sell more than 1 million copies to be certified platinum. Forty-eight years ago Wednesday, “The Bargain Store” becomes Dolly's sixth country No. 1, the fifth in a string of five consecutive No. 1 singles over a 13-month period. Fifty-one years ago Saturday, Touch Your Woman debuts on the country album chart; it would peak at No. 19. Eighteen years ago Saturday, Dolly gives away $8 million in 20-year season passes to Dollywood to celebrate its 20th season opening.
Upcoming television appearances
(All times Eastern unless noted)
March 31, 8:30 a.m., Hallmark, Reba (re-runs 5:30 a.m. April 1)
March 31, 4 p.m., RFD-TV, The Porter Wagoner Show: Stonewall Jackson (re-runs 10:30 a.m. April 2)
March 31, 8 p.m., CMT, Steel Magnolias
April 2, 9 p.m., FM, The Dolly Parton Story: From Rags To Rhinestones (re-runs 10:30 p.m. April 5, 6 p.m. April 10)
April 7, 4 p.m., RFD-TV, The Porter Wagoner Show: The Lonesome Rhodss (re-runs 10:30 a.m. April 9)
April 8, 1 a.m., CMT, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas
April 8, 6 p.m., E!, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous
May 11, Amazon Prime Video, Academy of Country Music Awards
The RCA Sessions (1968-1976), 22-song digital collection of rare Porter & Dolly songs first released on the 2014 complete recordings boxed set, April 5
Love & Music 1973 Porter & Dolly album, digital release, March 29
We Found It 1973 Porter & Dolly album, digital release, Feb. 1
Amazon Prime Video and the Academy of Country Music on Wednesday announced Dolly will for the second consecutive year host the ACM Awards, this year with co-host Garth Brooks and streaming live from the Ford Center at the Star outside of Dallas May 11. While Dolly said she doesn't expect to perform on the show with Garth, who is hosting his first-ever awards show, she will debut the first single from her upcoming rock album during the ceremony. The pair spoke with Billboard magazine about the hosting gig here. Watch the announcement video here or in the media player above. A limited number of public seats are available on SeatGeek here. The program will be streamable only for Amazon Prime members. Get a free test subscription here. (Ironically, her entire Dolly Records/Butterfly Records catalog from 2007 forward mysteriously disappeared from the service for most of the day Wednesday before being reinstated to Prime Audio for streaming and MP3 downloads at the end of the day. Amazon media relations did not respond to a request for comment by press time.)
'Pure & Simple' Coming To Vinyl Collectors' record company Vinyl Me Please on Wednesday revealed the first extra release album from Dolly they will be making available this year outside of her 12-album monthly Vinyl Me Parton club: the first-time vinyl release of 2016's Pure & Simple. Limited to 2,000 numbered copies, the set will remain available for pre-order restricted to VMP members (including those who are just members of the Dolly club or any of their other subscription tracks) through 11:59 a.m. Friday here, opening up to the general public to order any remaining copies at noon Friday. It will be on green vinyl and cost $35 members and $38 non-member. The product is expected to be in their warehouse in July but could be delayed in manufacturing before shipment to those who pre-order it.
Dollywood Up For 'USA Today' Awards Dollywood has been nominated for seven different USA Today 2023 10Best Readers' Choice Awards (vote once daily through April 24 here:
Best Theme Park- Dollywood
Best Roller Coaster- Lightning Rod
Best Non-Roller Coaster Ride- Smoky Mountain River Rampage
Best Theme Park Entertainment- “Dreamland Drive-In” and “Harmonies of the Heart”
Best Theme Park Hotel- Dollywood's DreamMore Resort and Spa
Best Amusement Park Restaurant- Aunt Granny's Restaurant
Best Outdoor Water Park- Dollywood's Splash Country
Facebook Shutting Down Dolly Tribute Acts Facebook has apparently been repeatedly kicking professional tribute artist acts off of its platform as fraudulently impersonating celebrities, and it has impacted several professional Dolly artists, including Kelly O'Brien, who took her plight to the British media this week. Watch her interview here.
U.S. Chart Updates Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection remains steady at No. 39 country albums in its 17th week, gaining four to No. 70 current album sales, Billboard's April 1 charts released Tuesday showed. Run, Rose, Run dips one to No. 7 bluegrass albums in its 53rd chart week.
First created as "Duane's Dolly Pages" in 1996, and becoming Dollymania in 1998, this is the oldest continually operating Internet site dedicated to Dolly Parton and the ONLY regularly-updated resource about her available anywhere in the world!
Past news
March 27: Wisconsin School Bans Dolly Song, Ohio Group Calls For Bans
Right-wing activism attempted to draw Dolly into the culture wars twice in the past week. Administrators at an elementary school in Wisconsin banned a student performance of her duet she wrote and recorded with Miley Cyrus, "Rainbowland," as too controversial to include. The teacher whose students had planned to sing it shared here and in the embedded tweet above that the kids "were so excited" to perform the song in their spring concert but it was "vetoed by our administration" without explanation, adding "When will it end?" The school originally also banned the Kermit the Frog song "Rainbow Connection" in the concert as well but changed their minds on that ban. Coverage started locally such as the story here but soon hit the national media. Just days earlier, anti-gay activists in Ohio, including several leaders of organizations certified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups, wrote a joint letter to the state's First Lady touting her promotion of early childhood literacy by leading the statewide expansion of Dolly's Imagination Library in that state and using her love of books for kids as their justification to ask her to join them in banning books with LGBTQIA content from school libraries. While Dolly's people declined to comment, coverage such as The Cleveland Plan Dealerhere noted Dolly's longtime LGBTQIA advocacy work including publicly opposing 2016 legislation that prohibited trans individuals from using the bathrooms aligned with their authentic identities in North Carolina, her advocating for marriage equality in 2007 (she actually had publicly advocated in favor of it for several years prior to that), and her Oscar nomination for writing a song about transitioning genders for the film TransAmerica. (The activists are apparently unaware that diversity and incusion are two of the main planks in book selection for Dolly's program and that at least one title in the collection features a same-sex family raising children.)
New Dolly Wardrobe Book Coming In October Dolly last week revealed her second in a series of three coffee table books, Behind The Seams: My Life In Rhinestones, which focuses on her career-spanning wardrobe, and follows her book on her songwriting: Songteller: My Life In Lyrics. The title and subject of the third book has not been revealed. The 336-page Seams, to be released Oct. 17 with a suggested retail price of $50 from Ten Speed Press, is edited by Holly George-Warren and curated by Rebecca Seaver (the child of Dolly's sister Cassie). The costumes were photographed by Stacie Huckeba, who shot Dolly's most recent album covers, promotional photos, and the "Elvis" image that was used for an art print and for creating one of her Funko Pop dolls. In a press release, Dolly said: "I am happy, proud, and excited to present my book Behind the Seams to the public. It is my hope that you will enjoy a look at my life in costume and hair and get to know some of the great people who have helped shape my life and my look. Enjoy!" It promises behind-the-scenes stories and her iconic stage clothes and accoutrements from the 1960s through today. An audio book will be released by Penguin Random House Audio read by Dolly and featuring archival audio and music.
Nikki Sixx Joins Dolly Rock Album The guest list for Dolly's rock album keeps growing, as Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx tweeted last week that he had recorded a bass line for one of Dolly's songs on the project. Read more from Blabbermouthhere.
Dolly Shares Favorite Books With 'Marie Claire' Marie Claire last week shared Dolly's "Bookshelf Tour" of her favorite books. Check out the video here.
'Here You Come Again' Heads To Connecticut Goodspeed Musicals' Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., announced last week that its 2023-24 season will open July 26 with Bruce Vilanch's Dolly jukebox musical Here You Come Again, which will run through Aug. 27. Read more from Broadway Worldhere.
U.S., U.K. Chart Updates Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection remains steady at No. 39 country albums in its 16th week, losing five to No. 74 current album sales, Billboard's March 25 charts released Tuesday showed. Run, Rose, Run gains one to No. 6 bluegrass albums in its 52nd chart week, marking one year on the chart. Overseas, Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection rises one to No. 2 on the British country compilation albums chart, while Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) remains steady at No. 11, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe loses one to No. 3, Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) regains five to No. 14, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 dips one to No. 13, and Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly duet and one Dolly cover) inches up one to No. 4. Dolly's Run, Rose, Run re-enters the British country chart at No. 20 for a 46th week.
March 20: Another Dollywood Video Posted
The next installment of your Dollymania.net coverage of Dolly's opening weekend at Dollywood has been posted: a second set of raw video from her various appearances over the weekend. Look for more, including photo galleries, in coming days! Watch the video here or in the media player above.
Elton John Talks Dolly Collaboration Sir Elton John was bragging at his Oscar party the other week about his upcoming collaboration with Dolly for her rock album, several media outlets reported over the weekend including The Sunhere.
Dolly Dishes Land At Macy's After debuting in various forms at several other stores the past two years, Dolly's stoneware has launched a Macy's line, which was announced on social media here.
Classic Dolly Costume Lands On Ebay One of Dolly's 1970s costumes has found its way to ebay here.
Drink A Toast O'Dolly Cincinnati's Mad Tree Brewing is celebrating Women's History Month with a new beer in honor of Dolly. Learn more from the brewery here and a report from WLWT here.
U.K. Chart Updates Overseas, Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection holds steady at No. 3 on the British country compilation albums chart, while Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) dips five to No. 11, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe holds steady at No. 2, Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) falls six to No. 19, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 regains two to No. 12, and Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly duet and one Dolly cover) remains steady at No. 5. Dolly's Run, Rose, Run re-enters the British Americana chart at No. 39.
March 15: Watch Dolly At Dollywood Season Opening
The first Dollymania.net News Video raw footage of Dolly at Dollywood this past weekend has been shared to YouTube. Watch here or in the media player above.
'Peace' Drops Off U.S. Charts "Peace Like A River," Dolly's duet with Dionne Warwick, this week falls off the March 18 Billboard charts released Tuesday, down from one week each at No. 2 on the 15-position gospel digital song sales chart and No. 22 on the 25-position Christian digital song sales chart. Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection slips one spot to No. 39 country albums in its 15th week, gaining one to No. 69 current album sales. Run, Rose, Run dips two to No. 7 bluegrass albums in its 51st chart week.
March 14: Dolly Opens Dollywood For 2023 Season Dolly welcomed the masses to her Smoky Mountain theme park for its 2023 season opening this weekend, popping in for a media and gold/diamond passholder event at passholder preview day Friday, followed by a parade through the park that afternoon and a stop in to sing with guest artist Natalie Grant on the park's public opening day Saturday. Unfortunately, Dolly told the crowd at that appearance it was too cold for her to parade through the park on Saturday. Watch Dollywood's official Facebook stream of the media event here. Image of Dolly at the media event is by T. Duane Gordon/Dollymania.net and is copyright 2023. All rights reserved. Click on it for a larger view.
At the media event she announced she would return sometime in May to launch the first rides on the new $25 million, 4,000-foot-long Big Bear Mountain roller coaster and in November to open the new 302-room HeartSong Lodge & Resort hotel (exact dates for each TBD dependent on construction completion, although the park will begin taking reservations for the new resort in June, she said). She also unveiled plans for a multi-location new Dolly museum experience under construction now which will open in 2024 and is modeled after the hugely popular touring immersive Vincent Van Gogh exhibit.
"The Dolly Parton Experience" will feature a new immersive experience museum, a separate wardrobe and costume exhibit, a revamping of her Tennessee Mountain Home replica to include storytelling by Dolly herself, and tying in the show in her DreamSong Theatre to explain her family and faith connections to her life and career as part of the experience. Conceptual art shows a large guitar breaking through a star-filled sky made of albums next to a wall of gold and platinum records and a "one-of-a-kind immersive storytelling experience." Watch the announcement video here or in the media player below (and the HeartSong Resort update video here.
Asked at the media event how she keeps going with her massively busy schedule she joked, "I'm on drugs!" She talked about how her parents would be proud of her and sang "I Will Always Love You," the 50th anniversary of which is being celebrated as the park's opening festival through April 8 with concerts by Ricky Skaggs next weekend, Jo Dee Messina March 25, The Gatlin Brothers April 1 and Lauren Alaina April 8. Image of Dolly and Natalie Grant is by T. Duane Gordon/Dollymania.net and is copyright 2023. All rights reserved. Click on it for a larger view.
That is followed by the Flower and Food Festival April 21-June 11, Sweet Summer Nights (with nightly fireworks and drone shows) June 17-Aug. 6, Harvest Festival and Great Pumpkin Luminights Sept. 20-Oct. 30, and Smoky Mountain Christmas Nov. 4-Jan. 6.
:Look for continued coverage from Dollymania over coming days including video and photos.
Coverage included WATE here, here and here; WVLT here and with a live interview during her parade here, Knoxville News-Sentinelhere, here and here; WLOS here, WSMV here, WJHL here, here and here; The Kingsport Times-Newshere and Coaster 101here.
Get Covers CD As Import April 7 In U.S. Amazon has updated its information on when A Way To Make A Living: The Dolly Parton Songbook will be available in the U.S. The retailer is showing the physical CD becoming available April 7. It is slated to be released March 31 in the U.K. by boutique reissue label Ace Records and contains 24 tracks written by Dolly throughout her career, only one of which she performs on the collection, three of which she duets with another artist covering the song, and the remaining 20 were recorded entirely by other artists over the past 50 years. Pre-order your copy here!
Dolly Song Vocal Contest Accepting Entries Organizers have announced that the 19th Annual Mountain Soul Vocal Competition is now accepting entries for the event at the May 20 Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival in Sevierville, Tenn. It is the only annual vocal contest in the world focused on Dolly's songwriting. Interested contestants are encouraged to review the list of Dolly-written songs she has released over the years on Dollymaniahere and then submit an audition recording of up to two Dolly-written songs via BloominBBQ.com by April 14. A total of 20 adult finalists (age 13 and up) and 10 youth finalists (age 12 and under) will be invited to perform at the festival. "Songwriting and storytelling are such an integral part of our culture and no one does it better than Dolly," says Sevierville Chamber of Commerce Director of Marketing and Communications Amanda Marr. "We feel like it's important to honor her songwriting by showcasing its versatility across all genres – and by encouraging vocalists to dig deep into her impressive catalogue of music. We are honored that Dollywood assists us with coordinating prizes for the Mountain Soul Vocal Competition and look forward to presenting this vocal competition each year." Those with questions may call the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce at 1-888-889-7415.
March 9: Warwick Duet Hits Gospel, Christian Sales Charts Dolly's duet with Dionne Warwick, "Peace Like A River," debuts at No. 2 on the gospel digital song sales chart and Nol. 22 Christian digital song sales chart in the March 11 Billboard charts released Tuesday. "Jolene" with Olivia Newton-John falls off the country digital songs sales chart, down from one week at No. 13. Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains one spot to No. 38 country albums in its 15th week, losing four to No. 70 current album sales. Run, Rose, Run rises one to No. 5 bluegrass albums in its 50th chart week.
Bebe Rexha Teases Dolly Duet Lyrics Bebe Rexha gave more details this week on her upcoming duet with Dolly. Check out what she had to say about it to Metro UKhere.
'Gonna Be You' Video On 'Brady' DVD The new Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin film 80 For Brady will hit DVD and Blu-Ray May 2 and will include the music video of Dolly, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan and Debbie Harry's single "Gonna Be You" as a bonus feature. Thanks, Steve!
See Ya At Dollywood! Your webmaster is heading to Dollywood to cover Dolly's appearances this weekend to open the park's new season. Check out coverage here next week and see a few previews on my Facebook page here as it happens Friday and Saturday.
March 6: Dolly Covers Collection Track Listing Released U.K. boutique reissue label Ace Records has revealed the final track listing of its collection A Way To Make A Living: The Dolly Parton Songbook, and Amazon has added a link to order it once it becomes available. The 24-track album is to be released at the end of this month and contains one song with lead vocals by Dolly and then collaborations with Chet Atkina, Bill Phillips, and Holly Dunn. The remainder are covers by other artists spanning her career as a songwriter. The track listing is:
9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
Nickels And Dimes - Buck Owens
Here I Am - Percy Sledge
The Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad) - The Everly Brothers
Two Doors Down - Zella Lehr
My Blue Tears - The Incredible String Band
Down From Dover - Sally Timms & Jon Langford
Touch Your Woman - Margie Joseph
Kentucky Gambler - Merle Haggard & The Strangers
Coat Of Many Colors - Emmylou Harris
Light Of A Clear Blue Morning - Glen Campbell
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Rhiannon Giddens
Do I Ever Cross Your Mind - Chet Atkins featuring Dolly Parton
I Will Always Love You - Linda Ronstadt
I Lived So Fast And Hard - Porter Wagoner
Jolene (Live 'Under Great White Northern Lights' version) - The White Stripes
My Tennessee Mountain Home - Maria Muldaur
Little Sparrow - Bettye LaVette
Put It Off Until Tomorrow - Bill Phillips (featuring Dolly Parton)
Most Of All Why - Holly Dunn (featuring Dolly Parton)
I'm In No Condition - Hank Williams Jr.
Love Is Like A Butterfly - Nana Mouskouri
With Bells On - Ru Paul featuring Michelle Visage
There'll Always Be Music - Tina Turner
See Dolly At Dollywood This Weekend Dollywood is gearing up for the visit from the queen herself, as the park opens this weekend for the new season. Dolly will host a media event on passholder preview day Friday and is expected to also be on the park on public opening day Saturday. During her visit, she is supposed to announce the opening day for the new Big Bear Mountain roller coaster, when she will return for her next appearance at the park. Fans were upset, though, that her media appearance was made a Golden Event for which only gold and diamond passholders may attend and are required to obtain reservations or tickets beforehand. Tickets became available through a link posted to the park's website late Monday without most gold or diamond passholders receiving any email notice of the availability. Once a social media group of Dollywood passholders saw it and shared the information, tickets were gone within an hour.
Dolly Wins Movieguide Award Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas won the Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring TV or Streaming Movie or Program at the 30th annual Movieguide Awards last week. The NBC special beat out Blood and Treasure Season 2, A Christmas . . .Present, and Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Episode 1.8. Dolly lost the Grace Prize for Most Inspiring Performance on TV for playing herself in the special, with Candace Cameron Bure in A Christmas . . . Present beating Dolly, Reba McEntire in My Chains Are Gone, Mark Gagliardi in Blood And Treasure, and Joanathan Roumie in The Chosen Episode 3. 3. This marked Dolly's third Epiphany Prize win, having taken home the award for Dolly Parton's Coat Of Many Colors and Dolly Parton's Christmas Of Many Colors: Circle Of Love. She also won the Grace Prize two years ago as Angel in Dolly Parton's Christmas On The Square.
Dolly On Yahoo's Top Country Duets List Yahoo released its list of the 50 best country music duets of all time, and Dolly comprises 10 percent of the tally with "I Will Always Love You" with Vince Gill at No. 43, "The Last Thing On My Mind" with Porter Wagoner at No. 18, "When I Stop Dreaming" with Don Henley at No. 14, "Creepin' In" with Norah Jones at No. 12 and "Islands In The Stream" with Kenny Rogers at No. 7. See the full list here.
Dolly Impersonator Photo Book Coming British photographer Alice Hawkins spent the past 10 years taking shots of herself dressed as Dolly and will be releasing them March 23 in a book called Dear Dolly. Read about it from The Guardianhere and reserve a copy for 15 percent off its 80 pound price at baronbooks.co.uk using the code deardolly.
Get Free Dolly E-Book This Month The University of Illinois Press is celebrating Women's History Month by providing free e-book downloads of Unlikely Angel: The Songs Of Dolly Parton. Access the give-a-way here.
'Jolene' With Newton-John Has Chart Debut Olivia Newton-John's posthumously-released collaboration with Dolly on "Jolene" debuts on the March 4 Billboard charts released Tuesday at No. 13 on the country digital songs sales chart. Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection inches up one place to No. 39 country albums in its 14th week, dipping five to No. 66 current album sales. Run, Rose, Run gains one to No. 6 bluegrass albums in its 49th chart week. Overseas, Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection holds loses two to No. 4 on the British country compilation albums chart, while Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) gains four to No. 6, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe shoots up 16 to No. 2, Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) rises two to No. 12, Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 dips two to No. 14, and Linda Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly duet and one Dolly cover) re-enters the top 20 at No. 5.
Dolly Comes Up Again In Tenn. Anti-LGBTQ Debate Dolly's quote that if she had not been born a woman she's have been a drag queen has been circulating in news stories and on social media in response to her home state's decision to ban drag shows on public property and anywhere that children may be present. Check out a story from the Associated Press starting off with the quote here and an opinion piece on AOL here questioning the true allyship of Dolly, Taylor Swift and Reba for not speaking out against the state's legislation to harm LGBTQIA people.
Musicians Rhodes, Lindley Pass Away Two musicians who worked with Dolly died this week. Basist and session musician Michael Rhodes, 69, died Saturday at his Nashville home, Taste Of Country reported here. He was a member of Dolly's touring band for about two years in the early 1980s and performed on one of her albums, Burlap & Satin. The music world also lost David Lindley, known as the "godfather of soft rock," he performed on hundreds of major artists' albums over his career including five of Dolly's: Say Forever You'll Be Mine, Here You Come Again, Trio, Trio II, and Heartsongs: Live From Home. He was 78, MSN reported here.
Feb. 27: Dolly, Dionne Drop 'Peace Like A River'
Dolly and Dionne Warwick's long-awaited duet single "Peace Like A River" and its accompanying music video dropped on Friday. Watch the pair on YouTube here or in the media player above, and download the song from Amazon here!
Dolly Participates In Newton-John Funeral Dolly on Sunday led a group of notables from around the world who shared on video their tributes to the late Olivia Newton-John as part of her official state funeral in Melbourne. Followed by the likes of Nicole Kidman, Mariah Carey and Elton John, Dolly opened the tributes saying: "The world lost one of its greatest talents when Olivia left us . . . As a country, you should be very proud and know that the whole world mourns with you. Now, I had the honour of singing with her several times. I considered her a great friend as well as a fellow entertainer. Olivia, to quote one of your songs, "I honestly love you". Thank you for shining your light on us." Watch the tribute video from the Australian Broadcasting Company here.
Dolly Doubles Local United Way Fundraiser Knoxville reporter Kyle Granger of WVLT participated over the weekend in Dancing with the Sevier County Stars and revealed on Facebook here that Dolly announced via video she is matching every dollar raised at the event, which he said came to over $260,000.
Judas Priest Lead Singer Gushes Over Dolly Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford told SiriusXM's Mark Stigl in a new interview that he "gay hustled" on stage at the finale of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony where they were both honored so that he could perform closer to her than he was supposed to be because he was such a giddy queer fan boy. Read what he had to say about her on Rock Celebrities.nethere.
Ohio First Lady Teases Cookbook About a year after announcing they planned to take items from their respective out-of-print cookbooks to benefit Imagination Library, Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine this week revealed the cover for Our Family Favorites: A Collection of Beloved Recipes by DeWine and Dolly on social media here. No announcement on sales has officially been made by the First Lady but some individual Ohio Imagination Library affiliates have copies and are distributing them locally in exchange for donations or selling them.
U.K. Chart Update Overseas, Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection holds steady for a second week at No. 2 on the British country compilation albums chart after a dozen consecutive weeks at No. 1, while Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) dips four to No. 10, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe loses four to No. 18, Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) inches up one to No. 14, and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 holds steady at No. 12.
Feb. 23: Dolly Heading To Dollywood Next Month Dollywood officials on Wednesday confirmed Dolly will be on park for its season opening weekend next month and will return later in the spring to officially open the new $25 million Big Bear Mountain roller coaster, as construction delays will prevent it from debuting with the park's seasonal start. The nearly 4,000-foot-long coaster is about 75 percent complete, park officials announced at a media tour of the construction site on Wednesday. When asked about the ride's first day, they said Dolly would announce the specific date when she makes appearances for opening weekend next month and to kick off the I Will Always Love You 50th Anniversary Festival but that the coaster date would be "sooner than later" and would still meet their "spring 2023" deadline. Watch a summary of the press tour from Adventure Is Out Therehere. The park also updated that the next property resort hotel and convention center, Heartsong Lodge, will open in fall. Season passholders, gold and diamond pass holder bring-a-friends, guests at Dollywood's DreamMore Resort, and guests at Bear Cove Cabins (formerly Dollywood Cabins) may be admitted to Season Passholder Preview Day Friday, March 10, and the general public may join on official Opening Day Saturday, March 11, which also starts the I Will Always Love You 50th Anniversary Festival. Although details haven't been announced, traditionally Dolly makes a media appearance on Friday and parades through the park grounds on both Friday and Saturday, weather permitting, in addition to other possible "pop ins" at various shows around the park. Last year, her media event was open only to gold and diamond passholders with advance reservations, but no announcement has yet to be made about that for this year.
Funko Figures Available Now Funko this week began selling its Dolly Pop figures, with the orange dress version available here and white pantsuit version here.
Opry Honors Leslie Jordan The Grand Ole Opry over the weekend honored the late comedian Leslie Jordan with a tribute, "Reporting For Duty." While Dolly was not there, she sent a video remembrance in which she noted: "We had so much in common, didn't we? We were little. We were crazy. We wanted to go to heaven. But we were crazy as hell. And we made everybody laugh, when we were together especially." In addition, Lainey Wilson and Lucas Nelson performed her Kenny Rogers duet "You Can't Made Old Friends."
Dolly Recalls Kenny On Anniversary Of His Passing Speaking of Kenny, as the third anniversary of his death approaches, Dolly told People magazine here: "I miss him so much. I've lost so many wonderful people in my life in the last few years. But Kenny — he was very, very dear and special and I never get tired of hearing us sing, all the years that we were on stage together."
U.S. Chart Updates Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection loses four spots to No. 40 country albums in its 13th week, the Feb. 25 charts released by Billboard on Tuesday showed. The set declines six to No. 61 on the all-genre current albums sales chart. Her Run, Rose, Run holds steady at No. 7 bluegrass albums in its 48th chart week.
Feb. 20: Two New Dolly Singles Dropped Last Week
Two new Dolly singles were released last week: her promised cover of "Jolene" with Olivia Newton-John, hailed by the media in multiple reports as the final recording Newton-John made prior to her death six months ago from cancer at age 73, and a solo version of "The Last Thing On My Mind,", recorded as a tribute to the late Doc Watson for his centennial. The Newton-John duet, streamable on YouTube here or in the media player above and downloadable with pre-order of the full album Just The Two Of Us: The Duets Collection Vol. 1 coming out May 5 from Amazon here (also available on CD here and LP here). The Tom Paxton cover, on the other hand, will appear on the April 28 release I Am A Pilgrim: Doc Watson At 100, which also features Steve Earle and Roseanne Cash, among other artists. She had originally recorded the song, a signature tune of Watson's during his career, as her first duet with Porter Wagoner and performed it with Watson at his annual music festival in memory of his son, MerleFest, in 2001. In a press release, she said: "Doc Watson is everyone's hero and a great guitar player. Some say he is the absolute best, and I was honored to get to work with him a few times in my career." Stream the song on YouTube here or in the media player below and download it from Amazon here.
Dolly Gets Record Store Day Monument Release Record Store Day last week announced that Legacy Records will issue a limited-edition LP of Dolly's Monument singles as a Record Store Day exclusive April 22. Most participating stores won't know until that morning whether they received a copy of the album, and stores usually don't allow reserving titles or ordering them specifically for RSD, so the only way to get it is to show up at participating record stores that morning to grab it before someone else. The The Monument Singles Collection 1964-1968 will be limited to 5,500 sets and is remastered from the original monoaural Monument master tapes. The announcement gave no reason why it was in mono instead of stereo, since her singles at the time were released in both formats. It will also feature liner notes from Holly George-Warren. (Although some media outlets listed the title as a 2-LP collection, the official Record Store Day site shows it as one disc.) In addition to the Dolly title, Kenny Rogers' estate has announced that a two-disc, vinyl version of his farewell concert, All In For the Gambler, which features Dolly on the final three songs ("You Can't Make Old Friends," "I Will Always Love You" and "Islands In The Stream") will be released as a "Record Store Day First" limited edition of 1,500 units prior to a to-be-determined release date for other retailers. For more information on the Dolly release, visit Record Store Day here or Legacy Records here. The track listing for side A appears in the press photo for the project, available at left (click on it for a larger version), while side B is presumed from her known singles released on the label in 1967 and 1968. It is unknown whether any additional tracks or unreleased tracks may be included as a bonus. The likely track listing is:
A. 1. What Do You Think About Loving
A. 2. I Wasted My Tears
A. 3. Happy, Happy Birthday Baby
A. 4. Old Enough To Know Better (Too Young To Resist)
A. 5. Busy Signal
A. 6. I Took Him For Granted
A. 7. Don't Drop Out
A. 8. Control Yourself
A. 9. The Little Things
A. 10. I'll Put It Off Until Tomorrow
B. 1. Dumb Blonde
B. 2. The Giving And The Taking
B. 3. Something Fishy
B. 4. I've Lived My Life
B. 5. Why, Why, Why
B. 6. I Couldn't Wait Forever
B. 7. I'm Not Worth The Tears
B. 8. Ping Pong
VMP Restocks 'Coat Of Many Colors' Vinyl Hot off the announcement that they will launch a 12-month Dolly album of the month club in April, Vinyl Me Please last week revealed that the 50th anniversary edition of Coat Of Many Colors that was its August 2021 country track record of the month for the vinyl service has been re-issued and is available for purchase here.
Bebe Rexha Duet Coming Soon Billboard magazine reported last week that Bebe Rexha hosted a listening party for her next album, although it didn't reveal the title or the release date, but the news included confirmation it will feature the duet she recently recorded with Dolly. Watch their report here.
Dollywood Readies For Opening, 'IWALY' Celebration Dollywood last week announced the celebrity line up for its series of Saturday concerts in its "I Will Always Love You Celebration" observing the 50th anniversary of Dolly's signature song. The free concerts will feature Natalie Grant opening day March 11, Ricky Skaggs March 18, Jo Dee Messina March 25, The Gatlin Brothers April 1 and Lauren Alaina April 8. An additional concert series of songwriters in the Showstreet Songwriting Showcase has yet to be announced in full, but the park noted it will feature Deana Black ("Check Yes or No"), Billy Montana ("Suds In The Bucket"), and Steve Dean ("Walk On") among others. The festival also features a glittering display of pink sequins shimmers above Showstreet, special themed culinary treats, and exclusive merchandise such as "I Will Always Love You" anniversary tee-shirts.
'Seriously Red' Out Now, DVD Coming March 21 Lionsgate Home Entertainment has announced that the Australian Dolly impersonator film Seriously Red, endorsed by Dolly herself and executive produced by her manager, will hit Blu-Ray and DVD March 21 here. If you can't wait, the film is available for online streaming rental or digital purchase from most retailers including Amazon here.
Dolly Talks Food, New Cookbook With Yahoo Yahoo Life's "Deglazed" food column interviewed Dolly and got a few more details about her upcoming cook book with her sister that she has mentioned in a couple of other recent interviews. According to the story, they're calling it "Good Lookin' Cookin'" because Rachel can make food "pretty and make it taste good," Dolly said, adding it will contain recipes "from the past and things I've gathered traveling all around the world." She added it will also feature "revamped" versions of some of the recipes in Dollywood's old park cookbook. Read the fill interview here.
New 'ET' Dolly Videos Released Entertainment Tonight last week released two video compilations from their archives of Dolly interviews: one on her philanthropy here and one on "rare interviews and behind-the-scenes moments" here.
'Still Working 9 To 5' Wins Another Award Congratulations to the documentary Still Working 9 To 5 featuring Dolly which won Best Documentary at the sixth annual Cowboys & Indians Movie Awards. Read more about this year's winners from the magazine here.
U.S., U.K. Chart Updates Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection loses five places to No. 36 country albums in its 12th week, the Feb. 18 charts released by Billboard on Tuesday showed. The set falls off the 100-position overall album sales chart, down from No. 94, and dips 10 to No. 55 in the all-genre current albums sales chart. Her
Run, Rose, Run holds steady at No. 7 bluegrass albums in its 47th chart week. Overseas, Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection loses the top British country compilation albums spot after 12 consecutive weeks at No. 1, slipping one to No. 2, while Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) gains four to No. 6, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe falls seven to No. 14, Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) holds steady at No. 15, and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 slides three to No. 12.
Feb. 9: VMP Collection To Feature Monthly Dolly LPs
Vinyl Me, Please on Wednesday revealed the details on their "Vinyl Me, Parton" club, which will release 12 monthly classic Dolly albums on limited edition colored vinyl starting in April. From her Monument debut through her RCA peak to several Sugar Hill releases through to some of her Dolly Records CDs. Most of the collection will either be in vinyl for the first time or for the first time in decades.
Watch Dolly's announcement video here or in the media player above, and start your subscription here. An image of each album and its expected colored vinyl is below. (Click on it for a larger view.)
Exclusive quarterly Dolly "mystery merch" will be included in the subscription, and some additional yet-to-be-announced Dolly titles are expected to be offered throughout the year as well that are outside of the subscription and available for additional purchase. Because of the subscription nature, the Swap feature that allows you to skip an entry in your track and choose a replacement will not be active, and the 12 subscription albums will not be guaranteed as swaps on the service's other monthly tracks.
Each selection was remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound in Nashville and features an obi-strip on the side. They will be pressed on 180-gram collectors' vinyl.
"I love listening to records, and to know that fans around the world are discovering music on vinyl is wonderful," Dolly said in a press release. "I am really happy to see some of my favorite albums that have been out of print on vinyl or were never pressed on vinyl be made available. What's old is new again!"
Subscriptions are available here
for a one-time charge of $435 ($36 per album), two installments of $237 every six months ($40 per album, and cancelable before the renewal for the second six months), or four installments of $128 ($43 per album and cancellable each quarter).
As was predicted here, the set includes Jolene, 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs and New Harvest, First Gathering. The full schedule is:
April 2023: My Tennessee Mountain Home (1973, RCA; 50th anniversary edition; first time on vinyl since 1973)
May 2023: Little Sparrow (2001, Sugar Hill/Blue Eye; first time on vinyl)
June 2023: Blue Smoke (2014, Dolly Records)
July 2023: Just Because I'm a Woman (1968, RCA; first time on vinyl since 1968)
August 2023: 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs (1980, RCA; first time on vinyl since 1984)
September 2023: Backwoods Barbie (2008, Dolly Records; 15th anniversary edition; first time on vinyl)
October 2023: Hello, I'm Dolly (1967, Monument Records; first time on vinyl since 1971)
November 2023: Jolene (1974, RCA)
December 2023: Halos & Horns (2002, Sugar Hill/Blue Eye; first time on vinyl)
January 2024: Better Day (2011, Dolly Records; first time on vinyl since 2011)
February 2024: Those Were the Days (2005, Sugar Hill/Blue Eye; first time on vinyl)
March 2024: New Harvest…First Gathering (1977, RCA; first time on vinyl since 1977)
Warwick Duet Drops Feb. 24 Dolly and Dionne Warwick made a surprise appearance Tuesday on ABC's Good Morning America to talk about their duet "Peace Like A River," a song Dolly wrote decades ago but never recorded. They filmed a video in Nashville that day for the collaboration and announced that the song will be available for download and streaming, and the video for viewing, starting Feb. 24. Check out the interview here and the cover art at left. Click on it for a larger view.
'Seriously Red' Movie Opens Friday Seriously Red, Rose Byrne's film about a Dolly impersonator in Australia executive produced by Dolly's manager Danny Nozell and authorized by Dolly herself, opens in limited release in the U.S. on Friday. Check out an interview with the cast from Entertainment Weeklyhere.
Duncan Hines Boxed Sets Available Dolly's limited edition boxed set of the additions to her Duncan Hines line of baking products went on sale to the public for $40 a box Wednesday and remained available as of press time Wednesday evening. The collection features one box each of her biscuit mix, cornbread mix, and two brownie mixes in addition to exclusive recipe cards, spatula, and tea towel. Get yours here. The products are on their way to stores nationwide now.
U.S. Chart Updates Both of Dolly's new singles this week fall off the digital sales charts after one week each, the Billboard lists dated Feb. 11 that were released on Tuesday, revealed. Dolly's "Don't Make Me Have To Come Down There" falls off the country digital song sales chart, down from No. 23, and "Gonna Be You" with Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan, and Debbie Harry falls off the overall digital song sales chart, down from No. 42. Elsewhere, Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection dips six to No. 31 country albums in its 11th chart week, losing 30 to No. 94 overall album sales and 17 to No. 45 current album sales. Her
Run, Rose, Run dips two to No. 7 bluegrass albums in its 46th chart week.
Feb. 6: Dolly Loses Country Duo, American Roots Grammy Awards
Dolly on Sunday failed to add to her 10 career regular Grammy Awards, or 11 overall Grammys including her Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, as both her collaborations with Bill Anderson and Reba McEntire lost.
"Someday It'll All Make Sense" (bluegrass remix) with Anderson lost Best American Roots Performance to "Stompin' Ground" by Aaron Neville with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The other nominees were "Life According to Raechel" by Madison Cunningham, "Oh Betty" by Fantastic Negrito, and "Prodigal Daughter" by Aoife O'Donovan and Allison Russell.
"Does He Love You – Revisited" with Reba lost Best Country Duo/Group Performance to "Never Wanted to Be That Girl" by Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde. The other nominees were "Wishful Drinking" by Ingrid Andress and Sam Hunt, "Midnight Rider's Prayer" by Brothers Osborne, "Outrunnin' Your Memory" by Luke Combs and Miranda Lambert, and "Going Where the Lonely Go" by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Critics largely expected the Plant/Krauss collaboration to win, noting the Dolly and Reba duet was the most likely other nominee to upset the category, but that was not to be.
Prior to the awards, Anderson spoke to Billboardhere about how he and Dolly came to record the song. And Reba, who previously won a Grammy for their nomination song's original recording with Linda Davis, reflected on being nominated with Dolly to Southern Livinghere.
In her career, Dolly has amassed 53 Grammy nominations, second for a female after only Beyonce, who has 88 nominations. This was Dolly's first nomination in the American Roots field and her 14th in the Country Duo/Group category (or its 1980s separation into the Country Vocal Collaboration category), of which she had won three. The nomination was Reba's career 17th, of which she has won three. The nomination was Anderson's first as a performer, as his previous four nominations were for songwriting. He has yet to win a Grammy.
Dolly Covers CD Coming March 31 British boutique re-issue label Ace Records announced on their Instagram page back on Dolly's birthday that they plan to release a new compilation of Dolly covers on March 31, Facebook fan page Dolly's Place discovered and reported last week. The title has yet to be added to the label's website but the cover art included in the Instagram post (click on at left for larger version) showed its title will be A Way To Make A Living: The Dolly Parton Songbook and include recordings by Bettye LaVette (who covered "Little Sparrow" in 2005), Chet Atkins (who covered "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" with Dolly in 1976), RuPaul and Michele Visage (who covered "With Bells On" in 1994), The White Stripes (who covered "Jolene" in 2001) and Tina Turner (who covered "There'll Always Be Music" in 1974), "and more," although the other selections have not been identified yet. For years, the label has released similar collections under its "Songwriter Series" which typically feature 20 to 25 tracks of other artists performing songs the selected composer wrote over the course of their career. For example, Dolly's cover of "Life's Like Poetry" was included on a compilation they released recently of Merle Haggard songs.
Dolly Receives Two Gold Single Awards From October The RIAA on Tuesday released video of their finally presenting Dolly with her two latest gold digital single certifications, which were first reported anywhere here on Dollymania.net back in October. Apparently, it took them three and a half months to arrange with Dolly's busy schedule for the RIAA to hand the awards to her in person. Shown in the photo at left courtesy RIAA (click on it for larger version) are, from left, RIAA Senior Vice President of Artist and Industry Relations Jackie Jones, Dolly's manager Danny Nozell, Dolly, and RIAA Chairman/CEO Mitch Glazier. As was reported here back in October, Dolly's recording of "Hard Candy Christmas" from 1982's film adaptation of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas and her collaboration on "Faith" with Swedish duo Galantis featuring Danish rapper Mr. Probz had both gone digital gold for a combination 500,000 or more paid downloads and/or streams of 75 million. Watch the presentation here or in the media player below.
Two New Singles Enter Sales Charts Both of Dolly's new singles made their digital sales chart debuts in the Billboard tallies dated Feb. 4 that were released on Tuesday. Her dream-inspired "Don't Make Me Have To Come Down There" debuts at No. 23 country digital song sales and "Gonna Be You" with Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan, and Debbie Harry debuts at No. 42 overall digital song sales. Elsewhere, Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection slides three to No. 25 country albums in its 10th chart week, gaining 13 to No. 64 overall album sales and eight to No. 28 current album sales. Her
Run, Rose, Run holds steady at No. 5 bluegrass albums in its 45th chart week. Overseas, Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection falls off the Scottish albums chart, down from No. 100, but holds steady at No. 1 country compilation albums. Run, Rose, Run falls off the British country albums chart, down from No. 20. The U.K. country compilations albums chart sees Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) lose five to No. 16, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe inch up one to No. 5, Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) re-enter top 20 at No. 17, and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 rise 10 to No. 18.
Keto, CBD Gummy Ads Not Dolly's Dolly this week addressed online scams trying to sell CBD gummies and keto diet foods under her name online, posting to social media that "Dolly Parton is not affiliated with, has not endorsed and is not associated with any keto or CBD gummy product. She's more of the cake, cookie, and cornbread type. – Team Dolly" The latter portion of the message refers to her Duncan Hines baking mix collection, which recently expanded to include brownies, biscuits, and cornbread. Speaking of her baking collection, the new $40 limited edition box containing each of the new mixes plus an exclusive tea towel, spatula, and recipe cards sold out in seconds last Wednesday for the units allocated to the presale and go on sell to the general public online at 11 a.m. Eastern next Wednesday here.
Researching Dolly's Likeability Factor Researchers at Wilfrid Laurier University recently released a paper analyzing the positivity in Dolly's songwriting and postulating that it is at least partially responsible for her cross-section popularity. Most artists decrease their positivity and increase negativity in their songwriting over time, they found, and overall popular music's positivity is less today than in past generations, but the percentage of positivity, measured as usage of words such as "love" and "happiness," in Dolly's lyrics has remained constant over the course of her more than five decade-long career, their algorithm found. Read more about the paper in a summary story here and the full paper may be accessed here.
More On Dolly's National Treasure Status CNN also spoke to some other experts over the weekend about how stars like Dolly and Tom Hanks become so beloved in the public's mind. Read their take here.
Dolly Up For Two Movieguide Awards Dolly is up for two honors at the 30th annual Movieguide Awards for family-friendly movies which will be handed out Saturday in Hollywood and air on UPtv Feb. 26 hosted by Terry Crews. Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas is nominated for the Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring TV or Streaming Movie or Program against Blood and Treasure Season 2, A Christmas . . .Present, and Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Episode 1.8. Dolly is herself nominated for the Grace Prize for Most Inspiring Performance on TV for playing herself in Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas and faces Reba McEntire in My Chains Are Gone, Mark Gagliardi in Blood And Treasure, Candace Cameron Bure in A Christmas . . . Present and Joanathan Roumie in The Chosen Episode 3. 3. Dolly has won the Epiphany Prize twice for Dolly Parton's Coat Of Many Colors and Dolly Parton's Christmas Of Many Colors: Circle Of Love and the Grace Prize two years ago as Angel in Dolly Parton's Christmas On The Square.
Dolly Poetry Tribute Collection Released A collection of poetry paying tribute to Dolly and her influence on the world was recently published by editors Julie E. Bloemeke and Dustin Brookshire. Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology highlights works by emerging and established poets including Pulitzer Prize finalist Dorianne Laux, National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Denise Duhamel, the current Poet Laureate of Ohio, a 2022 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellow, multiple National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship recipients, and two Lambda Literary Award recipients, among others. A total of 54 poets contributed to the project, with a majority identifying as female and a majority identifying as members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Read an interview with Brookshire from Metro Weeklyhere and order your copy here.
Jan. 30: Dolly Record Of The Month Club Coming Dolly is joining the boutique collector vinyl manufacturer Vinyl Me Please with her own Album of the Month Club, the service teased last week. On its website, VMP released a short video that opens with instrumentals from Dolly's 1974 original of "I Will Always Love You," then turns to static, then a Dolly video is joined already in progress where she says "I'm excited to be the first artist with a dedicated record of the month club," followed by static again, and then the words "Vinyl Me, Parton" on the screen as instrumentals from "9 to 5" play. The page includes the description: "Get ready to immerse yourself in Vinyl Me, Parton – the first of its kind, limited edition monthly record club curated with and dedicated to Dolly Parton herself. There will only be a limited amount of spots available. Join the interest list today and be one of the first notified when pre-orders open in February." Nothing else is known about the partnership, such as how many months or years it will run, whether each month will feature a Dolly re-issue selected by her or if it will include some Dolly re-issues along with re-issues of other artists' albums chosen by her, but the landing page is titled "First Gathering," which suggests they may be pressing her 1977 solo declaration New Harvest, First Gathering. Likewise, the inclusion of "I Will Always Love You" and "9 To 5" in the teaser video suggest upcoming pressings of 1974's Jolene (which had been rumored to be coming from VMP already later this year) and 1980's 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs. VMP previously issued a limited-edition 1,000 run of Jolene on blue vinyl in 2019 and had an exclusive 50th anniversary edition of 1971's Coat Of Many Colors in 2021 as one a regular monthly selection on its country track. Watch the video and register for the February pre-order announcement here.
'USA Today' Chats About Dolly's Rock Album Dolly gave a USA Today interview last week to update everyone on her rock album. She said here she has Elton John, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks on Nicks' "What Has Rock 'N' Roll Ever Done For Me," Miley Cyrus, John Fogerty on "Long As I Can See The Light," Joan Jett, Pink and Brandi Carlisle on "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" (although she's still trying to get Mick Jagger), Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran on a new recording of her "My Blue Tears," "hopefully" Cher and Annie Lennox on "Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This," and that her producer was in Los Angeles recording Steven Tyler on an original (she didn't say if it's an original she wrote or he did) and Steve Perry on "Open Arms." Then over the weekend, Jimmy Buffet posted a photo of him with Sheryl Crowe, Dolly and Emmylou Harris, suggesting the three of them also appear on the project, and Pat Benatar posted about finishing her duet with Dolly on Benatar's all time favorite song, although she didn't identify what that was.
Hoosiers Eye Statewide Library For Dolly Indiana could be the next state to take Dolly's Imagination Library early childhood literacy program statewide, as legislators have introduced a bill to fund a statewide program there, 14 News reported here.
U.S., U.K. Chart Updates Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains one to No. 22 country albums in its ninth chart week, the Jan. 28 Billboard charts released Wednesday showed. The set loses 10 places to No. 77 overall album sales and seven spots to No. 36 current album sales. Her
Run, Rose, Run rises two to No. 5 bluegrass albums in its 44th chart week. Overseas, Dolly's Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection tumbles 32 digits to No. 100 Scottish albums but holds steady at No. 1 country compilation albums. Run, Rose, Run also holds steady at No. 20 on the British country albums chart. The U.K. country compilations albums chart sees Emmylou Harris's Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) dip five to No. 11, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe gain three to No. 6, Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) fall back off the top 20, down from No. 17, and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 to re-enter the top 20 at No. 18.
For the archive of monthly news stories, click here.
"Dollymania: The Online Dolly Parton Newsmagazine. Your premier resource for Dolly Parton news and information." These pages are not affiliated with Dolly Parton, Dolly Parton Enterprises or Dollywood. Original text and images are copyrighted by Duane Gordon/www.dollymania.net or by their respective owners and published here with permission. These may not be reproduced without prior written consent.
Amazon Prime Video and the Academy of Country Music on Wednesday announced Dolly will for the second consecutive year host the ACM Awards, this year with co-host Garth Brooks and streaming live from the Ford Center at the Star outside of Dallas May 11. While Dolly said she doesn't expect to perform on the show with Garth, who is hosting his first-ever awards show, she will debut the first single from her upcoming rock album during the ceremony. The pair spoke with Billboard magazine about the hosting gig 
Collectors' record company Vinyl Me Please on Wednesday revealed the first extra release album from Dolly they will be making available this year outside of her 12-album monthly Vinyl Me Parton club: the first-time vinyl release of 2016's 
