Dolly Got Some Metal Help For Tour
Pollstar on Tuesday profiled Dolly's most recent tour crew, most of whom had their greatest degree of touring experience with heavy metal acts such as Marilyn Manson, Motley Crue, Slipknot and Megadeth. Read more here. Her biggest North American tour in a quarter century, Dolly's Pure & Simple Tour was also the most successful North American tour of her career, packing in 387,000 fans and grossing $31.0 million to be last year's 34th top North American tour of the year and No. 10 country tour of the year. (For comparison, her two previous tours focused more on Europe and Australia than North America, with 2014's Blue Smoke World Tour grossing $31.8 million and 2011's Better Day World Tour grossing her career-best $40.0 million, according to Pollstar.)

Fan Dinner Tickets On Sale
Tickets went on sale Monday for the unofficial annual Dolly Fan Dinner for May 5 at the Courtyard by Marriot in Pigeon Forge here. Organizers say the 7 p.m. reception will be followed by dinner at 7:30 and entertainment at 8:30 from Chip Yeomans and CJ Morgan performing Dolly songs as well as a "special guest entertainer." In addition, Randy L. Schmidt will debut his book Dolly On Dolly: Interviews and Encounters With Dolly Parton, which will be released four days prior. At 9:45, Schmidt will remain for a book signing and fans will be around selling memorabilia. (Your webmaster has reviewed an advance copy of the book, and I can tell you it's an indulgent journey through Dolly's life and career, giving fans a chance to re-live interviews they haven't seen in decades, but moreover it is a study in excellent interview technique. Dolly is one of the world's most skilled interview subjects, expertly navigating reporters' questions with humor and wit, remaining in control of the interview at all times and gently steering it where she wants it to go. Dolly On Dolly offers a fascinating overview of how her natural interview talent grew over time to a level that few in the public eye can match.)

Feb. 20:
Dolly Helps War Victims With Charity CD Appearance
Dolly has lent her voice to folk singer Brandi Carlile's efforts to help the victims of war by participating in a charity album. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of her landmark album The Story, Carlile and her Looking Out Foundation got together 14 artists including Dolly, Adele, Pearl Jam, Kris Kristofferson, The Avett Brothers, Margo Price, Jim James and more, to re-record the 14 songs on the album. The finished project, Cover Stories, will raise funds for War Child UK. The release date and pre-order information are not yet available, but pre-orders will be taken online here.  

Dolly Profiled On 'National Enquirer' TV Show
Cable channel REELZ has announced the second season of the tabloid "documentary" series National Enquirer Investigates will premiere at 6 p.m. April 12 with an episode dedicated to Dolly's career and private personal life.

Overseas Chart Updates
Down Under, My Dear Companion: Selections From The Trio Collection by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt holds steady at No. 10 on the Australian country albums chart in its 23rd week, it was announced Sunday. The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe this week loses two on the British country compilation albums chart, coming in at No. 4 in its 23rd week, it was announced Friday. On the same tally, Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) holds steady at No. 9 and Harris' Original Album Series, Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) falls three to No. 18.

Billboard Loves Dolly's 'He's Alive'
Billboard magazine last week counted down the 100 best award show musical performances of all time, and Dolly was the only country artist to make the top 20 with her 1989 Country Music Association Awards cover of "He's Alive." The publication noted: "Dolly absolutely shreds the inspirational anthem, captivating with her towering presence and providing the resurrection entirely with her lilting, mighty voice, rendering the gospel choir who enters at song's end for punctuation a virtual redundancy." See the full list, and watch clips, here.

'Drag Race' Hopes To Get Dolly
Rupaul Drag Race judge Michele Visage says Dolly is among the gay icons asked to appear on the show every season (such as Madonna, Cher and Liza Minnelli as well as Lady Gaga, who makes her first appearance on the program this coming season, it has been announced). Read more here.

Dolly Chats With UK Media
Dolly had an interview over the weekend with the British press in London's Sunday Post in which she says she'll eventually tour again in the U.K. Read the interview here.

Feb. 17:
'Christmas Of Many Colors' Wins Award
For the second year in a row, Dolly won the $100,000 MovieGuide Awards' Epiphany Prize for the Most Inspiring TV Program of the Year. This year's winner was Dolly Parton's Christmas Of Many Colors: Circle Of Love, the sequel to last year's winner Dolly Parton's Coat Of Many Colors. Dolly attended last year's ceremony to accept the honor but was absent this year, so the award was accepted by her co-executive producer, Sam Haskell, along with three of the cast members, the director, the screenwriter and the editor. "To stand in the light of God's grace, and to show people who you really are is what it's about, that's who Dolly Parton is," said Haskell. "We love her and we appreciate her, and we cherish her. She's a servant of God, and we love telling the stories of her life."

Dolly Collaboration Earns ACM Nomination
"Forever Country," the mash-up of John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads," Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again" and Dolly's "I Will Always Love You" performed by 30 different artists – including Dolly as the finale, was nominated Thursday for Vocal Event of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. The song will compete against Dierks Bentley and Elle King for "Different for Girls," Florida Georgia Line with Tim McGraw for "May We All," Kenny Chesney with Pink for "Setting The World On Fire" and Chris Young with Cassaddee Pope for "Think Of You." Because the song is credited to "Artists of Then, Now & Forever" instead of the 30 individual names of the performers, it is unlikely that a win would be added to any of the artists' official totals. Dolly has won seven regular ACM Awards and three special ACMs (Pioneer Award, Jim Reeves International Award, and the Tex Ritter Award). She previously won this category with Brad Paisley for "When I Get Where I'm Going" in 2006 and was nominated in this category with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris in 2000 and with Norah Jones in 2005.

Dolly Fan Dinner Returning This Year
Organizers this week announced on Facebook that in addition to the fan gathering at Dolly's Dixie Stampede on May 6, the annual unofficial Dolly Fan Dinner will also return at 7 p.m. May 5, following Dolly's annual Pigeon Forge parade.This year's event will take place at the Courtyard by Marriot and tickets go on sale Monday.

Feb. 15:
'Pure & Simple' Passes 110K Copies
Dolly's Pure & Simple continues to sell about 700 copies per week, ending its 25th sales week at 111,000 cumulative copies moved in the U.S., which earns the CD a seven-point climb to No. 15 Americana/folk album sales and one spot increase to No. 42 country album sales, the Feb. 25 Billboard charts released Tuesday showed. A 2008 release, Playlist: The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, debuts at No. 24 country catalog albums.

Feb. 14:
'Hello, I'm Dolly' Turns 50 Years Old
Dolly on Monday celebrated the half-century anniversary of Monument Records' release of her debut album, Hello I'm Dolly, saying in a press release: "I can't believe it's been 50 years since I did my first album. What a wonderful 50 years it has been. Thanks to my Uncle Bill Owens and Fred Foster for believing in me early on. And thanks to all the fans out there...I hope to have at least another 50 years!"

Dolly Coloring Book Released
A new Dolly coloring book hit stores just a couple of weeks ago: Dolly-toons, Illustrated Tribute and Coloring Book by Scott Clarke. Get your copy here!

Feb. 13:
'Jolene' With Pentatonix Wins Grammy Award
Dolly on Sunday took home her eighth competitive Grammy Award, her ninth award from the Recording Academy including her Lifetime Achievement Grammy, when "Jolene" with a capella group Pentatonix won Best Country Duo/Group Performance. In a press release, Dolly gushed: "Oh my Lord I am so excited to have won the Grammy with Pentatonix on my old song Jolene. I am so happy and am so very proud of Pentatonix. The song is one of my favorites. Thanks to the Grammys, but most importantly thanks to all the fans. I love you all." Pentatonix reacted on Twitter: "AHH!! We just won our THIRD GRAMMY for "Best Country Duo/Group Performance" with @DollyParton! ?? We are so honored… THANK YOU!!" The honor was actually the first Grammy Award for the classic song, as Dolly had previously been nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for the original version in 1975 and a live recording in 1976, which lost to Anne Murray's "Love Song" and Linda Ronstadt's "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)," respectively. The Pentatonix collaboration marked Dolly's second win and ninth nomination in this specific category – four with Porter Wagoner including her first Grammy nod in 1969 for "Just Someone I Used To Know," three with Kenny Rogers and one with Emmylou Harris and Ronstadt, which they won for their first collaborative album (for a period from the 1990s through early 2000s, the category rules changed to consider only full-time collaborative duos and groups, putting temporary collaborations into the new category of Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, which saw Dolly earn six nominations, including another win with Harris and Ronstadt). The original "Jolene" had been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. This year's nomination was Dolly's 47th of her career, second only to Beyonce, who took the record from Dolly for the woman with the most Grammy nominations three years ago and now has 62 nods. Neither Dolly nor Pentatonix was on hand to receive the award when it was presented in the pre-televised portion of the ceremony, although Pentatonix performed another song during the broadcast. Coverage included AOL's The Boot here and The Los Angeles Times here.

Australian Chart Updates
Down Under, My Dear Companion: Selections From The Trio Collection by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt holds steady at No. 10 on the Australian country albums chart in its 22nd week, it was announced Sunday, while Dolly's Pure & Simple falls back out of the top 40 country albums tally, down from No. 40 in its 23rd chart week.

Dolly Chooses Her Most Romantic Songs
For Valentine's Day, Country Living asked Dolly to rank her 10 most romantic songs. See which ones she chose here.

Feb. 11:
'Great Pretender' Coming To CD For First Time Since 1984
Vibe On Records, a new independent label created two years ago and "specializing in limited-run expanded editions of classic and forgotten pop records on CD," has revealed plans to release an "expanded edition" of Dolly's 1984 covers album The Great Pretender "featuring rare bonus tracks." The release date or any more details on what bonus tracks the collection will contain have not been announced.

Dolly Up For Grammy Award On Sunday
Dolly and Pentatonix will be up Sunday for a Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their a capella version of "Jolene," but they won't be performing the song. According to USA Today here, the band will sing an unannounced tune that was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame this year. In related news, The Huffington Post took the Grammy Awards as an opportunity to recognize the 10 best albums of the year here, putting The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe at No. 10 for 2016.

U.K. Chart Updates
The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe this week loses one on the British country compilation albums chart, coming in at No. 2 in its 22nd week, having had 20 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the tally, it was announced Friday. On the same tally, Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) gains five to No. 9 and Harris' Original Album Series, Volume 2 (featuring one track with Dolly harmony and two tracks with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) rises five to No. 15.

Michael Bolton Duet Released Friday
Michael Bolton's Songs Of Cinema, featuring a Dolly duet on "I Will Always Love You", was released on Friday. Download the track here.

Dollywood Readies For 2017
Closed for the season, Dollywood is busy prepping for the 2017 season, and The Knoxville News-Sentinel had a behind-the-scenes look on Friday here.

Watch '9 To 5' At Beverly Hills Theatre
The Writers Guild of America Committee of Women Writers will celebrate Women's History Month in March with a screening of Dolly's 1980 film 9 To 5 followed by a Q&A with screenwriter Patricia Resnick. The 8 p.m. event will be at the Writers Guild Theatre in Beverly Hills on March 4. Call (323) 782-4589 for information.

Feb. 9:
U.S., U.K., Aussie Chart Updates
Now that your webmaster is back from a week's vacation :) The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe this week holds steady at No. 1 British country compilation albums chart in its 21st week, giving the CD 20 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the tally, it was announced Friday. On the same tally, Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) holds steady at 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) re-enters the top 20 at No. 20 and Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) falls off the top 20, down from No. 11. On the overall country albums chart, Dolly's Pure & Simple falls out of the top 20, down from No. 9 in its 23rd week. Down Under, My Dear Companion: Selections From The Trio Collection by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt loses four to No. 10 on the Australian country albums chart in its 21st week, it was announced Sunday, falling out of the top 50 pop albums chart, down from No. 37, while Dolly's Pure & Simple re-enters the top 40 country albums tally at No. 40 in its 23rd chart week. Stateside, Dolly's Pure & Simple tumbles 10 spots to No. 22 Americana/folk album sales and four places to No. 43 country album sales in its 24th chart week, the Feb. 18 Billboard charts released Tuesday showed.

'Elle' Looks At Dolly's Relevance
Elle magazine recently took a look at the cultural significance over the past few decades of Dolly, Fiona Apple and Lana Del Rey. Check out the piece here.

Library License Plates Hit The Streets
Dolly's Imagination Library license plates for Tennessee drivers made their debut last week and were so popular that the program plans to also make available souvenir plates that non-Tennessee residents may order. Check out a story from FOX 17 here.

Dolly Collectors Profiled On TV
Major Dolly collectors Harrell Gabehart and Patric Parkey were profiled on Knoxville station WBIR a few days ago. Watch the story here.

Mississippi Birthday Party Covered
Last month's Bay St. Louis, Miss.'s, Dolly birthday festival was highlighted in The Norman Transcript here.

Worsham Worships Dolly Song
Newcomer Charlie Worsham counts "Coat Of Many Colors" as among the songs most influential in his life. Find out why from Wide Open Country here.

Bolton Talks Of Dolly Duet
Michael Bolton told Billboard this week how his upcoming duet with Dolly on "I Will Always Love You" came about. As was first reported here nearly two months ago, the song appears on Bolton's album Songs Of Cinema, which comes out on Friday. Read the interview here.

Dolly Duplicate Sings On 'Caraoke' Show
Spike's Caraoke Showdown this week unveiled a new episode with a Dolly impersonator. Check out a clip below.

Feb. 1:
'Pure & Simple' Hangs On To Charts
Dolly's Pure & Simple inches up one place to No. 12 Americana/folk album sales and one space to No. 39 country album sales in its 23rd chart week, the Feb. 11 Billboard charts released Tuesday showed. The "Forever Country" mash-up with Dolly falls off the hot country songs list, down from No. 46. Three dates from the Pure & Simple Tour make this week's Box Score: No. 31 is her sold out engagement Nov. 26 at Tampa's Amalie Arena with $612,289 gross from 6,699 seats, No. 38 is her sold out show Nov. 29 at Pensacola Bay Center with $551,787 gross from 6,581 seats, and No. 44 is her Nov. 27 performance at Sunrise, Fla.'s, BB&T Center with a gross of $407,227 and 86 percent of the available 6,183 seats sold.

There's A New Dolly Around
Little Big Town's Kimberly Schlapman earlier this month had a daughter and named her after Dolly, Rare reported here.

Dolly Fan Dinner Coming May 5
Organizers of the annual unofficial Dolly Fan Dinner have announced that this year's event will be 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 5, at Dixie Stampede in Pigeon Forge. Check out the event page here.The party each year follows Dolly's annual Pigeon Forge parade, which Dollymania.net announced nearly a month ago will take place on May 5.