'Mystery Mine' Coming To Dollywood In '07
The big addition to Dollywood next year is expected to be a "Mystery Mine Ride," plans approved at the Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Planning Commission Tuesday revealed, reported The Mountain Press. See a photo of the artist's rendering of the ride and read the paper's story here. According to the article, the mine will be the largest expansion ever in the park and climb 121 feet before making passengers appear to cross a broken trestle in an old mine shaft. A groundbreaking is about a month away, and the project will require a full year to build, it continued. Further details were not made available, pending a planned official announcement of the project in July.

Why 'Going' Fell From 'Billboard' Charts
Although it's gone from the country tally, "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Dolly and Brad Paisley remains on the pop charts this week, Billboard announced Thursday in the April 8 numbers. The tune slips three to No. 58 on the all-genre Hot 100 pop singles chart and six to No. 59 for Hot 100 airplay only but it gains five to No. 73 on the genre-specific Pop 100 chart. As was previously reported here, the song was removed this week from the main country singles chart, which allowed it to debut at No. 1 on the country recurrent singles chart. Had it been allowed to remain on the country singles list, it would have ranked at No. 11. However, as Billboard Director of Country Charts Wade Jessen explained to Dollymania, the rule that songs are moved from the country chart to the recurrent country chart after 20 weeks if they fall below No. 15 applies both to the actual chart position (which is based on audience totals) and its ranking for detections, meaning how many times it is played regardless of audience size. While the song's audience size would have allowed it to remain above No. 15 on the chart, the number of total times it was played dipped lower than 15th place, requiring it to be removed. The song spent 26 weeks on the country chart, one of those at No. 1. On CMT's Top Twenty Countdown, the video gains one to No. 3 for the week. Elsewhere on Billboard, Paisley's album which contains the song, Time Well Wasted, slides four to No. 19 country, 12 to No. 83 pop and 13 to No. 85 comprehensive in its 32nd week. In Canada, it falls three to No. 17 country. Martina McBride's Timeless, with "I Still Miss Someone" with Dolly, dips three to No. 42 country in its 22nd chart week and falls off the 200-position pop albums tally, down from No. 173 pop the previous week. Up north, it loses three to No. 17 on the Canadian country and falls back off the pop 100, down from No. 99. Kenny Rogers's 21 Number Ones, featuring "Islands In The Stream," benefits from attention given to his new studio album and rises seven to No. 16 country in its ninth week, gaining 32 to No. 80 pop and 37 to No. 82 comprehensive. In Canada, it gains 12 to No. 47 country. Bettye LaVette's I've Got My Own Hell To Raise, featuring her version of "Little Sparrow," inches up one to No. 11 in its 26th week on the blues albums chart. On the bluegrass albums list, Rhonda Vincent's Ragin' Live, with her cover of "Jolene," drops four to No. 7 in its 55th week, while Sarah Harmer's I'm A Mountain, including a cover of "Will He Be Waiting For Me," remains steady at No. 4 in its sixth week. Alan Jackson's Precious Memories rebounds three to recapture the No. 1 country spot in its fourth week, also rising five to No. 9 pop with 56,000 copies sold, while The Legend of Johnny Cash remains steady at No. 2 country and falls two to No. 10 pop in its 22nd week with sales of 53,000.

Un-'Masked' Dolly
If you want to see a butterfly mask from Dolly, head out to the Cherry Creek Shopping Center in Denver, Colo., where it will be on display with other submissions from Donald Trump, LeAnn Rimes, Jay Leno and more as part of the Mask Project to benefit Hospice of Metro Denver. Dolly has supported the bi-annual event for several years. Read a story from The Denver Post here and visit the charity's Web site here.

Helping Another Good Cause
The charity auction on eBay of several autographed items which Dolly donated to benefit LA-area Providence High School ended Thursday afternoon with a winning bid of $188.03.

Ala. Library Happenings
Dolly's nationwide Imagination Library literacy program got some support this week in Alabama, where the state's First Lady Patsy Riley read books to preschoolers in Pell City to help promote the program there, and in nearby Talladega, the program has doubled the area it serves in the community. Read more from The Daily Home on the first lady's visit here and the Talladega expansion here.

Randy Update
North Carolina's Roanoke Daily Herald reported Thursday that construction began this week on the Carolina Crossroads Music & Entertainment District in Roanoke Rapids, which will be anchored with a theatre by Dolly's brother, Randy. You may recall that Dolly and a couple of her sisters attended a groundbreaking for the complex in November and she has said she will perform there occasionally once it opens, which will likely be sometime in 2007. Read more here.

March 30:
'Going' Spiraling Up North
The decline of Dolly's latest hit, "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Brad Paisley, continues up north this week. The song falls out of the 100-position Canadian pop singles chart, down from No. 81 in its 19th week there, it was announced Thursday. On the Canadian country side, it slips 11 to No. 27. The song had peaked there at No. 23 pop and No. 2 country. On the Radio & Records country tally, although it has been gone from the main singles chart for a few weeks since it dropped too low to continue to chart there, it slips one to No. 2 on the country recurrent tally. Were it still on the main country chart, it would have been No. 11.

DVD Red Carpet Walk Tonight!
The big night has arrived, as Dolly, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dabney Coleman and producer Bruce Gilbert are slated to walk down the red carpet at the Hollywood & Highland Complex in Los Angeles Thursday night to kick off the launch party for next Tuesday's DVD release of 9 To 5: Sexist, Egotistical, Lying, Hypocritical Bigot Edition. The red carpet walk runs from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. Pacific time, followed by a private party at The Annex in the complex, where Dolly is scheduled to perform her Oscar-nominated title song from the film. In related news, the April 3 edition of Time magazine features a brief interview with Tomlin, who reflects on how the workplace has changed over the years after the film, feminism, The West Wing and her upcoming film, Prarie Home Companion. Read it here. Finally, visit the Dollymania special section here devoted to the new DVD and enter here for a chance to win a free copy from the site!

Dolly-mal Planet!
Dolly and Dollywood will be featured in a new episode of the Animal Planet series Get Out There!, which takes an average American family and plops them in the wilderness. A show focusing on the Smoky Mountains and premiering next month will feature the park and the American Eagle Foundation, which is housed there, plus an appearance from Dolly herself, the park announced this week. The episode debuts on the cable network at 8 p.m. Eastern April 6, with repeats April 7 and 8.

And A Hallmark Repeat
For those who may have missed its premiere earlier this month, Naomi Judd's Hallmark Channel program, Naomi's New Morning, is repeating the episode with her Dolly interview this weekend, producers confirm to Dollymania. Catch the show at 10 a.m. Eastern Sunday.

Auction Nearing End For Dolly Goodies
The eBay charity auction benefiting a Los Angeles-area school wraps up Thursday. The last chance to place bids on the prize package which Dolly donated to support Providence High School is 3:52 p.m. Eastern Thursday. The collection includes an autographed photo, autographed cap, autographed extra-large 2004 tour t-shirt, Dollywood mug, four CDs and one autographed CD. As of Wednesday evening, bids stood at $182.50. Take a look, and place your bid, here.

Vincent Release Date Set
Rounder Records this week announced a May 23 release date for Rhonda Vincent's next CD, All American Bluegrass Girl, which as was previously reported will contain a Dolly guest appearance. The track on which Dolly reportedly appears is "Heartbreaker's Alibi." (And that happens to be the same date that The Weinstein Company is releasing the DVD of Transamerica, featuring the music video for Dolly's Oscar-nominated "Travelin' Thru" and a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the video. Get that DVD here!)

Parade Map Published
For those planning their first trip up to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., in another week to see Dolly at the annual seasonal Grand Opening celebration at Dollywood (even though the park actually opens to the public this weekend), you might find this helpful. The Smoky Mountain Herald this week offered a map of Dolly's Friday evening parade route for April 7. Take a look here. With this year's theme of "Dolly's Smoky Mountain Adventure," the parade kicks off at 6 p.m., as usual.

Grascals Gone
The new Bluegrass Unlimited charts for April were revealed on Wednesday, and Dolly's pals The Grascals see their self-titled debut album, which contains the track "Viva Las Vegas" with Dolly, fall out of the 15-position bluegrass albums chart, down from No. 9 in March. The disc had peaked at No. 2.

Idol Note
Seems American Idol contestant Taylor Hicks is a Dolly fan. A profile in The Birmingham News here says his standard set list for his concert appearances in clubs includes Dolly's "9 To 5." Thanks, Bridget!

March 29:
DVD Making Waves
Next week's release of the 25th anniversary DVD 9 To 5: Sexist, Egotistical, Lying, Hypocritical Bigot Edition continues to garner coverage. The disc is reviewed this week by Video Business, which says here that in the audio commentary Dolly "has the same infectious laugh she had in the film and is as bubbly as viewers would expect," the deleted scenes are "good" and the gag reel "very funny," adding that 25 years after its release Dolly is correct in saying the film remains fun to watch. And DVD Talk opines here that it's the actors' performances that make the film so easy to recommend and regardless that the reviewer thought the special edition title was a bit too long he notes that it contains "considerably more special features" than 2001's original DVD packaging of the film. Check out some of the original 1980 publicity stills from the motion picture in a gallery posted tonight in that section of the site here, and don't forget to get your entry in here by Sunday for your chance to win one of five free copies of the special edition DVD! (In the first 24 hours, about 200 entries have come in, so chances are still very good for everyone!)

Overseas Update
Overseas on the European CMA charts, the cover of "I Still Miss Someone" by Martina McBride with Dolly from McBride's CD Timeless shows up in a couple of places, it was announced Tuesday. The tune debuts at No. 12 on the U.K. country singles airplay chart and No. 19 on the country airplay singles chart in Denmark.

In Memoriam: Cindy Walker
An obituary in Tuesday's New York Times for legendary country songwriter and Hall of Fame member Cindy Walker paid due respect to the lady but also offered a compliment to Dolly as well, with the writer noting that Dolly is "the only woman songwriter whose output rivals Ms. Walker's." Walker died last week at the age of 87. Read the tribute to her here.

March 28:
'Going,' 'Going,' Gone
After 26 weeks on the charts and a peak at No. 1, Dolly's 25th time at the pole position, "When I Get Where I'm Going," her collaboration with Brad Paisley, will soon be on the country singles chart no longer, Billboard revealed Monday. The preliminary charts dated April 8, which will be officially released Thursday, show the song has apparently reached the limit allowed by the chart rules and has been dropped from the 60-position current singles tally, down from No. 10 the previous week, its 26th. Still, it will be the No. 1 country "recurrent" single with nearly 21 million listeners for the week, tops for songs no longer on the main chart. In other chart news, new Curb duo Bomshel see their song "Country Music Love Song," which mentions Dolly and her "Coat Of Many Colors," debut at No. 59.

Win New '9 To 5' DVD
Dollymania this week launches a new section here dedicated to the upcoming 25th anniversary DVD 9 To 5: The Sexist, Egotistical, Lying, Hypocritical Bigot Edition, hitting stores next week. There, you will find the site's review of the new disc's special features and a contest to win your very own free copy (one entry per person through April 2). Click here to take a look!

Racing For Literacy
Check out a story here from the Loudon County News-Herald in Tennessee about a local go kart racing fifth grader who is using his skill to raise funds for the local branch of Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program.

Getting Ready
The Chattanoogan on Monday night posted a press release detailing Dolly's April 7 parade through Pigeon Forge in celebration of the new season at Dollywood. This year's theme is "Dolly's Smoky Mountain Adventure." Read more here.

March 27:
DVD Gets Positive Marks
The April 4 special " Sexist, Egotistical, Lying, Hypocritical Bigot Edition" DVD of 9 To 5 gets a great review in Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle, which says the anniversary featurette and one about the film's director, the late Colin Higgins, are the best of the new special features on the disc. The reviewer gives the collection a "very good" rating, or the equivalent of four out of five stars. Take a read here. In related news, it's been announced that additional coverage of the DVD will be included on this Friday's Entertainment Tonight (several brief clips from the anniversary featurette and a few of the gag reel clips were used for a story on the DVD in last Friday's episode as well), and look for a complete review of the DVD and contest to win free copies of it here later this week!

Getting The Brits To Dollywood
U.K. newspaper The Mirror profiled Dollywood, including several quotes from Dolly herself, in its travel section Saturday. "This is where my heart is and where most of my relatives live. Seeing it such a success and being able to put something back into the community is what it's all about. And making people happy, too, gives me a lot of joy," she says. Take a read here.

Library Almost In All of Tennessee
The official kick-off event to start up Dolly's national literacy program, the Imagination Library, in Rutherford County, Tenn., will run nearly a full week, according to Murfreesboro's Daily News Journal. The paper reported over the weekend that several events will be held April 3-8 to celebrate the county's participation. Read more here. In Dolly's native Tennessee, the state has put up matching funds for its expansion statewide there (it is currently in 92 of the state's 95 counties with the last three expected to be on board in coming months). Nationwide, the program is in about 500 communities across 42 states providing one free, hardcover, age-appropriate book each month for every child from birth to age 5 whose parents sign up in a participating community.

March 25:
'9 To 5' Promos Start
In the first promotional appearance to plug the April 4 25th anniversary "Sexist, Egotistical, Lying, Hypocritical Bigot Edition" of Dolly's classic film 9 To 5, the three leading ladies of the movie were on Entertainment Tonight Friday. Dolly, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin all chatted briefly about the landmark motion picture as bloopers from its filming were shown. The outtakes come from the never-before-seen gag reel which is one of several special features on the upcoming release, also including an anniversary featurette, director featurette and commentary from the stars, among other goodies. See a written preview of the ET story from the show's Web site here and look for more on the DVD, including a special features review and information on how you can win a free copy, here in coming days! The DVD may be advanced ordered here.

GAC, Christian Chart Updates
People need to click and vote for the video for "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Dolly and Brad Paisley, as the tune slides one to No. 3 this week on the fan-voted Great American Country (GAC) countdown, it was announced Friday. Cast your ballot here! After four weeks at No. 1 on the Power Source Christian country charts, the magazine revealed Friday that the song falls five to No. 6 for the week. And on the unofficial Indie World Country independent label country singles chart, Dolly's "Both Sides Now" from Those Were The Days falls off the 50-position tally, down from No. 15 the previous week and No. 1 the week before that.

March 24:
'Going' Still Dropping On Charts
Continuing its descent on the charts, "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Dolly and Brad Paisley slips nine places on the all-genre Hot 100 pop singles chart to No. 55 in the April 1 Billboard numbers released Thursday. The song also falls 11 to No. 53 Hot 100 airplay and two to No. 78 on the Pop 100 genre-specific chart. It falls off the 75-position digital downloads chart, down from No. 74 the previous week. As was previously reported here, the tune dips three digits to No. 10 in its 26th week on the country singles chart. Over on CMT's Top Twenty Countdown, the video gains two to No. 4. Paisley's Time Well Wasted, which contains the song, remains steady at No. 15 country, No. 71 pop and No. 72 comprehensive in its 31st week. Up north, it rises three to No. 15 Canadian country. McBride's Timeless, featuring "I Still Miss Someone" with Dolly, falls five to No. 39 country in its 21st chart week, eight to No. 173 pop and off the 200-position comprehensive chart, down from No. 168 the previous week. In Canada, it inches up one to No. 14 country and re-enters the pop top 100 at No. 99. Kenny Rogers's 21 Number Ones, with "Islands In The Stream," remains steady at No. 23 country in its eighth week, sliding seven to No. 112 pop and nine to No. 119 comprehensive. Bettye LaVette's I've Got My Own Hell To Raise, with "Little Sparrow," slips one to No. 12 in its 25th week on the blues albums chart. On the bluegrass albums list, Rhonda Vincent's Ragin' Live, featuring "Jolene," gains one to No. 3 in its 54th week, and Sarah Harmer's I'm A Mountain, with her cover of "Will He Be Waiting For Me," falls one to No. 4 in its fifth week. Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts remains at No. 1 country for a 15th week, its 17th week on the chart, and gains one to No. 6 pop with 64,000 copies sold while The Legend of Johnny Cash remains steady at No. 2 country and No. 8 pop in its 21st week with sales of 56,000.

'CW' Loaded With Dolly
Dolly shows up several places in the April 10 edition of Country Weekly magazine on newsstands now. The "Hot Shots" page features a great red carpet photo from the Oscars with George Clooney. The "Just In" page (which, ironically, is always weeks out of date) covers her loss and admirer Reese Witherspoon's win at the Oscars nearly three weeks ago alongside the "Quote Of The Week," which is one Dolly uttered to Keith Urban at the Country Radio Seminar more than five weeks ago. "The Scoop" section notes the April 1 opening of Dollywood for its 21st season and includes a shot of Dolly as Cleopatra in a parade through the park two years ago, while Hazel Smith's weekly column notes how "ticked" she is that Dolly didn't win at the Academy Awards. A section devoted to the CMT Music Awards offers critics' opinions of who deserves to win and whom they expect to win, which find Dolly and Brad Paisley's "When I Get Where I'm Going" selected as the "should win" in both of its nominated categories, Collaborative Video of the Year and Most Inspirational Video of the Year, although they only predict it winning the latter, with Faith Hill and Tim McGraw's "Like We Never Loved At All" the favorite for the Collaborative trophy. The "Music News" page has a caricature of Dolly in its "Who's Hot" box for being back on country radio "after nearly a decade via performances with Brad Paisley and Martina McBride." And, finally, while the review doesn't mention the CD's cover of Dolly's "Down," Pinmonkey gets three stars for their new album, Big Shiny Cars.

'OK,' Too
And the March 27 issue of OK! magazine, on newsstands now, features a cute little Dolly interview. Covering four pages, she talks of never retiring, her idea of success, her fans, Dollywood, cooking and more. The piece is accompanied by five great photos (two from the Oscars, one from the CMT Flameworthy Awards publicity shots from a couple years back, one from 9 To 5 and one from the CMAs with Sir Elton John). The author did get one fact wrong, though, stating that she had won six Grammy Awards; her actual total of credited awards is seven (five as a solo performer and two as one-third of the Trio with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris). Thanks, Jon!

Dolly In Upcoming Book
Dolly will be among several celebrities featured in an upcoming book by fellow Sevier County author Michele Karl titled What Celebrities Collect, it has been announced. Expected for release in stores in May or June, the seventh book by Karl includes interviews with more than 50 celebrities about what they collect and why. For Dolly, of course, that means butterflies. "I've always loved butterflies," she says. Combining interviews with photos of stars and pictures of some of their prized possessions, the book opens up John Travolta's collection of aviation memorabilia, George Clooney and his motorcycles, Louise Mandrell and her plates, hearts and crosses, paperweights collected by Robin Leach, who wrote the book's forward, and much more. Pre-orders are currently being accepted for copies of the book autographed by the author for $19.95 plus $4 shipping and handling to What Celebrities Collect, Attn: Michele Karl, P.O. Box 1228, Seymour, TN 37865. Learn more from Karl's Web site here.

Library Aloha
Dolly's Imagination Library has reached about 12 percent of eligible children in a pilot program on the island state of Hawaii, as it closes in on its goal of 20 percent, The Honolulu Advertiser reported Thursday. In less than five months, nearly 2,000 youngsters have signed up for Dolly's literacy program there, and if successful it is expected to expand throughout the state. Read more here.

Newcomer Digs Dolly
Singer Teddy Thompson, who performs two tracks on the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack and is on tour in the U.K., has some high praise for Dolly. Asked what music he is currently listening to, he told I Like Music here: "I just bought the My Morning Jacket album, which I like very much and I'm listening to a lot of George Jones at the moment and Dolly Parton, she's a miracle."

Overseas Notes
British Dolly fan Joe Skelly, manager of the Whitehaven branch of national retailer WHSmith, is in the papers once again praising his efforts to get the chain to stock Dolly's Those Were The Days. Check out a mention in The Whitehaven News here, and look at a couple of pictures from the Dolly promotions at his store here and here.

March 23:
'Going' Still Strong On 'R&R'
Although it's gone from the Radio & Records main country singles chart, "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Dolly and Brad Paisley is still getting airplay. The tune remains at No. 1 on the magazine's recurrent country singles chart, which lists songs that have been dropped from the main singles tally due to having lost airplay for three consecutive weeks. Had the song been allowed to stay on the regular chart, it would have been No. 11 this week. Up north, the collaboration slips seven to No. 16 country in Canada and plummets 35 points to No. 81 on the Canadian pop singles chart in its 19th week there.

'Travelin'' On AOL's Chart
It may not be getting radio airplay, but the video for Dolly's Oscar-nominated tune "Travelin' Thru" is burning up the Internet. The clip showed up Wednesday on AOL's chart of its 25 most-viewed country music videos of the day, coming in at No. 12. Take a look at the list here. Thanks, Jason! Remember the video and a behind-the-scenes look at its making will be included as bonus features on the May 23 release DVD of the film. Get that here!

The Red Carpet Is Calling
The details have been revealed for the 9 To 5 DVD launch event in Hollywood. Actors Dolly, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman will join producer Bruce Gilbert for a red carpet walk and night of celebration March 30 in recognition of the film's second DVD release, this time with tons of extra material in honor of its 25th anniversary. It will mark the first public gathering of the four stars of the film since a reunion for a charity event in Atlanta three years ago. After the 7 p.m. red carpet arrivals at the Hollywood & Highland Complex in Los Angeles (where the Academy Awards' Kodak Theatre is located), guests will be treated to a private party on the complex's fifth floor at The Annex, which will be turned into an office of Consolidated Companies, Inc., the fictional corporation from the film. The 9 To 5: Sexist, Egotistical, Lying, Hypocritical Bigot Edition will hit stores five days later on April 4. Reserve your copy here! Image at left from the 2003 charity event reunion is copyright © 2005 Duane Gordon/Dollymania.net. May not be reproduced without prior written consent.

On The Tube
She made the network's first installment, so it's probably fitting that she gets on the second one. VH1 announced Wednesday that Dolly will be included in a follow-up to 2003's countdown of bad fashion trends, The Greatest: 40 More Awesomely Bad Fashion Moments, premiering on the cable network at 9 p.m. Eastern April 1. No word on what Dolly fashion moment was chosen, although my money is on one of her Oscar outfits. She garnered a mention in the first round of "Awesomely Bad Fashion," but the comments on her were actually positive. In a segment from the previous show, people were criticized for poor taste in how they wore clothing which showed the American flag, although when Dolly's outfit from her For God And Country album cover was shown, she was complimented as one of the only stars who could pull off such a look. Wonder if this episode will be as kind :)

Vote For Dolly
Readers of Entertainment Weekly's online edition were being asked Wednesday to which artist they would like to see an episode of American Idol dedicate an evening's music, but as of Wednesday night, Dolly was far behind. Madonna was respondents' first choice with 48 percent, followed by The Beatles at 24 percent. Prince was third at 16 percent, Dolly next with 7 percent and The B-52s last with 4 percent. Vote here if the poll is still up by the time you see this. Thanks, Jeff!

Dolly As Symbol Of Tolerance
LGBT publication The Advocate on Wednesday offered an interesting editorial which mentions Dolly in a couple of spots. Read it here.

Library On The Move
Dolly's Imagination Playhouse is hitting the road, locally at least. The 20-minute musical adaptation of the book My Lucky Day taken from the book by Keiko Kasza with songs by Dolly, premiered at last year's Dollywood KidsFest. The show is now planned for 19 performances at public library branches around Knoxville April 3 through May 2. "We have always believed that to help children learn to read you must first inspire them to love to read," explained Dollywood Foundation Executive Director David Dotson. "With support from Dollywood and the Knox County Public Library system, we have the opportunity to both entertain and inspire kids with this wonderful performance." The first show will be at 6:30 p.m. at the East Tennessee History Center Auditorium, with performances scheduled over the next month at various branches of the library system. The show grew out of Dolly's Imagination Library, a nationwide literacy program which provides free books for children and is now active in 600 communities across 42 states.

March 22:
'Trans' DVD Release Delayed
Genius Products Inc., which is distributing the DVD of Transamerica for The Weinstein Company, has announced that the disc's release is being delayed two weeks. As was reported here the weekend of the Academy Awards, the DVD will include Dolly's video for her Oscar-nominated tune "Travelin' Thru" as well as a making-of-the-video featurette and was slated for a May 9 release nationwide. In a press release here, Genius says the release will now fall on May 23. Reserve your copy of the disc here! (Special recognition to the hilarious fan blog Confessions Of A Dolly Junkie for catching the change in release dates.)

March 21:
'Going' Still In Top 10
Dolly's record-breaking 25th No. 1 hit single, "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Brad Paisley, will earn its twelfth week in country's top 10 when the April 1 Billboard singles charts are released, the magazine announced Monday. The song will slip three spots on the country tally to No. 10 for its 26th chart week, six months after its chart debut. For the immediate past week, it lost 2.8 million listeners to a total of 24.4 million audience members. Paisley also has the week's "Hot Shot Debut," the chart's highest debut single of the week, with his CD Time Well Wasted's third single, "The World," coming in at No. 37 (personally, though, I think the awesome "Rainin' You" should have been the disc's next single). And on the Americana Music Association's albums chart, based on radio airplay of songs from each CD, the Transamerica soundtrack with Dolly's Oscar-nominated "Travelin' Thru" falls off the 40-position tally, down from No. 34 the previous week.

New Charity Auction Up
Dolly is lending yet another helping hand to children. She has donated a pack of goodies for an auction to benefit Providence High School in the Los Angeles area. They include an autographed photo, autographed cap, autographed extra-large 2004 tour t-shirt, Dollywood mug, four CDs and one autographed CD. As of early Monday evening, bids stood at $15.50. Take a look, and place your bid, here.

Paper Praises Pinmonkey
The Miami New Times on Monday gave a great review to the new Pinmonkey CD, Big Shiny Cars, singling out the trio's cover of Dolly's "Down" as sounding like "Ricky Skaggs gone power-pop." Read more here.

March 20:
Naomi Weeps Over Dolly Song
In a very relaxed, friendly interview broadcast Sunday, Dolly's friend Naomi Judd talked with her about life, her career and more on the new Hallmark Channel program Naomi's New Morning. The interview was broken into two parts, with the first coming at the program's beginning and the second near the show's end. In the first, Judd remained in the episode's theme of secrets as she asked to whom Dolly tells her secrets (her sisters and best friend Judy Ogle, she replied), the public's love of gossip, how she tries to joke about the tabloid stories about her and one of her own "secrets" (whether she has a butterfly tattoo -- Judd said her daughter, Wynonna, wanted her to ask that one, and Dolly said she had one but joked that she didn't have to tell her where). In the second part of the interview, the two spoke of aging (Dolly said she didn't mind being 60 but doesn't like to hear it), that she doesn't expect to ever change her look, her mother's reaction to her father's death and her spirituality. She also revealed that one of the songs she has written for a yet-to-be-produced musical on her life story is "I'm My Mama Made Over" about the similarities she shared with her mother. In the interview's most moving moments, Judd praised her songwriting, saying Dolly is her favorite songwriter and one whom she considers more of a "lyrical historian" than a songwriter. She was moved to tears as she confessed to her that "Coat Of Many Colors" is her all-time favorite song, calling it "the greatest song ever written." Dolly began to tear up herself as Judd explained she identified with the poverty in which Dolly was raised and about which she sings in the song.

Library Update
Nashville's The Tennessean on Saturday took a look at some of the successes that Dolly's nationwide Imagination Library literacy program has had in Music City's metropolitan area. The story notes that Williamson County has signed up 2,020 children to receive the free, monthly books, while Rutherford County has passed 3,200 enrollees and Sumner County should start taking names for the books there by the end of the month. Read more here.

Contests Wrapping Up
Zac from fan site Dolly Life And Song asked me to remind everyone that his site's contest to win two season passes to Dollywood ends on Tuesday, so get those entries in! Visit his site here and click on its "Dollywood page" for entry information. Thanks, Zac! Also, for those of you who still haven't entered the Dollymania/Nettwerk Records contest to win a free CD of the Transamerica soundtrack featuring Dolly's Oscar-nominated tune "Travelin' Thru," those entries will only be accepted through 11:59 p.m. Pacific time Monday. Enter here.

March 18:
Dolly On Tube This Weekend
One Dolly television appearance this weekend was announced Friday, but don't forget another. The new stop is on the CBS program Sunday Morning, which is slated to present a profile and interview with her frequent duet partner, Kenny Rogers, and his wife, Wanda. The segment is to also include an interview with Dolly about him. It airs at 9 a.m. Eastern Sunday. Thanks, Adam! The other show is the Hallmark Channel series Naomi's New Morning, hosted by good friend Naomi Judd. As was first announced here, Dolly filmed an interview for the program last month. According to publicity materials, it is to focus on "secrets and confessions." That show airs Sunday at 10 a.m. Eastern. Image at left from the program courtesy The Hallmark Channel. Used with permission. Click on image for larger version.

Inching Toward GAC No. 1
The video for "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Dolly and Brad Paisley seems poised to possibly make it to No. 1 on another chart, this one on cable network Great American Country (GAC). The tune gains one to No. 2 on the viewer-voted weekly video countdown, it was announced Friday. Cast your ballot here! The song will also get a fourth week at No. 1 on the Power Source Christian country charts, it was announced Friday. Overseas with the European CMA charts, however, it falls out of the top 20 for country singles airplay in Germany, down from No. 8 the previous week, and "I Still Miss Someone" with Martina McBride falls out of the top 20 in Holland, down from No. 15. And on the unofficial Indie World Country independent label country singles chart, Dolly's "Both Sides Now" from Those Were The Days falls from one week at the No. 1 spot, slipping 14 points to No. 15 for the week.

More Criticism For 'Pimp'
The man who rapped "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" is slamming the song's presentation on the Oscars the night it beat out Dolly's "Travelin' Thru," it was reported this week. AOL's Black Voices quoted actor Terrance Howard, who played the song's rapper-pimp in the film Hustle & Flow, saying after he was honored at the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters' 22nd Annual Communications Awards Dinner that he was shocked at the song's win at the Academy Awards, thinking instead that "In The Deep" from Crash (another film in which he was one of the lead actors) would be victorious. However, it was the performance by the song's writers, Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia, that set him off, mostly due to the Academy's chosen stage presentation for the rap. "Just seeing the way they performed, it kind of broke my heart though," he said. "Not the way Three 6 Mafia did it, but everything I tried to escape in my portrayal of that role, it seems that they went right to the stereotype that I wanted to assassinate. The people who had choreographed it apparently hadn't seen the film." Read more here.

Dolly Talent Comes In Handy
I didn't watch it, but I understand the American Idol spin-off American Inventor on ABC saw a Dolly moment in its series premiere Thursday night. Apparently, one of the inventor hopefuls, "Crafty Kathy," formerly worked as a Dolly impersonator and ended her presentation for her Edible Snow Globe Cookie Kits by singing "9 To 5" as Dolly. It must have worked, because she was selected to move on to the next round of the program.

March 17:
'Going' Continues Slide
"When I Get Where I'm Going" by Dolly and Brad Paisley is now dropping on all of the charts. As was previously reported, the former country No. 1 hit dips two to No. 7 on that chart in its 25th week, according to the March 25 Billboard lists. Over on the Hot 100 pop chart, the track slides six to No. 46, taking it out of the "top 40." It loses seven to No. 42 for Hot 100 airplay, two to No. 76 on the genre-specific Pop 100 and seven to No. 74 for digital downloads. The tune falls off the 25-position music video chart, down from No. 24. On CMT's Top Twenty Countdown, the collaboration gains one to No. 6. As was also previously noted, "I Still Miss Someone" with Martina McBride falls off the 60-position country singles chart, down from No. 53 last week, its fifth. On the albums side, Paisley's Time Well Wasted, with "Going," remains steady at No. 15 country and but loses three to No. 71 pop and No. 72 comprehensive in its 30th week. In Canada, the CD loses five to No. 18 country. McBride's Timeless, with "I Still Miss Someone," tumbles 10 to No. 34 country, 42 to No. 165 pop and 36 to No. 168 comprehensive in its 21st chart week. Up north, it gains three to No. 15 country. Kenny Rogers's 21 Number Ones, including "Islands In The Stream," lowers four to No. 23 country in its seventh week, dropping 21 to No. 105 pop and 24 to No. 110 comprehensive. It falls off the top 50 country CDs list in Canada, down from No. 41 the previous week. Bettye LaVette's I've Got My Own Hell To Raise, featuring a cover of "Little Sparrow," remains steady at No. 11 in its 24th week on the blues albums chart. Rhonda Vincent's Ragin' Live, with her version of "Jolene," jumps up six to No. 4 in its 53rd week on the bluegrass albums chart, while the self-titled debut by The Grascals, Dolly's former backing band and opening act, on which she performs "Viva Las Vegas," falls back off the 15-position bluegrass chart, down from No. 12 the previous week, its 21st. Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts recaptures the No. 1 country position for a 14th week in its 17th chart week and gains one to No. 7 pop with 74,000 copies sold while The Legend of Johnny Cash remains steady at No. 2 country in its 20th week, dropping two to No. 8 pop with sales of 70,000 units.

'Biography' Moved For Second Time
Without giving a reason why (perhaps they want to add some Oscar coverage?), cable network A&E on Thursday announced that Dolly's two-hour episode of Biography would be moved back once again, this time to an 8 p.m. Eastern April 28 premiere.

Boys Dig Dolly
Maybe "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp," but one rap group thinks it's harder out there for a Dolly. Rap trailblazers The Beastie Boys were in Texas this week for the South By Southwest music festival and held a press conference with fans to promote their new concert film, Awesome: I F**kin' Shot That!, and they were asked what they thought of Memphis rappers Three 6 Mafia taking home the Oscar for Best Song. "Nothing against them, but we think Dolly Parton was robbed," they replied. Read more from Billboard here and the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram here. In related news, Maryland paper The Frederick News Post had a columnist Thursday discussing the messages of Hollywood's movies this year, including how moved she was by Dolly's message of acceptance and redemption in "Travelin' Thru." Read her piece here.

Doc Reviewed
Dolly fan documentary For The Love Of Dolly gets a review in the April/May issue of women's magazine Bust, on newsstands March 28.

March 16:
Dolly And Brad Score Two CMT Nods
The honors just keep on coming for Dolly and Brad Paisley. CMT announced on Wednesday that their song, "When I Get Where I'm Going," has earned them two nominations on the network's 2006 CMT Music Awards. The video for the tune faces off with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon with "Jackson," Faith Hill and Tim McGraw with "Like We Never Loved At All" and Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland with "Who Says You Can't Go Home" for Collaborative Video of the Year. In the Most Inspiring Video of the Year, the song competes against Brooks & Dunn's "Believe," Carrie Underwood's "Jesus, Take The Wheel" and Reba McEntire's "You're Gonna Be." Dolly had two other videos make the preliminary eight nominations in those two categories -- "The Blues Man" with George Jones for Collaborative and her cover of "Imagine" for Inspirational -- but neither got enough votes to make the final four nominees. Each registered member of CMT.com may vote once for their favorites in the awards (visit their site here and click on "Vote Here") between now and 11:59 p.m. Eastern time April 7. Winners will be announced on CMT live April 10.

'Going' Off 'R&R' Country Tally
After a good run, Dolly is no longer on the Radio & Records country singles chart, it was announced Wednesday. Her collaboration with Martina McBride, "I Still Miss Someone," fell out of the 50-position tally after just four weeks, down from No. 50 the previous week, and "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Brad Paisley was removed from the chart, down from No. 5 in the previous week, its 22nd. The reason the latter tune is no longer charting is because of the magazine's rule that a song which loses airplay for three consecutive weeks in which it is not No. 1 is automatically removed from the list and placed on its "recurrent" chart, measuring airplay for songs that are no longer listed on the main chart. (For comparison, the rule at competitor Billboard magazine is a song must be losing airplay, be below No. 15 and have amassed more than 20 weeks on the chart before it is to be removed and placed on the "recurrent" list.) While the track is the No. 1 "recurrent" title for the week, had it been in the main chart it would have ranked at No. 6. In its chart run on R&R, the song peaked at No. 1 for one week. The McBride tune, on the other hand, made it only to No. 46. In Canada, "Going" slides four to No. 9 country in its 17th week up north, and on the Canadian pop airplay singles tally, it loses 10 spots to No. 46 in its 18th week there.

Dolly Internet Searches Way Up
Thanks to the tens of millions of folks who watched her perform her Oscar-nominated tune on The Academy Awards, the number of people looking for Dolly information on Internet search engine Lycos were up 400 percent last week, the company announced Wednesday. While she was not in the top 50, her impressive jump was enough to warrant a section in the site's weekly search activity wrap-up. Read it here.

More Oscar Talk
What did Dolly's fellow Oscar nominee Katherine "Bird" York think of Dolly's "Travelin' Thru" and the victorious "Pimp" rap? She told GLBT magazine The Advocate in an interview posted online Wednesday. Read it here.

In Memoriam
Frequent visitors to Dollywood are mourning the passing of one of the park's friendliest faces. "Miss Helen," Helen Edmison, who worked at the park for nearly 20 years and was the hostess for Dolly's museum on the park grounds greeting those who entered, died on Monday, according to The Mountain Press. She was 88. The family asks that memorials be made to SafeSpace, 636 Middle Creek Road, Suite 3, Sevierville, TN 37862. Read her full obituary here and a profile the paper published on her back in July here.

March 15:
'Going' Still Reigns On One Chart
It may have fallen from the top spot on the major charts, but "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Dolly and Brad Paisley gets a third consecutive week at No. 1 on the Power Source magazine Christian country singles chart this week, it was announced Tuesday.

'Idol' Chatter
Two years ago, the American Idol runner-up was a former Dollywood employee, and this year one of the 12 finalists says she idolizes Dolly. Asked if she could portray a singer on film who would it be, North Carolina contestant Kellie Pickler told Gannett News Service: "I'm the biggest Dolly Parton fan, but I'd have to get the assets to go with the body. Hey, we're in L.A. Anything can happen." Read more here. Although her admiration for the superstar may have earned her a choice slam from famously-mean host Simon Crowell. I didn't see Tuesday night's episode, although I understand he apparently criticized Pickler's choice of outfits by saying something to the effect that it looked like she had gone to the "Dolly Parton school of fashion."

Reserve Copy Of New Biography
Amazon.com has added a page to pre-order Stephen Miller's upcoming Dolly biography, Smart Blonde: The Life Of Dolly Parton, which is slated to be released Nov. 1 through Omnibus Press. Reserve your copy here!

March 14:
'Going' Still In Top 10
Although its listening audience drops nearly 4 million to 27.2 million people for the week, "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Dolly and Brad Paisley remains in the country top 10 singles in its 25th chart week, it was announced Monday. Preliminary charts for the March 25 Billboard numbers see the former No. 1 collaboration falling two more places to No. 7 on the country singles tally. Kenney Chesney's "Living In Fast Forward" will remain at No. 1 for a second week. After just five weeks on the charts, Martina McBride's Dolly collaboration, a cover of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone," will fall off the 60-position chart, down from the previous week at No. 53. The single had peaked at just No. 50. On the Americana albums chart, based on radio airplay of songs from each CD, the Transamerica soundtrack with Dolly's Oscar-nominated "Travelin' Thru" dips three places this week to No. 34.

Latest Oscar Coverage
The New York Post notes in its coverage of this week's magazines that People includes Dolly's waist size (20 inches) in its post-Oscar double issue out now. And CMT.com columnist Hazel Smith laments Dolly's loss at the Academy Awards in her posting this week here, which also mentions Dolly's Academy of Country Music Awards nominations.

Nashville Dates For Fan Doc Set
The filmmakers behind the Dolly fan documentary For The Love Of Dolly confirm the screening dates have been set for the movie's Music City showings. The Nashville Film Festival will show the film at 9:35 p.m. Friday, April 21, and noon on Monday, April 24, at the Regal Green Hills 16 Cinemas, 3815 Green Hills Village Drive near the Mall at Green Hills. The documentary premiered earlier this month at the Miami International Film Festival and is scheduled for a screening at the Frameline30: The San Francisco LGBT International Film Festival in June. Thanks!

Library Notes
Dolly's nationwide Imagination Library literacy program could soon come to Jefferson County, Ala., where the city of Birmingham is located, according to a story this week in the Birmingham News. The program has received $75,000 in support from the county commission and $125,000 from the local Junior League. Read more here. And in her home state of Tennessee, six counties are celebrating the first anniversary of their signing on for the program, according to The Tennessean here. The program, active in nearly 600 communities across 41 states, sends one, free, hardcover, age-appropriate book per month from birth to age 5 for every child in a participating community whose parents sign up.

Another Helping Hand
And Dolly's help for a Salem, Ore., elementary school which raised more than $2,000 auctioning off an autographed pair of her jeans was noted in the local Statesman Journal here.

Dollywood's Town Movin' On Up
Thanks largely to the record 2.4 million visitors to Dollywood last year and several new retailers in town, Pigeon Forge, Tenn., brought in a record $777.6 million in business receipts in 2005, a 9 percent or $64 million increase over 2004, The Knoxville News-Sentinel reported Monday. Read more here.

March 13:
'Days' Down Overseas
Likely nearing the end of its run on the British charts, Dolly's CD Those Were The Days tumbles 25 places to No. 74 on the 75-position U.K. albums chart in its third chart week, it was announced Sunday. The album also dips one to No. 4 country. The collection debuted at No. 35 pop and No. 2 country, her best showing on the British tally in nearly three years. Although "Imagine" and "Where Do The Children Play" from the album were released to radio as a double-single, the songs have not entered any of the official European charts.

Oscars Make 'Entertainment Weekly'
The new Oscar-wrap-up issue of Entertainment Weekly is hitting newsstands with plenty of Dolly coverage, I'm told. This includes notes on her fashion (one of the kinder reviews of that), an explanation from the producer on why she performed without dancers or an elaborate set (that's available online, here), one of the week's best quotes (also online, here) and more. Thanks, Al!

And On CMT
CMT Insider noted Dolly's appearance on the Oscars as well, showing a clip of her performance, photos from the red carpet and footage of her arrival at the Vanity Fair after-party. The program repeats at 11 p.m. Eastern Monday.

Dolly Doc Reviewed By Audience Member
Special thanks to Todd, who was in attendance at the world premiere of the Dolly fan documentary For The Love Of Dolly down in Miami about a week ago, for writing in his review of the screening. Take a look at it here and see the Dollymania page dedicated to the film here. The documentary had its second screening at the Miami International Film Festival this weekend and will next be seen during the Nashville Film Festival next month and Frameline30: The San Francisco LGBT International Film Festival in June.

March 11:
'CW' Fetes Dolly's 60th, No Cover
The March 27 edition of Country Weekly is arriving now on newsstands, and although voters in its readers' poll had approved a Dolly cover twice before for the publication's story on her turning 60, the cover shot goes instead to Dolly fans Rascal Flatts. Inside, though, there's plenty of Dolly. She is shown in a photo with Keith Urban from their performance together at this year's Country Radio Seminar in Nashville and in a solo photo accompanying a brief noting her upcoming March 19 appearance on The Hallmark Channel's Naomi's New Morning. This issue's "Story Behind The Song" feature is on her Brad Paisley collaboration, "When I Get Where I'm Going," the single chart published in it is the week for which that song was No. 1, and this edition's "Catching Up With" feature is on Pinmonkey, although it doesn't mention that their new CD, Big Shiny Cars, features a new cover of Dolly's "Down." Sadly, the magazine reveals Dolly didn't make it in either of her possible categories for its "Country's All-Time Greats" voting. Although she had been on the initial ballot for both Greatest Female Artist Of All Time and Greatest Song Of All Time for "9 To 5," she didn't make either list's top five, from which readers will vote on the eventual winners. "9 To 5" did come in at No. 13 on the song ballot, the magazine noted, but she didn't make even the top 15 for best female. Then there's Dolly's feature. Covering five pages, the story discusses her long career and its milestones, her recent honors and successes including the Oscar nomination and that No. 1 duet, and her reaction to turning the Big-6-0. A photo spread shows her image evolution over the years, and several famous friends offer their comments on her talent. Although a line about "Going" making it to No. 1 was added to the beginning of the story, the main body was apparently written before the tune took the chart's top spot because it later references her record "24" No. 1s instead of 25 (it also had not been updated to reflect the new premiere date of April 14 for her A&E Biography installment).

Indie, European, GAC Chart Movement
Over on the minor charts, Dolly scores another No. 1. "Both Sides Now" from Those Were The Days moves up one to the top spot on this week's unofficial Indie World Country independent label country singles chart, it was revealed Friday. On the new European CMA charts, "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Brad Paisley re-enters the top 20 country airplay singles tally in Germany, coming in at No. 8 for the week, and "I Still Miss Someone" with Martina McBride debuts in the top 20 over in Holland, reaching No. 15. "Going" falls out of the top 20 in Spain and Belgium, down from No. 8 and No. 14, respectively. Stateside, the video for the tune rebounds two places to regain its previous peak at No. 3 on this week's Great American Country (GAC) countdown. Cast your ballot for the video (and The Grascals' "Me and John and Paul") in the fan-voted countdown here. And GAC this week also has a feature on roses named after country stars, leading off with Dolly's. Read that piece here.

Dolly Discussion Board Offered
Paul over at Ultimate Dolly U.K. asked me to direct everyone to his Dolly message board while his site is down for a redesign. Visit the board here.

March 10:
'Going' Back In Top 40
Even through "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Dolly and Brad Paisley is slipping on the country chart, it has returned to the pop top 40 once again, it was revealed in the March 18 numbers released Thursday by Billboard. As was previously reported here, the song falls three spots to No. 5 on the country singles tally in its 24th chart week. However, over on the all-genre Hot 100 pop chart, the tune gains two to make it back into the top 40 at No. 40. For Hot 100 airplay-only, it dips five to No. 35, and on the genre-specific Pop 100, it inches up one to No. 74. Over on the digital downloads singles chart, the song reaches a new peak by rising four to No. 67 in its third week there, also re-entering the 25-position top music video chart at No. 24 on the all-genre list. On CMT's Top Twenty Countdown, the collaboration gains two to No. 7, and on the Power Source Christian country singles chart, it holds on at No. 1 for a second week. As was also previously noted, "I Still Miss Someone" with Martina McBride loses three to No. 53 country in its fifth week.

Bad News For 'Days'
It's so-long once again to Dolly's covers CD, Those Were The Days, which falls back out of the top 75 country albums chart this week in the March 18 Billboard tally, it was announced Thursday. The album, which peaked at No. 9, was down from No. 73 the previous week, its 19th. Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted, with his chart-topping Dolly duet, "When I Get Where I'm Going," inches up one to No. 15 country and six to No. 68 pop and No. 69 comprehensive in its 29th week. Up north, his album dips two to No. 13 Canadian country. Martina McBride's Timeless, featuring "I Still Miss Someone" with Dolly, is down six to No. 24 country and tumbles 33 points to No. 123 pop, 41 places to No. 132 comprehensive in its 20th chart week. In Canada, it dives eight to No. 18 country, also falling out of the top 100 pop CDs there, down from No. 100 the previous week. Kenny Rogers's 21 Number Ones, featuring "Islands In The Stream," increases three to No. 19 country in its sixth week, also rising 17 to No. 84 pop and 16 to No. 86 comprehensive. It falls two to No. 41 country in Canada. The Very Best of Emmylou Harris: Heartaches and Highways, featuring one Trio track, falls back out of the 75-position country albums chart, down from No. 75 the previous week, its 17th. Bettye LaVette's I've Got My Own Hell To Raise, with her take on "Little Sparrow," moves back up one to No. 11 in its 23rd week on the blues albums chart. Reaching its one-year mark, Rhonda Vincent's Ragin' Live, featuring a cover of "Jolene," rises four to No. 10 in its 52nd week on the bluegrass albums chart, while former Dolly backing band and opening act The Grascals see their self-titled debut, on which Dolly sings "Viva Las Vegas," re-enter the 15-position bluegrass chart at No. 12 for its 21st chart week. Alan Jackson's Precious Memories debuts at No. 1 country and No. 4 pop, while The Legend of Johnny Cash gains 14 spots to No. 6 pop, No. 2 country.

A Real Gem
Want more details on the exact jewels Dolly was wearing at the Oscars over the weekend and the value of each? The International Diamond Exchange offered a story this week listing some of the priciest items the stars brought to the Academy Awards, including what appears to be a comprehensive tally of Dolly's vintage Fred Leighton gems. Take a read here.

Dolly's Former Band Lands Fan Club
Dolly's former backing band and opening act for many dates on her two most recent tours now has its own fan club. Still in its organizing stages, The Grascals Fan Club may be contacted at grascalsfanclub@comcast.net or by writing Susie French, President, P.O. Box 148326, Nashville, TN 37214-8326, to be notified when memberships become available.

Alleged Stampede Molester In Jail
The former Dixie Stampede employee who reportedly fled the country amid a controversy involving alleged child molestation returned to the U.S. and was arrested in North Carolina last week, the Associated Press reported Thursday. He faces a dozen counts of aggravated sexual battery against four victims under the age of 13. The alleged victims' parents have filed several multi-million-dollar civil suits against Dolly's restaurant chain, but the Stampede has denied liability in its court filings. Read more from the Fayetteville Observer here.

March 9:
Down To No. 5 'R&R'
Just as happens on Billboard this week, "When I Get Where I'm Going" by Brad Paisley and Dolly slides three places to No. 5 on this week's Radio & Records country singles chart, it was announced Wednesday. (Contrary to the other chart, though, Josh Turner's "Your Man" remains at No. 1 on R&R and Kenny Chesney's "Living In Fast Forward" comes in at No. 2 instead of the No. 1 it holds on Billboard.) The R&R tally also shows "I Still Miss Someone" with Martina McBride falling four to No. 50 country in its fourth week. On the Canadian lists, "Going" remains steady at No. 5 country and dips four to No. 36 pop this week.

ACM: Most Dolly Nods Since '89, Vote For Video
As was reported here Wednesday morning, Dolly will compete for three Academy of Country Music Awards later this year thanks to her collaboration with Brad Paisley on "When I Get Where I'm Going," which is up for Vocal Event of the Year, Video of the Year and Song of the Year, and here are additional details on the honors. First, you may vote for one of the categories! Members of the public are allowed to register for free as "Associate Members" of the Academy via its Web site here (click on "Associate Members" under "Membership") and will in coming weeks be sent an e-mail link to vote for their choice for Video of the Year. In that category, which is awarded to the producers, director and artists, Dolly competes with "As Good As I Once Was" by Toby Keith, "Believe" by Brooks & Dunn, "I May Hate Myself In The Morning" by Lee Ann Womack and "Kerosene" by Miranda Lambert. For Vocal Event, which is awarded to the artists, producers and record company, only four performances were honored with nominations, as "Going" faces off against "I Play Chicken With The Train" by Cowboy Troy and Big & Rich, "Like We Never Loved At All" by Faith Hill with Tim McGraw and "Who Says You Can't Go Home" by Bon Jovi with Jennifer Nettles. For Song of the Year, awarded to the composers, publishers and artists, the tune is nominated with Sugarland's "Baby Girl," Brooks & Dunn's "Believe," Carrie Underwood's "Jesus, Take The Wheel" and Rascal Flatts' "Skin (Sarabeth)." Dolly is tied with Big & Rich and Womack for the fourth-most nominations this year. Ahead of that group with six each are Paisley and Nettles (who has five as the lead singer of Sugarland plus the one on her own with Bon Jovi), Brooks & Dunn and Sugarland with five each and Rascal Flatts and Underwood with four each. Paisley, who is also up for Male Vocalist of the Year as well as Single of the Year for "Alcohol" and Album of the Year for Time Well Wasted, which contains his Dolly duet, told the Associated Press here: "It's fun to be up for multiple things. It's nice to look at the list this time and it not all be for one song." Last year, he won both Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year for his duet with Alison Krauss, "Whiskey Lullaby." That tune had also been nominated for Song of the Year and Single of the Year but lost both to "Live Like You Were Dying." Those were his only four nominations that year. In her career, Dolly has amassed 39 ACM nominations, of which she has won five. This is the first time since 1989 that she's been up for three or more awards and just the fourth time that has happened to her (three in each 2006, 1989 and 1977 and four in 1980). This is her third nomination for Vocal Event since the award was created in 1997, having been most recently nominated last year with Norah Jones for "Creepin' In" and losing to Paisley and Krauss; her third nomination for Song of the Year, having previously been nominated for both "9 To 5" and "You're The Only One;" and second nomination for Video of the Year, for which she was last up in 1989 for "Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That." Professional members of the Academy will be mailed their ballots on April 3 with a return due date of May 5. Winners of this year's trophies will be announced in Las Vegas live on CBS on May 23.

Dolly And Clooney Enjoyed Some Farm Talk
Brad Schmidt, "Celebrities" columnist for The Tennessean, on Wednesday mentioned Dolly's conversation with Access Hollywood after this weekend's Academy Awards where she revealed that she and George Clooney talked about "raisin' tobacco and raisin' pigs" as they chatted enthusiastically on the red carpet prior to the awards show. Read more here.

Mafia Member Sings Dolly's Praises
Dolly was great to be around at the Academy Awards, says one member of Best Song winners Three 6 Mafia, whose "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" bested Dolly's "Travelin' Thru" for the Oscar over the weekend. Jordan "Juicy J" Houston of the Memphis rap group was asked by BET.com whether he got to meet Dolly, and his reply was: "Yeah, I actually met her at this reception they had for all the nominees and she was so cool, man. I took a picture with her and she was like, 'Oh, we're all from Tennessee so no matter who wins; we're both going to win.' Dolly Parton is real cool." Read his full interview here.

Dolly Profiled In Tenn. Exhibit
Dolly is being recognized by her home state as one of its musical treasures as part of a new exhibit titled "Guitars, Fiddles and Coats of Many Colors: Country Music Highlights from the Tennessee State Museum," which will open at the state museum in Nashville later this month, it has been announced. Performers profiled in the collection of instruments, stage costumes and other memorabilia include Dolly, Elvis Presley, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Bill Monroe and more. In announcing the exhibition, Museum Executive Director Lois-Riggins-Ezzell said: "We owe a sincere thank you to Dolly Parton for her personal donations and for allowing us to use one of her song titles, 'Coat of Many Colors,' as part of the exhibition title." The museum, located at Fifth Avenue and Deaderick Street in downtown Nashville, is open Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission is free. The exhibit will run March 22 through Jan. 7.

Thank You!
Just a quick note of thanks to the site's readers: While I was in New Orleans looking at Katrina damage earlier this week, the front page of Dollymania passed 1.5 million visitors since inception (October 1998), meaning more than half a million of you stopped by to take a look at the site in just the past 15 months to push it past that figure. For comparison, it took about five years for the site to reach its first 500,000 mark and a little more than a year and a half to take in the second half-million. Thanks for "travelin' thru," and y'all come back now, ya hear!

March 8:
UPDATE: Dolly, Brad Get Three ACM Nods
"When I Get Where I'm Going" by Dolly and Brad Paisley has earned the duo three Academy of Country Music nominations, it was announced Wednesday morning: Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year. The CD which contains it, Paisley's Time Well Wasted, is up for Album of the Year, and he is the year's most-nominated artist (also receiving nods for Male Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year). Look for more details in tonight's news update.

Paisley, McBride Duets Down This Week
Losing nearly 3 million listeners in its 24th chart week for a total audience of 31.2 million, Dolly's former No. 1 hit with Brad Paisley, "When I Get Where I'm Going," will drop three more spots to No. 5 when the March 18 Billboard country singles chart is released later this week, the magazine announced Monday. Kenney Chesney's "Living In Fast Forward" will advance to No. 1 while Josh Turner's "Your Man," which had unseated Dolly's tune the previous week, slips to No. 2. Dolly's collaboration with Martina McBride on "I Still Miss Someone" will also slide for the week, down three from its peak at No. 50 to come in at No. 53. Over on the Power Source Christian country singles chart, "When I Get Where I'm Going" advances one to No. 1 this week, and on the Americana albums chart, based on radio airplay of songs from each CD, the Transamerica soundtrack with Dolly's Oscar-nominated "Travelin' Thru" slips 10 points this week to No. 31.

More On Oscar Performance
Now that the Oscars are history, and "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" has taken home the statue for Best Song over Dolly's "Travelin' Thru," here's a wrap-up of Dolly coverage from Monday and Tuesday:

See 'Down' On CMT
Catch a live performance of the Pinmonkey cover of Dolly's "Down" from CMT's "Studio 330 Sessions" here from their new CD, Big Shiny Cars, that came out Tuesday.

Stampede Union Vote Passes, For Now
On a close 25-to-21 vote, severs and beverage assistant at the Orlando branch of Dolly's Dixie Stampede dinner theatre have reportedly approved joining the local food workers' union, The Orlando Business Jounal says here. Unionization cannot be finalized until the National Labor Relations Board reviews the election and certifies it as legitimate, and the article states that some who cast ballots are being reviewed to determine their legitimacy, which could affect the outcome.

ACM Nods Coming Wed.
Will Dolly and Brad Paisley earn a nod at the 41st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards? We'll find out Wednesday, as CBS presents the nominees' names live from Nashville on The Early Show starting at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Winners will be announced May 23 in Las Vegas.

March 6:
Oscar Goes To 'Pimp'
Although she was the majority of critics' favorite to walk on stage and accept the Oscar for Best Song Sunday night, Dolly's expected victory in the category was upset by Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard for rap number "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" from Hustle & Flow. Dolly has been nominated for "Travelin' Thru" from the film Transamerica and performed the song on the live telecast wearing a white Behar pantsuit and introduced by actress Naomi Watts. She walked the red carpet prior to the broadcast, donning her pastel pink Behar gown, with the film's director, Duncan Tucker, on her arm. For both appearances she wore several million dollars worth of diamonds. Seated on the isle a few rows behind Philip Seymour Hoffman, she was shown from the audience several times throughout the evening. She also made a film appearance from 9 To 5 in a montage honoring movies with a message. It marked Dolly's second Academy Award nomination, having previously received a nod for "9 To 5" in the same category. The category's other nominee this year was "In The Deep" from Crash by Kathleen "Bird" York and Michael Becker.
Image of Dolly arriving at Sunday night's festivities is Copyright ©A.M.P.A.S.®. Used with permission. Click on the image for a larger version.

More Oscar Coverage
Here are a few other Dolly-related Oscar items from Sunday night:

Down Some Overseas
Those Were The Days by Dolly saw a slight drop in sales in its second week of release in Europe, as evidenced by its decline of 14 points to No. 49 in its second week on the British pop albums charts. The CD slides one to No. 3 country. It wasn't the only loss overseas, as 21 Number Ones by Kenny Rogers, featuring their hit duet "Islands In The Stream," falls off the 20-position Australian country albums chart, down from No. 20 the previous week, its third.

A Brief Break
There will be no Monday night update of Dollymania, as your webmaster will be in New Orleans on a work-related trip to view Hurricane Katrina damage. Look for the site's next regular update on Tuesday night.

March 4-5:
Dolly Oscar Watch: The Dollymania Coverage
Dolly was in Hollywood's Kodak Theatre Friday rehearsing on stage for Sunday's 78th Academy Awards, where she is nominated for Best Song for "Travelin' Thru" from Transamerica and will perform the tune on the telecast. Check out Associated Press photos from the session here, including one with George Clooney, whom she had named as one of the stars she had hoped to meet at the awards. The Los Angeles Times said here that during rehearsal she was "as usual effervescent and larger-than-life." Image at left, "White Glove," is one of two official posters for the awards designed by Joan Maloney of Studio 318. ©A.M.P.A.S.®. Used with permission.
Here's your complete Dollymania guide to the awards:

The Ceremony
Dolly will walk the red carpet decked out in a pastel pink Robert Behar gown described by the designer as "very feminine." She will also wear vintage rare-cut Fred Leighton diamond earrings and a diamond bow on her hip. Her date for the evening will be the film's director, Duncan Tucker, who will accompany her for the arrival. Red carpet coverage starts at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Sunday on The TV Guide Channel (with Joan and Melissa Rivers) and at the same time on E! (with Ryan Seacrest, Giuliana DePandi and Isaac Mizrahi). ABC begins its red carpet coverage (with Billy Bush, Chris Connelly, Cynthia Garrett and Vanessa Minnillo) at 7 p.m. Eastern. The award ceremonies begin on ABC live at 8 p.m. Eastern. Behar has also designed several other outfits for Dolly for the evening, including one in which she will perform the song during the broadcast. She has said she may change into a third after the performance. After the awards show, she's expected to attend Sir Elton John's annual AIDS fund-raiser after-party.
The Competition
The Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) category usually has five nominees, but this year there are only three due to a change in the rules. For the first time ever, members of the Academy's music branch, which selects the nominees for the music categories, were required to attend one of two Los Angeles-area screenings where all 42 eligible songs were played. Also for the first time, each person at the sessions rated all songs on a 6-to-10 scale, and only the five songs with the highest scores at an average of 8.25 or above could be nominated. Only three songs scored at that level or higher, resulting in the three nominees. After the nominees are selected, all members of the Academy are allowed to vote on them, regardless of whether or not they've heard the songs. However, filmmakers send out DVDs and CDs to Academy members as part of their promotional campaigns to try and get votes for each film.

Miami Paper Reviews Documentary
The Miami Herald on Friday offered a review of several of the leading pictures in this weekend's Miami International Film Festival, including For The Love Of Dolly, the documentary on Dolly fans which sees its world premiere Saturday night as part of the festival. The paper said many folks will find the extreme fans profiled in the film "excessive" but that director Tai Uhlmann "tries to prove that one person's madness is another's salvation," noting that Dolly's influence on them has served as a positive force in their lives. The reviewer gives the entry two-and-a-half stars, apparently out of a maximum of three stars. Read the full review here. As was first announced here, the film premieres at 9:15 p.m. Saturday at Regal South Beach Cinema and repeats with a screening at 9:30 p.m. Thursday. It next moves to the Nashville Film Festival next month and Frameline30: The San Francisco LGBT International Film Festival in June. Read the Dollymania review here.

Irish Like 'Days'
Dolly's Those Were The Days found itself receiving a mostly positive review Friday from Northern Ireland's Belfast Telegraph. The newspaper gave the collection three-out-of-four stars here. Although calling it "country karaoke with a twist," the reviewer notes that Dolly's passion and voice "holds together what could have been a complete disaster."

Indie, GAC Updates
Over on the minor charts, Dolly's "Both Sides Now" from Those Were The Days gains one to No. 2 on this week's unofficial Indie World Country independent label country singles chart, and cable's Great American Country finds "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Brad Paisley dip two to No. 5 in its eighth week on the viewer-voted chart, down from last week's peak at No. 3. Cast your ballot for that video (and The Grascals' "Me and John and Paul") here.

Under The Covers
Canadian songbird Sarah Harmer is getting rave reviews from critics for her current CD, I'm A Mountain, and specifically her cover of Dolly's classic "Will He Be Waiting For Me," but some of the highest praise came from the composer herself. She told The Philadelphia Inquirer in a story published Friday: "I got a fax from Dolly on Valentine's Day: It was so nice. She said, 'I was blown away by your version of the song.' It was really thrilling. I'm going to frame it." Read the full article here. The album came out in Canada in November, but as was noted here at that time, its U.S. release didn't come until February. The disc hits stores in Europe on Monday.

Vincent Plugs Dolly Duet
Dolly friend Rhonda Vincent is talking up her upcoming collaboration with the superstar, a duet on her May 23 release, All American Bluegrass Girl. She told Lone Star State music Web site Texas Gigs that she and her band finished mixing the CD last week and that she is excited about the Dolly appearance. "I don't think we've heard too many female duets like this one I'm doing with Dolly," she said. "I've recorded with Dolly before on her records and I was so happy she could do this with me. I was sick for a little bit last summer and Dolly came to my house to check up on me. She's a very sweet person." Read the full story here.

March 3:
Latest Academy Award Predictions, Controversy
With just a few days to get those last-minute predictions published, several critics are continuing to let their best guesses for Oscar victory be known, and many are saying they think Dolly will take home the statuette for Best Song for her rollicking "Travelin' Thru" from Transamerica. Among the new picks out Thursday, The Honolulu Advertiser, The San Francisco Examiner and The Pittsburg Post-Gazette all agreed Dolly will win, but it was Korean news outlet Oh My News International (OMNI) which offered the most creative prediction, saying here: "Oh yes, the pimp song was nominated. This, my friends, is a guaranteed instant highlight of the night. The 'Crash' song is fantastic, but it could be revealed tomorrow that Dolly Parton has been an al-Qaeda operative for the last 10 years, and they would still give the award to her. She's Dolly Parton for heaven's sake!" Of Thursday's published predictions I came across, only one, D.C.'s GLBT newspaper Metro Weekly here, didn't choose Dolly, going instead with "In The Deep" from Crash.

'Going' Update
Even if its U.S. singles decline appears to have started, Dolly's collaboration on "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Brad Paisley is still gaining ground elsewhere. As was previously noted here, the song slips one to No. 2 on the March 11 Billboard country singles chart in its 23rd chart week, but CMT's Top Twenty Countdown on Thursday saw the video for the tune climb two to No. 9 for the week. Also, the new European CMA charts see it debut at No. 8 on Spain's country singles airplay list and No. 14 on the same chart in Belgium. (The song falls out of the top 20 in Germany, down from No. 20, and her "Imagine" falls out of the top 20 in France, down from No. 9.) Elsewhere in Billboard, the recording dips two to No. 42 on the all-genre pop Hot 100 singles chart, loses three to No. 30 for Hot 100 airplay, falls two to No. 75 on the genre-specific Pop 100 list and re-enters the top downloaded digital singles chart at No. 71 (it had previously spent one week there at No. 68). As was also previously noted, "I Still Miss Someone" with Martina McBride rises one to No. 50 country in its fourth week.

'Days' Still On The Chart
Even though it's still dangerously close to falling back off of the 75-position country albums chart, Dolly's covers disc, Those Were The Days, remains steady in the March 11 tally at No. 73 for a 19th chart week. Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted, containing their No. 1 single "When I Get Where I'm Going," inches down one to No. 16 country and five to No. 74 pop and No. 75 comprehensive in its 28th week. In Canada, the disc loses one to No. 11 country. Martina McBride's Timeless, with her current single with Dolly, "I Still Miss Someone," is country's "greatest gainer" of the week, moving up six spots to No. 18 country. Following her Good Morning America appearance, It also rises 19 places to No. 90 pop and 21 to No. 91 comprehensive in its 19th chart week in the U.S., but it slips two to No. 10 Canadian country, dropping a dozen digits to No. 100 pop there. Kenny Rogers's 21 Number Ones, including "Islands In The Stream," falls two to No. 21 country in its fifth week, also dropping 13 to No. 101 pop and No. 102 comprehensive. It loses six to No. 39 country in Canada. The Very Best of Emmylou Harris: Heartaches and Highways, with its Trio track, remains steady at No. 75 country in its 17th week. Bettye LaVette's I've Got My Own Hell To Raise, featuring her cover of "Little Sparrow," falls two to No. 12 in its 22nd week on the blues albums chart. Rhonda Vincent's Ragin' Live, including her concert version of "Jolene," dips one to No. 14 in its 51st week on the bluegrass albums chart, while former Dolly backing band and opening act The Grascals, on whose CD The Grascals Dolly sings "Viva Las Vegas," see their disc fall back out of the 15-position bluegrass chart, down from No. 15 the previous week, their 20th. Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts remains at No. 1 country in its 15th chart week, its 13th at the top spot, inching down two to No. 9 pop with sales of 61,000, while Josh Turner's Your Man remains steady at No. 2 country and gains one to No. 16 pop.

Dolly Doc Heading To S.F.
The Dolly fan documentary For The Love Of Dolly has been added to the line-up for Frameline30: The San Francisco LGBT International Film Festival. Although the exact showing date has yet to be announced, the festival is scheduled for June 15-25. Remember, the film debuts Saturday at the Miami International Film Festival (9:15 p.m. at Regal South Beach Cinema with a repeat showing at 9:30 p.m. March 9) and also screens during the Nashville Film Festival April 20-26 (exact date yet to be announced).

Library Kudos
Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program got a great Associated Press story Thursday about how it operates and its success. Take a read here. The program, which provides one free, hardcover, age-appropriate book from birth to age 5 for every child whose parents sign up in any of the 572 participating communities across 41 states, distributes more than 2 million books per year throughout the United States.

March 2:
Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend
Dolly will be dripping with diamonds at Sunday's Academy Awards. While she already confessed that her personal designer, Robert Behar, instructed her she HAD to wear real diamonds down the red carpet, a Reuters news article on the awards show's glamour leads off with that fact, saying: "In a sure sign that the Academy Awards have become even more glitzy, glamorous and bling-laden than ever, even down-to-earth country star Dolly Parton will be sporting diamonds this year." Behar himself is interviewed for the piece, which notes she will don vintage diamonds from jeweler Fred Leighton including rare cut tear-drop earrings and a diamond bow on the hip of her "pastel, very feminine, as usual, and very Dolly" dress. Read the story here.

'R&R' Update
As was noted here Monday night, Brad Paisley's "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Dolly slips one spot this week to No. 2 on the March 3 Radio & Records country singles chart. The complete chart, which was released Wednesday, also shows "I Still Miss Someone" with Martina McBride gaining two places to No. 46 country in its third week. On the Canadian tallies, "Going" inches down one to No. 5 country although it regains one digit to No. 32 pop up north this week.

'Biography' Date Moved
The premiere of Dolly's two-hour A&E Biography has been moved, the network announced this week. Originally slated to air on March 31, the show will now be broadcast at 8 p.m. Eastern on April 14. Those appearing on the program will include Darryl Hannah, Lee Ann Womack, Lily Tomlin, director Henry Winkler, Shania Twain, Tanya Tucker, Olympia Dukakis, producer Steve Buckingham and Billy Ray Cyrus.

Dolly On Weight-Loss Countdown
And that's not the only Dolly appearance coming up. E! has announced a new installment in its "101 greatest" series, and this one's quite heavy -- LOL! 101 Incredible Celebrity Slimdowns will over the course of five hours look at the most amazing weight loss stories in show business. Dolly will be featured in the show's second hour, which begins at 9 p.m. Eastern on March 14, placing her somewhere between No. 80 and No. 61, most likely for her dramatic dropping of the pounds around 1986.

Dolly Doc Gets Notice
Alt-weekly The Nashville Scene previews next month's Nashville Film Festival this week with a story here on some of the movies selected for screenings, including the Dolly fan documentary For The Love Of Dolly. Don't forget that the film sees its world premiere Saturday at the Miami International Film Festival. It next moves to the April 20-26 Nashville Film Festival, although the exact date of the showing has yet to be announced. Look for more information on the film from its section on Dollymania here.

'Monkey'-ing Around
The paper this week also takes a look at the upcoming Pinmonkey CD Big Shiny Cars, noting that the band's cover of Dolly's "Down" is the closest to "power pop" on the mostly folk-rock CD which comes out next Tuesday. Read more here.

Parton Pizza Party
The recent Dolly covers night in Portland, Ore., music venue Mississippi Pizza Pub is noted in the area's Willamette Week newspaper Wednesday, which said the charity event raised more than $1,000 for Siren Nation, a women's music, art and film festival to take place in the region in November 2007. Read more here.

Another Contest
Recently-launched Dolly fan site Dolly Life And Song asked me to notify everyone that they've started a great Dollywood contest. Two regular season passes for 2006 will be given away by the site. One entry per mailing address may be submitted from U.S. residents age 18 or older from now through March 21, with the winners randomly selected from the received entries. Visit the site here and click on its "Dollywood page" for entry information. Thanks, Zac!

March 1:
Dolly To Attend Elton's Party, Video Posted
Even if their CMA duet last year didn't go over as well as producers had hoped, Dolly and Sir Elton John will hang out on Oscar night, according to The Los Angeles Times. The paper reported here Tuesday that Dolly is among the expected guests at Sir Elton's 14th annual Academy Award Party hosted with husband David Furnish to benefit the Elton AIDS Foundation. Image at left of Dolly with Oscars show producer Gil Cates during Monday's rehearsals is Copyright ©A.M.P.A.S.®. Used with permission. Click on the image for a larger version.
In other Oscar news:

Host: Dolly's World's 'Nicest' Person
A remote interview with Dolly taped a week or so ago ran Tuesday on BBC Radio 2's Steve Wright Show in the U.K. They played "Jolene," "Travelin' Thru" and "Turn, Turn, Turn" between talking with Dolly about her Oscar nomination, her look, songwriting, her business acumen, her charitable work and her new CD. The host gushed over Dolly during the show, saying at one point that he always feels so good after talking with her that "you have that upbeat attitude and everything is right with the world after talking with Dolly Parton." Later, he commented: "I think there's a possibility you might be the world's nicest person." Asked about when she plans to return to Britain, she noted that she is taking time off to work on the Broadway adaptation of 9 To 5 so nothing is scheduled at this time but that she does hope to travel across the pond sometime in the future. Take a listen to the show here (forward the program by about an hour and 20 minutes to listen to the Dolly portion). Thanks, Joe!

Lending A Helping Hand . . . And Face
Dolly is once again expected to donate a decorated mask for the Hospice of Metro Denver's Mask Project, organizers have announced, according to The Rocky Mountain News. The masks at the bi-annual event are decorated by celebrities, displayed in Denver and then auctioned off online to benefit the charity, with this year's auction scheduled for April 1-28. Dolly has supported the program for several years. Read more about it from the newspaper here.

Bluegrass Tally Update
The new Bluegrass Unlimited charts for March see The Grascals' self-titled debut CD with Dolly on "Viva Las Vegas" dip one notch to No. 9 for the month. It had previously peaked at No. 2.

A Note For Wednesday
Wednesday night's news update may be a delayed until late in the night or perhaps postponed until Thursday, as your webmaster will be out most of the evening enjoying the soothing sounds of Dolly pal Alison Krauss as she and Union Station play in Jackson, Miss. :)