Park Reveals Zip-Line Details Dollywood on Monday officially announced this summer's zip-line attraction, SkyZip, described as the first multiple station zip-line at a U.S. theme park. As was reported here a week ago, the park's new maps indicated the attraction would be coming in a few months, be operated by Hawaii-based Skyline Eco-Adventures and cross both Craftsmen's Valley and Wilderness Pass. A press release this week announcing the addition quotes park President Ken Bell as saying it's "the first of a series of premium experiences Dollywood plans to launch in the coming year." The ride is scheduled to launch in May and will take an hour to complete. Five zip-lines will range from 100 feet to nearly 1,000 feet, and a 100-foot-long swinging bridge will also be featured, taking riders over "an environmental and historical tour of undeveloped and unspoiled property surrounding Dollywood hosted by specially trained adventure guides." A spokesperson said the tallest line over Wilderness Pass is approximately seven stories high. The attraction will require an additional fee to ride, although the amount has yet to be announced.
'9 To 5,' 'Greatest Hits' Reminder Don't forget to head out to your local music store on Tuesday to pick up two Dolly products: re-issues of her 1996 Columbia Records best-of collection I Will Always Love You And Other Greatest Hits and her 1980 classic 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs, which, as Dollymania was the first anywhere to report five weeks go, will feature the bonus tracks of a previously unreleased cover of "Everyday People," an unreleased "Karaoke Mix 2009" of the title song and the Love To Infinity remix of "9 To 5" that was released in Britain last year.
New DVD Coming Although not much detail is available yet, MPI Home Video has announced it will release a three-DVD boxed set titled Queens Of Country on June 30. It will feature Dolly, Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, although whether additional singers will appear in the set has not been revealed. Reserve your copy here.
CMT Reminder Don't forget to check out CMT.com on Tuesday to see Dolly's "Unplugged At Studio 330" concert with acoustic versions of "Backwoods Barbie," "Only Dreamin'," "Jolene," "I Will Always Love You" and "9 To 5," plus interview footage.
Dolly Chats With GAC Great American Country (GAC) on Monday posted a story about Dolly's Cracker Barrel products based on an interview she gave to the network's radio program. Read what she had to say here.
Dolly: Movie Bio Hopefully In 12-18 Months The British Broadcasting Company on Saturday posted the complete text of Dolly's recent BBC6 Music interview that has been cited in a couple of wire service stories in recent days. The piece here noted that she hopes to make a film based on her life within a year and a half, adding that she wants to be sure that Megan Hilty, Doralee from 9 to 5: The Musical, auditions for the lead role.
More Interviews Posted A couple of additional Dolly telephone interviews conducted earlier last week to promote her Cracker Barrel releases came to light over the weekend. These were from Tennessee's Chattanooga Times Free Press (which has a story based on the interview here and the interview Q&A posted here) and The Asheville Citizen Times in North Carolina here. Thanks, Greg!
'Barbie' On CMT Tallies Dolly's music video for "Backwoods Barbie" debuted at No. 9 on Friday on the Pure 12 Pack countdown on CMT's digital cable channel, Pure Country. As was previously announced by Dolly's publicity team, the video on Thursday debuted at No. 17 on the regular CMT Top 20 Countdown. Vote for it in this week's CMT chart here and Pure Country chart here.
Up In Ireland The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 gains again on The Emerald Isle last week, it has been revealed. The CD gained another five places to No. 71 in its 78th week on the Irish pop albums chart.
Down In U.K. Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon's cover of Kenny & Dolly's "Islands In The Stream" with Robin Gibb and Tom Jones for the annual Comic Relief charity fund-raiser falls another 20 spots this week, with the former chart-topper coming in at No. 23 in its third week, the numbers showed on Sunday.
Dolly On FOX Dolly was making some other media appearances this week, including an interview on FOX News that is available from Yahoo here. Thanks, Chad! She also did a remote with Fox And Friends Friday morning which is available here.
Dolly For Glastonbury 2010? Dolly isn't ruling out playing a future U.K.'s Glastonbury Festival, she told BBC 6Music. "I couldn't promise that I'd do it but we'll certainly maybe one of these times get a chance to do it," she said, according to Gigwisehere. She's been a frequent rumored performer at the annual festival, although each year the rumor has turned out to be false.
Allen Pays Tribute To Porter & Dolly Thanks to Ryan and Jason for pointing out Lily Allen's new video "Not Fair" features the opening clip of the old Porter Wagoner Show followed by Wagoner introducing Dolly to sing a song, although the audio has been changed to introduce Allen and her tune. Thanks to Jason as well for alerting me to a two-page spread in Southern Living about Dolly and the 75th anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
March 27: Martin Stays, Dolly Returns "Seven Week Steve" could be Steve Martin's name, as the comedian's banjo collection hangs onto the top spot on the bluegrass albums chart for a seventh week in the April 4 charts released Thursday by Billboard. Of course, The Crow - New Songs for the 5-String Banjo features Dolly and Vince Gill singing one of Martin's songs. Dolly herself sees a title on the U.S. charts as well, although it's a decade old. Her 1999 album The Grass Is Blue debuts on the country catalog albums chart for the genre's biggest-selling titles that are too old to qualify for the regular country chart. It comes in at No. 25 on the 25-position tally thanks to a temporary Amazon promotion that offered the album for MP3 download at about 90 percent off the regular price. Up north, The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 re-enters the top 50 Canadian country albums chart at No. 50. Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted, with Dolly on "When I Get Where I'm Going," inches up one to No. 6 on the country catalog albums chart and to No. 28 Canadian country. Taylor Swift's Fearless remains the No. 1 country album but loses one to No. 6 pop with 47,000 copies moved in its 18th week, while Carrie Underwood sees her Carnival Ride climb after her American Idol appearance, rising three to No. 2 country and 27 spots to No. 15 pop in its 74th week.
Dolly Talks Rest, Book, Broadway Live Daily on Thursday posted an interview with Dolly in which she discussed her upcoming Broadway musical, the Cracker Barrel release, her theme park and more. She repeated her statement that she's not touring this year, focusing instead on the musical, Dollywood and her upcoming children's book, I Am A Rainbow. She added she intends to "try to rest and do a few personal things and maybe write a few songs because I want to, not because I have to." She noted that she did not take the bonus tracks for her Cracker Barrel CD from outtakes recorded for the original album but instead wrote and recorded them specifically for the re-issue. Also, she said they're "trying to think of something great to do" for her park's 25th anniversary season next year. You may recall that for the 20th anniversary she gave away 1,600 20-year season passes to those in the theater for her anniversary celebration. Reach the full interview here.
'9 To 5' Gets Noticed Dolly gets a great shout-out Thursday in The New York Post's Broadway season preview section, where the writer noted: "Seems nearly every Broadway show this season has a Tony winner on board. But only one has a Dolly . . . composer, lyricist, guiding light and guardian angel of 9 to 5: The Musical." Read more here.
CMT Talks To Dolly CMT.com on Thursday issued a "Video Replay" for Dolly and her "Backwoods Barbie" video. In it, she is interviewed about the song's theme and the video's concept, locations and more in between clips from the video itself. Watch the four-minute segment here and download the video from iTunes here.
Twins Get Gift I'm told that Dolly got a mention on Good Day LA out in Los Angeles on Thursday. Actor Jerry O'Connell was on the program and the host presented him with a gift for his recently-born twins, this week's release Hushabye Baby: Lullaby Renditions of Dolly Parton, which came out Tuesday. He responded that he and his wife, actress Rebecca Romijn, love Dolly and (as was widely reported after the birth) named one of the girls after her. Thanks, Gary and Larry!
March 26: CMT Plugs Dolly Online Show
Although word had already leaked out a few days ago, CMT on Wednesday formally announced Dolly's "Unplugged At Studio 330" concert, which will premiere online Tuesday. The network even offered a "sneak peak" preview of the show with a one-minute clip available in the above media player or by clicking here. The release states that the show features "Backwoods Barbie," "Only Dreamin'," "Jolene," "I Will Always Love You" and "9 To 5," which is included in the clip. Interview footage is interspersed among the songs.
Latest On '9 To 5' Dolly chatted with Billboard magazine this week about her butterflies over the impending opening of her 9 To 5: The Musical on Broadway next month, telling the magazine here "I'm anxious about it." In related news, the show's costume designer, William Ivey Long, shared with New York Magazine that he used a few tricks to give Megan Hilty that famous Dolly cleavage for the show. Read that article here.
Bid On Dolly VIP Package You won't find an autographed Dolly outfit at this year's Las Vegas Night Auction for the Dr. Robert F. Thomas Foundation in Sevierville, Tenn., hospital officials tell me, but there will be a Dolly item available. It was incorrectly reported here a few days ago that an autographed outfit was being auctioned off and was currently on display at the Hollywood Star Cars Museum in Gatlinburg to celebrate her donation of her former car to the museum. Well, the outfit is on display, but it's not up for auction. That item came from a report posted by Knoxville TV station WVLT, which stated she had donated the outfit to the Foundation. The station's story just didn't state when, which turns out to be important. Actually, she donated the outfit several years ago and the manager of the museum bought it at the auction at that time. This year, though, organizers tell Dollymania that the Dolly item up for the April 18 auction is an evening for two featuring VIP seats at the 7 p.m., May 9, premiere of Sha-Kon-O-Hey! Land Of Blue Smoke musical at Dollywood, tickets to the VIP reception immediately following the show's premiere and a photo with Dolly. Tickets to the auction, a fund-raiser for Ft. Sanders Sevier Medical Center that also includes food and drink and casino-style games, are $50 each and available at 865-429-6715. In related news, Dolly's donation of the car got mentioned in The Knoxville News Sentinelhere on Wednesday, and the attraction has added her vehicle to its website here.
Guitar For Charity Girls Rock Camp Austin, a nonprofit organization providing girls with musical training, is offering a Dolly-autographed guitar to the first donor in the Social Media Charity Smackdown to donate $5,000 to the charity on Thursday, its executive director tells me. The gift would provide scholarships to allow 14 girls to attend the camp. See shots of the guitar here, here, here and here. If you're interested, you may make your donation here.
Dollywood Here I Come Your webmaster will be in transit Thursday to cover Dolly's Friday appearances at Dollywood for the park's season pass preview day in advance of its official opening to the general public on Saturday, but I should have Internet access there, so look for reports on location!
March 25: Dolly Chats With 'Retired' Reporter Dolly is the cover girl for the May/June issue of AARP Magazine, which began hitting newsstands Tuesday. In the very entertaining and pretty in-depth interview available online here, it was revealed for the first time that her previously-announced live DVDs and CDs of her London and Glasgow concerts will be released in June. It was also disclosed that she has "a line of clothing and accessories" coming out later in 2009 and cited a Palm Beach Post estimate of her net worth at between $200 and $400 million. In addition, the report noted she spent about $1 million to launch her personal label, Dolly Records, and recouped the start-up costs three months after her latest CD hit stores (which would have been after it sold between 80,000 and 90,000 copies, indicating her label receives between $11 and $12.50 per copy sold). Excerpts from the interview made several news wires during the day, including summaries from People magazine's online site and AOL. Also, fans age 50 and older may enter here for an AARP contest to win an autographed Dolly Hatch Show print and photo from the magazine shoot.
Dolly Earns Jim Reeves Award Dolly is receiving her ninth award from the Academy of Country Music (ACM), it was announced Tuesday. She has been selected by the Academy's Board as this year's honoree for the ACM Jim Reeves International Award, which recognizes contributions to expanding country music's audience around the world. The ACMs also revealed that Merle Haggard and Harlan Howard have earned the Music Poets Award for songwriting and that Randy Travis, Hank Williams Jr., Jerry Reed and frequent Dolly duet partner Kenny Rogers are this year's Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award winners, an honor Dolly received in 2007 and which is the ACM equivalent to induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Typically, these awards are simply listed on the screen during the awards telecast (which is April 5 on CBS) instead of being presented on air during the televised ceremony – and the actual trophies are handed to the honorees at a ceremony later in the year.
Report: 'Barbie' Passes 130,000 Copies Dolly's Backwoods Barbie has sold 130,000 copies, according to the CEO of the company that headed up her CD's digital distribution. The most recent published sales figure for the album was 77,000 about 11 months ago. Robb McDaniels of INgrooves gave the updated number in an interview published Tuesday by CNET here. The total most likely refers to her U.S. sales only, as it would be in line with the estimates previously calculated and published by Dollymania based on chart history for the project. Sales will increase thanks to her Cracker Barrel re-issue, but unless the CD generates a major hit single, it is unlikely to exceed the sales for her first three Sugar Hill releases, which averaged about 200,000 units sold each.
'Video Diary' Launches
Dolly on Tuesday posted her first "video diary," where she covered the new CD/photobook/rocking chair release, Broadway, her theme park season opening and more. Check it out in the media player above or by clicking here.
Dolly Helps Out Midler's Charity Thanks to Marcos for alerting me that Dolly has been announced as honorary co-chair for the eighth annual Spring Picnic of Bette Midler's charity, the New York Restoration Project. The event will be held Tuesday, May 19, in New York, beginning with 6:30 p.m. cocktails at New Leaf Restaurant and Bar prior to the 7:30 p.m. picnic at Ft. Tyron Park. Midler attends each year (the invitation notes she will lead the crowd in a sing-a-long) and it is customary for the year's honorary co-chairs to also be present and participate in the festivities. The event's public relations representative, however, says that while the other honorary co-chair, Tony-winning composer and actor Lin-Manuel Mirando, is confirmed to attend, it will depend on Dolly's schedule as to whether or not she can make it, something they won't know for sure until closer to the event's date, probably not until early May. Tickets to the event, beginning at $250 each, are available online here.
Library Doc Comes To Cleveland The Book Lady, the Canadian documentary about Dolly's Imagination Library and its expansion into Canada, gets its U.S. debut this week with a screening at the Cleveland International Film Festival in Ohio on Friday. "We are excited to show The Book Lady to a US audience," said film producer Brad Horvath. "Most people are not aware that Dolly is a champion of children's literacy or that her program is active in a thousand communities in three countries, including more than ten in Ohio."
It was Dolly heaven at Cracker Barrels across the country on Monday. In celebration of the store's exclusive "Collector's Edition" of her CD Backwoods Barbie (with three previously unreleased bonus tracks), limited-edition pink rocking chairs and bound photo book, the restaurants not only had lots of Dolly marketing posters and signs about but also played the album on a continuous loop, interrupted only by audio commercials from Dolly herself touting the release. In addition, her management on Monday posted her television commercial for the CD to YouTube. You may watch it in the media player above or by clicking here.
Although the restaurant chain had previously announced that each store would be limited to two chairs each, it turned out that some locations (apparently in smaller cities) were delivered just one each, while a few others received three each. Still others had a "good" chair and a damaged one that couldn't be sold. Most sold out before lunchtime, and several stores even received multiple requests to try and purchase the chairs days before they were set out on Monday but had to say no due to contractual obligations. If you missed out, however, it may not be a complete loss. Store officials confirmed that plans are underway to redesign the chairs for sale starting sometime in April. The new rockers should look different and won't be numbered, but they should remain bright pink. The original chairs, which featured the Dolly signature logo and a butterfly on the front along with an engraved number plate on the back, were limited to a run of 1,350 units.
The book that is being sold at the store is a re-tooling of her 2008 World Tour Book. The major differences are that the Cracker Barrel version is a sturdy hardcover but significantly smaller (9 ¼-by-12 inches instead of the original 12-by-15 ¾ inches). It is missing the photos from the outside and inside front and back covers but includes about eight large photos from various stages of her career that were not featured in the earlier version. Otherwise, it appears to be virtually identical to the tour book, down to details such as repeating the two errors that the editors made when they cut-and-pasted her awards history from the Dollymania.netpage to use in the book (mistakenly leaving the "link" in place that appears on the site to read her Country Music Hall of Fame induction speech – "For the text of her acceptance speech, click here" – and the final four items from 2006-2007 being mistakenly inserted in the middle of 2004 in addition to appearing at the end of the list).
Dolly plugged the CD/chair/book release in a nationally-televised interview on The Morning Show With Mike And Juliet, which covered many other topics from her life and career. Watch it online in two parts here and here. And CMT.com picked up the story of the chairs with a brief here.
Dolly: Another Concert DVD/CD Coming Fans can look forward to two concert DVDs and two concert CDs from Dolly in the near future, she revealed Monday in an interview via satellite with Scottish television. In addition to discussing her Broadway show, theme park and much more with STV, she announced that she will be releasing separate DVDs and CDs recorded during the European segment of her world tour last year, with her sold-out two-night set in Glasgow, Scotland, joining the sold-out two-night set from London that had previously been announced for release this year. Watch the interview here.
Morrow: Watch CMT.com Concert March 31 You may recall Dolly announced on her blog a little over a week ago that she had taped a mini-concert for CMT, well Terry Morrow of The Knoxville News Sentinel scooped the rest of that story in his blog Monday, posting that the show is an acoustic set for the network's "Unplugged 330" web series and will feature about a half dozen tracks plus interview segments and will premiere a week from Tuesday. Read his piece here.
Video Updates Dolly's music video for "Backwoods Barbie" has not only landed on cable network Great American Country (GAC) this week but has also been selected as the channel's Video Of The Week. Thanks, Maggie! You may watch it on GAC here and vote for it in GAC's weekly countdown here. According to the network's schedule, the video will be broadcast on Tuesday at approximately 7:32 a.m. and 5:19 p.m. On competitor CMT, Chad tells me that it will go up on CMT Power Picks again Tuesday at 11 against Dierks Bentley.
CD Reminders Don't forget that two Dolly-related albums hit stores on Tuesday: the "eco-friendly" re-issue of her massively popular compilation 16 Biggest Hits and the children's instrumental cover project Hushabye Baby: Lullaby Renditions of Dolly Parton.
Kenny & Dolly Drop Overseas After re-entering the top 100 U.K. pop chart for a week thanks to a chart-topping cover version, "Islands In The Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly falls back off the list this week, it was revealed when the lower reaches of the tally came out on Monday. The 26-year-old tune came in last week at No. 88.
March 23: Head Out To Cracker Barrel! Those "in the know" tell me that you'd better get out early in the morning Monday if you want your Dolly rocking chair. Cracker Barrel stores nationwide open at 6 a.m. with two of the limited-edition pink chairs at each restaurant for $199. At that time, they will also begin selling the "Collector's Edition" of her Backwoods Barbie CD (with the three previously unreleased tracks "Rose Of My Heart," "Hallelujah Holiday" and "Berry Pie") as well as a limited-edition photo album. Once the chairs are gone, they're gone for good. Apparently, the photo album stock is also limited as well, although I would expect the CD to remain available for however long the store chooses to sell it, as that has been the case with its previous exclusive album releases. In related news, the music video for the album's title track, Dolly's current single, has been made available for downloading from iTunes. (Thanks, Tony!) Order the video here! Photo of Dolly with one of the chairs is by Aaron Crisler/The Judy Nelon Group for Cracker Barrel. Used with permission.
'Islands' Loses Its Grip It couldn't hold on for long, as the cover of the Kenny & Dolly classic "Islands In The Stream" by Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon with Robin Gibb and Tom Jones for the annual Comic Relief charity fund-raiser loses the top spot on the U.K. pop singles chart this week, slipping two to No. 3 in its second week.
TV Reminder Don't forget to check your local listings for the channel and time of broadcast for the syndicated program The Morning Show With Mike And Juliet, which features Dolly among its guests Monday morning.
Dolly Makes Guardian Best Songs List British newspaper The Guardian on Friday wrapped up its seven-part series of the greatest tunes of all time, called "1,000 Songs Everyone Must Hear," and Dolly popped up on three of the lists. Although she was absent from "People and Places," "Sex," "Politics and Protest" as well as "Party Songs," she made the cut for the "Love" list with "I Will Always Love You," about which the critics said her version, not Whitney Houston's, is the one to play. On "Heartbreak," her "Jolene" was singled out as possibly "the greatest country single of all-time." And under "Life and Death," the hit "9 To 5" was noted as "a deceptively jaunty anthem of female empowerment." Check out all seven segments here.
Rare Dolly Found The recent discovery of a treasure trove of rare live recordings of 1960s and 1970s country royalty, including Dolly, is noted in a piece from The Boston Globehere.
Zip-Line Coming To Park Thanks to Chris for noticing that the new park map posted at Dollywood.com shows a new attraction is coming this year after all, although it's a small one. This summer, the park will launch Sky-Zip, a zip-line feature by Skyline Eco-Adventures, which operates a mountaintop zip-line attraction in Hawaii. The map shows the line extending in one direction over Wilderness Pass and then behind the Tennessee Tornado and in another direction crossing Craftsman's Valley toward the Tornado. No other details about the ride have been released. The park's major 2009 expansion, Adventure Moutnain, was postponed until 2010 due to the economic downturn. Its 24th season opens to the public on Saturday with the Festival of Nations headlined by Le Grand Cirque's new show, Imaginé, and as was previously reported here, Dolly will be at the park for its season passholders' exclusive preview day on Friday.
March 21: 'Barbie' To Debut At No. 17 Although it's not on the countdown this week, Dolly's publicist announced in a press release Thursday that her music video for "Backwoods Barbie" will debut at No. 17 next week on CMT's Top 20 Countdown. The clip is already the sixth-most-played video on the cable network, according to the release. In it, Dolly noted: "The song 'Backwoods Barbie' pretty much says it all. It's true that the way I look is just a country girl's idea of glamour. I've always been a bit of a cartoon character, but that comes from an honest place. I'm always getting too dolled up. My real name is Dolly, so I'm just a backwoods Dolly asking for a chance." You may vote for it on the Top 20 here and the Pure 12 Pack on CMT's digital cable channel, Pure Country, here. Stream the video from CMT.com here. The Tennessean made mention of the video and press release Friday in its celebrities column here. In related news, the network noted her inclusion in the Business TN list of the 100 most powerful Tennesseans at No. 10 with a brief here and posted a nice interview from CMT Insiderhere. Also, my friend Tony tells me he saw the channel airing a new commercial for the Cracker Barrel-exclusive "Collector's Edition" of the CD coming out on Monday with Dolly narrating over the video about the album's release. Thanks!
Irish Update The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 gains again on The Emerald Isle this week, it was announced Friday. The CD rises two to No. 76 in its 77th week on the Irish pop albums chart.
Wanna Sing A Dolly Song? The Knoxville News-Sentinel on Friday passed along a press release here calling for contestants to participate in the fifth annual Mountain Soul Vocal Competition in Sevierville, Tenn., where singers come to Dolly's hometown to take on songs she wrote. The deadline to enter is April 10 for the May 15-16 event. The first prize for age 13 and up is a guitar autographed by Dolly, a recording session in Nashville and $500 cash, with $300 for second place and $200 for third. Those age 12 and under who make the top three each get a pair of season passes to Dollywood with first place also earning $100 and an autographed guitar, $50 for second place and $25 for third. Any Dolly-composed song except "I Will Always Love You" (which was sung by entirely too many contestants in the first year) is allowed. Contestants are asked to visit a list of songs here on Dollymania that have been released over the years and were written by Dolly to verify she is the songwriter before submitting your audition to the judges.
Get A Hat Signed By Dolly St. Mark Roman Catholic Church, which hosted Dolly's fund-raising concert last October in Kentucky, has put up for auction to benefit the parish nine individual pink baseball hats that Dolly has autographed. Opening bid on each hat is $50, with the auctions on eBay ending next Friday. Check them out here.
March 20: Smokies PSAs With Dolly Released
Two new public service announcements that Dolly made for The Friends Of The Smokies in her role as international ambassador for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75th anniversary debuted on Thursday, posted to YouTube by Knoxville TV station WBIR. The first promotes her fund-raising CD Sha-Kon-O-Hey! (available from the Friends' website) and the second celebrates the park's Trails Forever endowment. Watch them in the media player above or by clicking here. Thanks, Chad!
Dolly At Park Friday Only Dollywood will be celebrating its season passholders with Dolly next week at the annual season pass preview day on Friday, March 27. In addition to an appearance at the premiere of the new Imaginé show by Le Grand Cirque that morning, her Parade of Nations is scheduled for Friday afternoon, weather permitting. There are no Dolly appearances scheduled for the park's first day of public operations, Saturday, March 28, a spokesperson has confirmed. It's not too late to get your pass to the park, though, with pre-season pricing has been extended through April 26.
Martin Still On Top Steve Martin seems poised to rule over the bluegrass albums chart for a long time, with his The Crow - New Songs for the 5-String Banjo sitting at No. 1 for a sixth week, Billboard announced Thursday with the March 28 numbers. The album, and its Dolly and Vince Gill duet, also re-enters the 25-position Internet sales chart, coming in at No. 18 in its fifth week. The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 fell back out of the Canadian country top 50, down from No. 48 the previous week. Back in the U.S., three Dolly-related titles drop out of the 75-position country albums list: Jessica Simpson's Do You Know, with Dolly on her title track, down from No. 72 country in its 24th week; Emmylou Harris' All I Intended To Be, featuring Dolly on "Gold," down from No. 68 country in its 37th week; and Patty Loveless' Sleepless Nights, including her cover of Porter & Dolly's "The Pain Of Loving You," down from No. 74 in its 22nd week. Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted, with Dolly on "When I Get Where I'm Going," slips one to No. 7 on the country catalog albums chart and six to No. 29 Canadian country. Taylor Swift's Fearless holds steady at No. 1 country but loses three to No. 5 pop with 52,000 copies moved in its 17th week, while the Zac Brown Band's The Foundation rises two to No. 2 country and four to No. 26 pop in its 17th week.
Dolly's Car Goes To Museum Dolly has traded in her 1997 Cadillac D'Elegance to the Hollywood Star Cars Museum in Gatlinburg in exchange for a new Escalade, according to Knoxville TV station WVLT, which offered a look at the car in one of its reporter's blogs here. The vehicle was displayed at the museum starting Thursday and is currently being shown with an autographed outfit she has donated for the upcoming Robert F. Thomas Foundation auction.
TV Appearance Revealed Dolly has been announced as a guest Monday on the syndicated program The Morning Show With Mike And Juliet. Check local listings for times and stations.
'Barbie' In 'EW' Entertainment Weekly gave its opinion on Dolly's video for "Backwoods Barbie" Thursday, saying the tune "has every potential to be the 'Redneck Woman' of 2009, so brace yourself to hear this ad nauseum at bars." Read more here.
'Idol' Contestant Says She Let Tenn. Down Alexis Grace, the "Jolene"-singing contestant voted off American Idol this week, says she feels she let her home state of Tennessee down by not winning the competition's country theme night. "I feel like I let my state down," she said after the show. "I'm from the South and we're suppose to sing country well; I think I do . . . I felt like everyone knows 'Jolene' and it's such a pretty song." Read more of her remarks here. The performance, however, did give Dolly some sales from iTunes, where her original version of the song made the top country downloads list at No. 27 as of Thursday.
March 19: She Uses Her 'Power' For Good Dolly has finally broken into the top 10 of the most important people in her home state, it was revealed Wednesday. Dolly ranked at No. 10 on the annual list of the 100 most powerful Tennessee residents released by Business TN magazine, which called her "arguably Tennessee's most recognizable brand around the world." She has risen annually on the list for many years, tracking up from No. 47 in 2005 to No. 35 in 2006 and No. 14 in 2007. Philanthropist J.R. Hyde III of Memphis was No. 1, a position held by Gov. Phil Bredesen last year. Read more here.
Dolly Singer Booted From Show Singing some Dolly wasn't apparently a good move for American Idol contestant Alexis Grace, who was voted off of the show Wednesday night. She had performed "Jolene" on the previous evening's program, a Grand Ole Opry theme night.
March 18: '9 To 5' Nabs Two LA Awards Dolly can officially add award-winning theatrical composer to her résumé, as her songs from 9 To 5: The Musical earned her the LA Drama Critics Circle Award Monday night for Best Musical Score. The Circle often honors multiple winners in each category, and Michael Friedman of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson shared the award with her out of the original three nominees. In the Best Choreography category, two out of the four nominees were honored: Lee Martino for Kiss Of The Spider Woman and 9 To 5's Andy Blankenbuehler. Check out coverage from Broadway.comhere, Theatermaniahere and Varietyhere.
Kenny & Dolly On UK Tally The popularity of the Comic Relief charity cover of "Islands In The Stream" by Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon as their characters of Bryn West and Nessa Jenkins from the show Gavin and Stacey with cameos by Robin Gibb and Tom Jones has propelled the original version by Dolly and Kenny Rogers back to the charts overseas, it was revealed this week when the top 100 singles were released. Their 1983 duet, which topped out at No. 7 pop in Britain when it first came out, re-entered the top 100 at No. 88 this week, all the way up from No. 155.
'Jolene' On 'Idol' Dolly's enduring "Jolene" made it to American Idol for the second year in a row Tuesday night, this time performed by contestant Alexis Grace as part of Grand Ole Opry theme night. It was the only Dolly cut that a singer chose for the evening of songs by Opry members, although she performed the song based on the Mindy Smith cover instead of Dolly's original.
Kristin Toasts Dolly Thanks to whoever sent the link to Simon and Schuster's profile of actress Kristin Chenoweth in which she says Dolly is the living person she most admires. Read it here.
March 17: Dolly Dishes Dress, Red Carpet Details Dolly took a break from rehearsals for her 9 To 5: The Musical on Broadway to chat with gossip columnist Cindy Adams, who revealed Monday secrets that included her film co-star Jane Fonda will be her escort for the red carpet walk on the show's official opening night April 30 (previews start April 7, though) and that her dress, by her frequent designer Robert Behar, will be a Dolly-ized office outfit: "white, chiffon, with a drape, and showing a little leg and with some sprinkles and sparkles . . . for a gaudy office" Read more here. In related news, Monday night the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards were handed out, but as of press time, word had not come as to whether Dolly, up for Best Score, or the show's Andy Blankenbuehler, up for Best Choreography, had won. Playbill had a note about the then-upcoming awards earlier Monday here.
Faithfull Fuels Critics Marianne Faithfull's latest CD, Easy Come, Easy Go, featuring her cover of Dolly's classic "Down From Dover," has been getting a lot of attention over the past several days, given its U.S. release this week (the album came out in the U.K. three months back), and folks are talking about her take on the song. The Los Angeles Times opined on its blog here that the track is "a tale of romantic betrayal" by one "of country music's greatest songwriters," while The Hartford Courant said here that her version has "a rueful air." Get your copy here!
Canadian Tallies Come Out The Canadian country albums charts were a little late to be updated, but last week's numbers are now available. The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1, which re-entered the top 50 two weeks ago, slid four to No. 48 last week, while Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted, featuring Dolly on "When I Get Where I'm Going," slipped three to No. 23.
Spitzer Praises Dolly The former first lady of New York, Silda Wall Spitzer, is calling on Dolly as one of the top examples of a great woman fulfilling her potential, noting she is not only a successful singer, songwriter, actress, producer and businesswoman but also a great philanthropist for her Imagination Library literacy program. Read about her speech from The Palm Beach Daily Newshere.
More On Smokies CD Dollywood on Monday issued a press release touting Dolly's fund-raising CD of the park's upcoming show Sha-Kon-O-Hey! Land Of Blue Smoke to benefit the Friends of the Smokies in her role as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75th anniversary international ambassador. In it, she noted: "Having grown up and lived in the heart of these beautiful mountains, my love for this area is deep, genuine and heartfelt. The mountains have inspired so much of my music, and these new songs convey my love for this area as well as the folks like me who call the Great Smoky Mountains home." Read the full release as posted in Terry Morrow's column in The Knoxville News Sentinelhere and order the CD here!
March 16: Canadian Papers Talk Up Barrel Release Canada's Sun newspapers over the weekend published a column which continued the promotion for next week's exclusive "Collector's Edition" release of Backwoods Barbie and Dolly rocking chairs at Cracker Barrel stores, noting it is just the newest in a string of recording artists' store-exclusive releases over recent years. Check it out here, and don't forget to enter daily in the contests at CMT.com and Cracker Barrel.com for the chance to win a trip to New York to see Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical, autographed copies of the CD and rocking chairs. CMT is accepting entries through April 9, while Cracker Barrel's contest runs through April 3.
'Dolly' In Katy Perry Video, Sorta Singer Katy Perry was in Las Vegas last week filming her music video for the upcoming single "Waking Up In Vegas," according to The Las Vegas Review Journalhere. The shoot included a "Last Supper" scene with her surrounded by drag queens and Elvi (the plural of "Elvis") Among the "ladies" are a Tina Turner, a Britney Spears. a Reba and Kenneth Blake as Dolly.
'Islands' No. 1 Overseas A cover of the Kenny & Dolly classic "Islands In The Stream" debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. pop singles chart on Sunday. The song was recorded by Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon "as" their characters of Bryn West and Nessa Jenkins on the British television show Gavin and Stacey with some help from song co-writer Robin Gibb and singer Tom Jones as the annual single released for support of charity as part of the U.K.'s Comic Relief Red Nose Day. It bested the original version on the charts there, though, as Kenny and Dolly only made it to No. 7 on the British pop chart back in 1983.
March 14: Dolly Blogs Of CMT Concert, Live CD Dolly has recorded "an unplugged mini concert" for CMT, she announced Friday on her blog posted at her official record label website, DollyPartonMusic.net. She also talked about working on 9 To 5: The Musical, the upcoming season opening of Dollywood, Cracker Barrel's upcoming exclusive edition of Backwoods Barbie and her upcoming Live in London 02 Arena concert DVD, about which she confirmed what was first reported here earlier this week: that a companion live concert CD will also be released for that project.
Gaining On Irish Tally The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 saw an up-tick in sales across the pond last week, gaining nine places to No. 78 in its 76th week on the Irish top 100 pop albums chart, it was revealed Friday.
A Peak At 'Rainbow' Texas GLBT publication The Dallas Voice offered a mini-review this week of Dolly's upcoming children's book I Am A Rainbow, noting that the rhyming verses of the book are "undeniable cutesy." See what they had to say here and order the book, coming out May 14, here.
March 13: Martin Does It Again Comedian, actor and author Steve Martin reigns for a fifth week at No. 1 on the bluegrass albums chart with The Crow - New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, Billboard revealed Thursday in the March 21 tallies. The collection, which includes a duet by Dolly and Vince Gill backed by Martin's banjo pickin', falls off the 25-position Internet sales chart, though, down from No. 25 the previous week. Jessica Simpson's Do You Know, featuring Dolly on her title track, falls nine to No. 72 country in its 24th week. Emmylou Harris' All I Intended To Be, with Dolly on "Gold," inches up one to No. 68 country in its 37th week. Patty Loveless' Sleepless Nights, including her cover of Porter & Dolly's "The Pain Of Loving You," re-enters the 75-position country album charts at No. 74 for a 22nd week. Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted, including Dolly on "When I Get Where I'm Going," remains at No. 6 on the country catalog albums chart. Taylor Swift's Fearless holds steady at No. 1 country but drops to No. 2 pop with 52,000 copies moved in its 17th week, while Alison Krauss and Robert Plant's Raising Sand gains one to No. 2 country and falls 10 to No. 26 pop in its 72nd week.
Dollywood Deadline If you haven't renewed your Dollywood season pass, you just have until Sunday to take advantage of pre-season prices before they increase for the year. Visit the park's website here for more information.
Knox Party Comes Back I'm told by organizer Miss Hamblin that the Night Of 1,000 Dollies is slated to return this year to Knoxville. The celebration of all things Dolly is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. April 3 at the Longbranch Saloon on Cumberland Avenue featuring White Lightnin' Burlesque, Big Gay Phil, the Gussied Up Gospel (of Tina Becker, Nancy Brennan, Carolyn Rogers and Paul Davis), a biggest boobs contest and a Dolly and Burt Reynolds look-a-like contest.
March 12: Dolly Asked For Her 'Idol' Opinions
Atlanta's FOX affiliate on Wednesday posted the video of the second part of Dolly's recent interview with the station, this segment focusing on the network's hit show American Idol. Watch it in the above media player or by clicking here. In related news, the show has officially announced the Grand Ole Opry theme week that was previously reported. Contestants will sing songs of Opry members, which could mean a Dolly track or two making an appearance, next week.
March 11: Dolly Tells Jane To Break A Leg Dolly made a point to see 9 To 5 co-star Jane Fonda in her first return to Broadway in decades, coming over from her own rehearsal for her own 9 To 5: The Musical. Also in the audience was Stephanie J. Block, who plays Fonda's role in Dolly's show. A story with extensive quotes from Dolly is available from The New York Observerhere. She also spoke to reporters again about Jessica Simpson's weight in a piece with UShere. Photos of her at the show are available from Theatremaniahere, Getty Images here, Zimbiohere and Contact Musichere. Thanks, Scott!
Pre-Order Special 'Barbie,' Enter Contest In anticipation of Dolly's "Collector's Edition" of Backwoods Barbie from Cracker Barrel, the restaurant is now accepting online advance orders for the album to be mailed to you. In addition, the store this week kicked off its own contest to see Dolly's show in New York. One grand prize winner will receive a trip for two to New York including airfare, hotel, tickets to the musical and $200 spending money, with three first place winners will get an autographed Dolly rocking chair. Entries may be made once per day per person through April 3. The site also has preview clips of "Backwoods Barbie" and the bonus track "Rose Of My Heart." Thanks, Tony!
'Backwoods' Goes To CMT Dolly's video for "Backwoods Barbie" made its way Tuesday to CMT and CMT.com. Catch it on the website here.
March 10: AOL Shows Dolly's 'Barbie'
Dolly's long-anticipated music video for her next single, the title track from her CD Backwoods Barbie, premiered Monday on AOL. As was previously reported here, she walks down Hollywood Boulevard meeting a cast of interesting characters, but she also walks through the her childhood home of the "Smoky Mountains" (although it's really the back of the Disney Ranch in California), which features a look-a-like little girl Dolly applying her homemade make-up of poke berries and burnt matches. Watch the video in the player above or by clicking here.
Dolly Chats With Atlanta Station
While in Atlanta to promote Georgia's expansion of her Imagination Library through the Rotary Club, Dolly sat down with the local FOX television station for an interview, the first half of which aired on Monday. She discussed the literacy program, Broadway and more. Check out the interview in the player above or by clicking here. The second part of the interview will air (and, presumably, be posted online) on Tuesday. In related news, Rotary International's website on Monday posted an expanded story here on her partnership with the service organization which encourages all of its more than 10,000 chapters in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain to support the project in their communities. In that story, Dolly noted: "This partnership is a marriage made in heaven. Rotary does such good work around the world. This is a big deal for us. We feel proud and honored to be working with such a prestigious organization."
'9 To 5' Styles I'm told if you pick up the March edition of InStyle magazine, there's a piece where they asked three top designers how they would dress the characters from 9 To 5 today, complete with photos of the movie's main characters in 1980 and those from Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical. Thanks, Beth!
Kellie And Dolly Compared CMT.com calls Kellie Pickler "Dolly Parton reincarnated," noting Dolly introduced her via video at this year's Country Radio Seminar and comparing their senses of humor. Read more here.
Stella Hits Europe Dolly's little sis, Stella, begins her three-week U.K. tour at the end of this week. If you're overseas and want to check her out, see the tour schedule on her website here.
In Memoriam: Hank Locklin Grand Ole Opry star Hank Locklin, best known for his hit "Send Me The Pillow You Dream On," died Sunday, it was reported Monday. He was 91. Dolly had been among the several artists to record the classic tune, putting it on her 1983 album Burlap & Satin before she joined Lockin in the studio to record it as a duet for his 2001 CD Generations In Song. She covered his other big hit, "Please Help Me I'm Falling," with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette on their trio album, Honky Tonk Angels, in 1993. Read his obituary from CMT.com here.
March 9: Live CD Could Be Coming Since it was announced several weeks ago that Dolly would be issuing her London concerts from last year on DVD and Blu-Ray, many fans have wondered whether this Live In London release would include a companion CD like her Live & Well DVD did. Well, we have a clue that indicates the answer could be yes. Audio producing, remixing and sweetening for the release was done by Digital Audio Post, a Nashville firm operated by Dolly's keyboardist, Michael Davis, and it is identified on the company's project list as "Live CD and DVD." Thanks, Tony!
European DVD Reissued, CD Added Speaking of live projects, the Netherlands has a new CD and DVD coming called Love Always: Live From Texas by "Dolly Parton and Friends." The DVD is a re-packaging of the European release Dolly Parton and Friends On A Country Train DVD that came out in 2005 and included footage of her 2001 Austin City Limits concert interspersed among other country artists' television performance clips from the 1970s and 1980s. The CD will apparently contain the audio of the DVD performances. Thanks, Niko!
'Barbie' Video To Premiere Monday Although it doesn't provide a date for either premiere, Dolly's official record label website, DollyPartonMusic.net, on Sunday night revealed that her video for "Backwoods Barbie" would get its world premiere on AOL prior to its television premiere in CMT's "Hotshots" heavy rotation slot. Although the site didn't give the date, I'm told that CMT Insider over the weekend showed clips from the video and reported that it would premiere on Monday. Thanks, Chad!
Gone Again Down Under After returning to the tally for one week, The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 drops back off the Australian top 20 country albums chart, it was announced Sunday. The CD fell from No. 18 the previous week.
Hanging With Dolly Richmond , Ky.'s Father Jim, who put together the benefit concert with Dolly last year in his city, is profiled by The Lexington Herald Leader this week here, complete with a photo with Dolly. Thanks, Jonathan!
Sincerest Form Of Flattery The U.K. is getting another Dolly tribute show. Although there aren't too many here in the States (other than a few multi-artist "Legends" shows), there are several concert tours overseas where women perform "as" Dolly to sing her songs. The new one, "The Dolly Parton Story," which will be launching soon, features Andrea Pattison and the Partoners. More information about it, including audio and video clips, is available here. Others include the presently on-tour "Dolly" here and "An Evening with Dolly with Sarah Jayne" here. Thanks, Richard!
March 7: Dolly Chats Away On CNN.com
Dolly provided a highly entertaining, downright delightful and fairly long (at 12 minutes) interview Friday from Atlanta with CNN.com's Internet anchor Reggie Aqui, who was very excited to speak with her and obviously very much of a fan himself. The two even ended their chat with an impromptu duet of "Islands In The Stream." Catch the online interview in the media player above or by clicking here. Her official record label website, DollyPartonMusic.net, reported Friday that the interview will air on CNN sometime on Saturday, which if correct would be a bit unusual since most of his interviews are Internet-only. In related news, one Dolly appearance on the network Saturday has been confirmed: CNN announced Friday that it will repeat Dolly's recent Larry King Live interview over the weekend, airing at 9 p.m. Saturday with early morning Sunday re-runs. This time, though, she shares the hour with Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans instead of Tyler Perry.
Rotary Signs On For Library The reason Dolly was in Atlanta, though, was to announce an expanded partnership with Rotary International for her Imagination Library early childhood literacy program. Already, more than 100 individual Rotary Clubs around the country are participating in their local chapters of the project, but she revealed Friday that Rotary International has entered into an agreement with her to increase its involvement in the program as part of the service club's focus on literacy. Now, all 10,400 Clubs across the United States, Canada and Great Britain will formally be encouraged by the international headquarters to support Dolly's program in their communities. First up will be an effort by the 204 Rotary Clubs in Georgia to work toward a statewide program there. In a press release, available here, Dolly said: "I am thrilled about our partnership with Rotary International. Rotarians love kids as much as I do, so I truly believe we can do something extraordinary together to help even more children love to read and succeed." Rotary Foundation Trustee John Germ, who was present at the announcement, said the partnership will allow the organization to take its literacy efforts "to the next level." Read additional coverage from The Daily Citizenin Dalton, Ga., here and Atlanta Journal Constitutionhere.
Back Again In Ireland The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 just keeps bouncing back and forth on the Irish pop albums chart. The CD this week re-enters the top 100 list at No. 87 to garner a 75th chart week, it was announced Friday.
'Idol' Speculation Some Dolly songs could be making their way back to American Idol this season, according to one of the most popular websites devoted to the show, Vote For The Worst.com. The site reports that a source leaked confirmation that theme weeks for this year's competition will include a Michael Jackson week, Motown week and Grand Ole Opry week, with the latter allowing contestants to choose from several pre-approved songs made famous by members of the country music institution. Reportedly on the list for Dolly are "Jolene," "I Will Always Love You," "Here You Come Again," "9 To 5" and "Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That." Read more here.
March 6: Martin Remains On Top Again Steve Martin's banjo pickin' earns him the top spot on the bluegrass albums chart for a fourth week, as The Crow - New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, featuring his collaboration with Dolly and Vince Gill, also slips nine to No. 25 on the Internet sales chart, the March 14 Billboard numbers reported. The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 re-enters the Canadian top 50 country albums list at No. 44. Back in the States, Jessica Simpson's Do You Know, which includes Dolly on the title number, tumbles 17 to No. 63 country in its 23rd week. Emmylou Harris' All I Intended To Be, featuring Dolly on "Gold," slips four to No. 69 country in its 36th week. Patty Loveless' Sleepless Nights, with her cover of Porter & Dolly's "The Pain Of Loving You," falls back off the 75-position country album charts, down from No. 66 country the previous week, its 21st. Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted, including Dolly on "When I Get Where I'm Going," remains at No. 6 on the country catalog albums chart and falls seven on the Canadian country chart to No. 20. Taylor Swift's Fearless holds steady at No. 1 pop and country with 73,000 copies moved in its 16th week, while Jake Owen's Easy Does It debuts at No. 2 country and No. 13 pop with 32,000 units sold in its first week.
Yusuf Project Dropping May 5 The name and release date for the next CD from Yusuf (the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens) have been revealed. Roadsinger (To Warm You Through The Night) will hit stores May 5, Universal Music announced Thursday. The album should contain his upcoming single "Boots And Sand," which features vocals from Dolly and Paul McCartney and is based on his deportation from the U.S. while en route to meet with Dolly about performing on her cover of his "Where Do The Children Play." Read the press release here and reserve your copy of the CD here.
Another 'Hannah' Note The story that producers asked Dolly if she'd be interested in playing Aunt Dolly in Hannah Montana: The Movie and then not writing her into the script may not be 100 percent accurate, according to a story Thursday from Terry Morrow of The Knoxville News Sentinel. He wrote that Dolly told him she was offered a background role, which he described as less than a cameo, in a crowd scene at a Hannah concert and she passed on the proposal, explaining: "I had better things to do than sit around all day" on the set. Read more here.
Dolly Makes 'Jeopardy' Again Thanks to Tony for alerting me to a Dolly clue on Jeopardy this week. Contestants were told that Dolly wrote the music and lyrics for this show opening on Broadway in 2009, "What a way to make a living." Of course, they were referring to 9 To 5: The Musical.
March 5: CMT Launches Mini-Countdown With Dolly If you missed Dolly on CMT'sTop 20 Countdown last weekend, you can catch an excerpt from her interview on the network this week thanks to an advertising plan by Procter & Gamble. The network has launched P&G's Top 20 Rewind, a two-to-three-minute recap of the countdown featuring interview segments and clips from the top three videos. The show begins with a P&G product taking up the full screen then features the product on the top third of the screen while the show plays on the bottom two-thirds. The mini-show is broadcast twice daily during the two-hour video block each morning on the channel, and since it started this week, the first interview segments used were from Dolly's appearance on the program last weekend. Read more about the advertising campaign on Media Posthere.
Get 'Other Greatest Hits' Amazon.com is now accepting pre-orders for the previously-announced April 7 re-issue of Dolly's 1996 Columbia Records "best of" collection, I Will Always Love You And Other Greatest Hits. Reserve your copy here!
March 4: CMT Plugs Dolly Contest CMT on Tuesday continued its push to promote the network's contest with Dolly, Cracker Barrel and 9 To 5: The Musical. The channel's website had posted an ad for the contest on its front page Monday, and on Tuesday it noted it in the site's blogs here, with the writer proclaiming: "There are sweepstakes. And then there are Dolly-sized sweepstakes." As a reminder, entries are accepted here once per day, per person through April 9 with one first place winner taking the blue outfit she wore in her video for "Shinola," two tickets to see 9 To 5: The Musical in New York, airfare, hotel, 52 free meals at Cracker Barrel, an autographed Cracker Barrel "Collector's Edition" Backwoods Barbie CD and a one-year subscription to her online fan community, the Dolly-ites; a second place finisher receiving an iPod with the CD pre-loaded, 10 free Cracker Barrel meals, an autographed Dolly rocking chair from Cracker Barrel and one-year Dolly-ites subscription; and three third place contestants getting the autographed CD, a Dolly fan pack, five free Cracker Barrel meals and a one-year Dolly-ites subscription. The contest promotes not only the Broadway musical but also her partnership with Cracker Barrel for the March 23 release of the store-exclusive special edition CD with three previously unreleased tracks for $11.99 plus the limited-edition two-per-store Dolly rocking chairs featuring her signature logo. Photo of Dolly with one of the chairs is by Aaron Crisler/The Judy Nelon Group for Cracker Barrel. Used with permission.
Good '9 To 5' Seats Still Available Thanks to Richard for passing along that he picked up some great Saturday night preview tickets for Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical (fourth row) when some friends braved the snow for the box office's special discount offer Monday. Seats for the April 7-29 preview and regular run from May 1 on are available at the Marquis box office in New York or online from Ticketmaster here. Also, if you haven't noticed the advertisements on this site, check out the show's website for a couple of fun items: a "Shoot The Boss" game here and "Doll-E-Cards" that you may send to your boss here.
March 3: Dolly Joins CMT Radio Program Dolly will be the second guest on CMT's new syndicated radio program, "Radio Live with Cody Alan," The Nashville Business Journal reported here Monday. The program premiered Monday in 58 markets with guest Jimmy Fallon. Dolly will appear on the program Tuesday, followed by Reba McEntire Wednesday, Taylor Swift Thursday and Nick Jonas and Clint Black Friday. See if it is airing in your market here. In related news, the network has added Dolly to the list of people appearing on this weekend's CMT Insider on television. What story will include her has not been revealed. The TV program premieres at 1:30 p.m. Saturday with a Sunday morning repeat.
'9 To 5' Ticket Discount Extended If you missed out on the specially-priced $95 pairs of preview tickets to Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical on Monday, don't fret. With the big snowstorm that hit the Big Apple on Monday, the Marquis box office has extended the sale to Tuesday as well, according to Playbillhere.
March 2: 'And Other Greatest Hits' Coming Back Sony is continuing its line of re-issuing Dolly repackages, announcing over the weekend the intention to re-release her sixth official career "best of/greatest hits" collection, I Will Always Love You And Other Greatest Hits, which came out on Columbia Records in 1996 and documented her nearly 10 years with that label. The re-issue hits stores April 7 and follows a series of other re-releases: Triple Feature (which was a repackaging of the previous three-CD boxed set containing her Columbia albums Eagle When She Flies, White Limozeen and Slow Dancing With The Moon) that came out last week, an "eco-friendly" repackaging of her 20-song Ultimate Dolly Parton that hits stores this Tuesday, an "eco-friendly" repackaging of her 16 Biggest Hits that hits stores on March 24 and the re-issue of 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs with three confirmed bonus tracks on March 31.
'Very Best' Resurfaces Down Under Nearly two years after its release overseas, The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Vol. 1 re-enters the Australian top 20 country albums at No. 18, it was announced Sunday. The collection peaked at No. 3 Down Under when it first came out.
The next set of galleries from Dolly's Friday appearances at 
Your first photo gallery from Dolly's Friday appearances at 
Dolly is the cover girl for the May/June issue of AARP Magazine, which began hitting newsstands Tuesday. In the very entertaining and pretty in-depth interview available online 
Dolly is receiving her ninth award from the 
Those "in the know" tell me that you'd better get out early in the morning Monday if you want your Dolly rocking chair. 
Dolly took a break from rehearsals for her 
Canada's Sun newspapers over the weekend published a column which continued the promotion for next week's exclusive "Collector's Edition" release of 
The reason Dolly was in Atlanta, though, was to announce an expanded partnership with 
Sony is continuing its line of re-issuing Dolly repackages, announcing over the weekend the intention to re-release her sixth official career "best of/greatest hits" collection, I Will Always Love You And Other Greatest Hits, which came out on Columbia Records in 1996 and documented her nearly 10 years with that label. The re-issue hits stores April 7 and follows a series of other re-releases: 
