June 28: 'A Real Live Dolly' Heading To CD Sept. 1 The High Cotton imprint music label has announced it will give the 1970 RCA album A Real Live Dolly its first-ever general release on CD Sept. 1. The album, recorded live from Dolly's alma mater Sevier County High School, was previously only released on CD as a bonus item for those who ordered the 2009 Dolly boxed set directly from the record label, although Sony released it digitally for download in 2010 here. Amazon isn't taking orders yet for the Sept. 1 CD release but should be accepting them soon here. Thanks, Lee!
Feminism Seen Through Dolly's Music, Life British paper The Guardian this week republished part from a series of roots music journal No Depression focusing on the working class, this piece specifically examining feminism through the prism of Dolly's career. Check it out here.
Another Star Recalls Dolly Meeting KC of KC and the Sunshine Band has an all-time favorite photo of himself: standing next to Dolly on her 1976-77 TV show. Read the story behind it from The Expresshere.
Billboard Chart Updates Dolly's classic "Jolene" re-enters the Spotify Rewind 70s Chart at No. 2 on the July 8 Billboard tallies released Tuesday. Elsewhere on the lists, PTX Vol. IV: Classics, featuring Pentatonix's Grammy-award-winning collaboration with Dolly on a cover of her "Jolene," falls off the 100 current albums chart, down from No. 95 in its 10th week.
Dolly's Spiritual Side Profiled Dolly graces the cover of religious magazine Simple Grace this month, and a preview of the story is available online here.
Family Ties Highlighted Dolly's cousin Richie Owens talks about her and the music history of Bristol, Tenn., with The Herald Courierhere.
'9 To 5' Parody Lauded Seattle Gay News loved drag queens Peaches Christ, Heklina and Pandora Box in the spoof 9 To 5 Inches. Read more about the production here.
June 24: British Chart Updates The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe this week dips one on the British country compilation albums chart to No. 7 in its 41st chart week, it was announced Friday. On the same tally, Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) rises three to No. 12 and Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) loses one to No. 14.
Miley Says Dolly Haters Are 'Weird' Dolly goddaughter Miley Cyrus was interviewed this week on British network ITV program Lorraine and praised her as the greatest person in the world. She opined here: "If you don't like Dolly then you're weird. And if I'm telling you you're weird then there's something really wrong because I'm one of the weirdest people on the planet. No one doesn't like Dolly. I've had such a great role model as a musician but also as a person, she's the kindest of all."
Dolly Book Gets Noticed The recent book of curated Dolly interviews Dolly On Dolly is highlighted in an interview with editor Randy Schmidt about the project here.
Dolly's Library Hosts Conference Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program held its biennial conference in Pigeon Forge this week, bringing together folks from the U.S., Canada and Great Britain using the program to get books in the hands of kids birth to age 5. Knoxville's Local 8 Now News profiled the conference here.
Dolly Calls Nashville TV Anchor Dolly recently called in to Nashville TV station WSMV to congratulate one of their anchors on her 20th anniversary on the air. Watch the reaction here.
June 21: North Carolina Getting Statewide Dolly Library Thanks to $10.5 million appropriated over two years by the North Carolina General Assembly, the state is taking Dolly's Imagination Library early childhood literacy program statewide to all 100 counties, it was announced Tuesday. In a statement, Dolly said: "I'm so excited to join Smart Start to expand my Imagination Library across the state. Welcome aboard North Carolina – let's give these dreams some wings!" The funding, $3.5 million the first year and $7 million the second, will go to Smart Start, a network of 75 nonprofit partnerships aimed at helping children and families in the state. Dolly's program, which early next year will surpass 100 million books distributed to children worldwide, provides one expert-selected, age-appropriate book per month from birth to age 5 mailed directly to every enrolled child's home at no cost to the parents regardless of the family's income. Currently, more than 1 million children are enrolled in over 1,600 participating communities.
Dolly Named No. 8 Greatest Country Artist Rolling Stone recently released its list of the 100 greatest country artists of all time, placing Dolly at No. 8. (The Carter Family and Loretta Lynn were the only women ranking higher than her, while Merle Haggard took the No. 1 spot.) About Dolly, the magazine opined: "A global pop icon whose career as musician and actress transcends country, Parton is one of its greatest singer-songwriters, and her signatures – 'Jolene,' 'Coat of Many Colors' and the irrepressible 'I Will Always Love You' – are among the genre's defining classics. Her birdlike soprano has been the gold standard for countless singers, and her winking persona ('It costs a lot to look this cheap!') has made her a heroine of camp. But even with an empire that includes the Dollywood theme park, she's kept it real, with a string of fine 2000s bluegrass LPs joining a catalog of over 20 Number One hits." Read more here.
U.S. Chart Update The July 1 Billboard numbers released Tuesday see PTX Vol. IV: Classics, featuring Pentatonix's Grammy-award-winning collaboration with Dolly on a cover of her "Jolene," drop 11 places to No. 95 current albums in its 10th week and Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates 10 Years of The Story – An Album to Benefit War Child , the benefit album for War Child UK featuring Dolly's cover of "The Story" fall off the Americana/folk album sales chart from No. 8 in its fourth week, off the rock albums chart from No. 37 in its fourth week and off the compilation albums chart from No. 6 in its fifth week there.
'Coat' Debuts At Dollywood Check out a profile here from The Maryville Daily Times about the local girl playing little Dolly in Dollywood's summer production of Dolly's Coat Of Many Colors.
June 19: Overseas Chart Updates Across the pond, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe this week dips one on the British country compilation albums chart to No. 6 in its 40th chart week, it was announced Friday. On the same tally, Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) loses one to No. 15 and Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) slides two to No. 13. Down Under, My Dear Companion: Selections From The Trio Collection by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt falls out of the top 40 Australian country albums chart, down from No. 38 in its 39th week, it was revealed Sunday.
'Here You Come Again' History Mix Online's "Classic Track" this week is Dolly's crossover hit "Here You Come Again," which the recording engineer discusses in detail here.
Miley Sings Subway 'Jolene' Dolly goddaughter Miley Cyrus and Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon last week taped a segment for his show of the two busking in the subway performing Dolly's "Jolene" (and once they confirmed their identities for the crowd they also did Cyrus' "Party In The USA"). Watch here.
June 15: Classic Dolly 'Hee Haw' Released On DVD Time Life this week released a new collection of four Hee Haw episodes on DVD from 1969 to 1973 including one of Dolly's two appearances on the show: Episode 70, which features "Coat Of Many Colors" and the Porter Wagoner duet "The Right Combination." Get yours here!
June 14: Dolly Named 2017's No. 1 Paid Female Country Artist Thanks to a change in the methodology that, imagine that, just counts estimated pre-tax income for entertainers, Dolly makes the Forbes magazine list of the world's 100 highest-paid entertainers for the first time in her career, it was announced Tuesday. She ties Salman Khan, Neymar, Bill O'Reilly and Ed Sheeran at No. 71 with income of $37 million from June 1, 2016, through June 1, 2017. The publication noted most of her income came from last year's tour and Dollywood. The previous methodology used a complex formula that included social media rankings and magazine covers, both of which favored younger stars. The new cash-only list also saw first-time listings by fellow older artists Guns 'N' Roses and Billy Joel. Dolly ranked No. 13 of the just 16 women on the top 100 and No. 5 of the eight country performers on the tally after Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffett, Kenney Chesney and Luke Bryan, making her country's top earning female entertainer (Forbes classifies Taylor Swift as a pop performer instead of country). Although she didn't make 2016's top 100 worldwide list, the methodology change allowed her to debut last year at No. 13 top country music earners with an estimated $19 million income primarily from her business interests, mainly Dollywood, since her tour didn't start until after that year's cut-off date for the list, although it would have also included income from album sales and songwriting royalties. The 2017 number, by comparison, is almost twice that because it would include her income as performer, songwriter, publisher, producer, and record company owner for around 170,000 copies of the album Pure & Simple sold worldwide, her most successful North American tour of her career (the Pure & Simple Tour saw 387,000 fans and grossed $31.0 million to be country music's 10th biggest tour of the calendar year, and the entire thing happened within the 12 months used for this list, although artist income is usually only about half of the gross, which would be about $15.5 million in this case, so Forbes would have applied about $15 million or $16 million toward her $37 million total), plus a similar income as last year from Dollywood and her other business interests in the $20 million range. See the full list here.
Summer At Dollywood Debuts This Weekend Summer at Dollywood kicks off Saturday and continues through Aug. 6 with the debut of the kids' coaster Whistle Punk Chaser, the return of the "Gazillion Bubbles Show," two new shows at The Little Engine Playhouse (Dolly's Coat Of Many Colors and Pretend) and another year of the fireworks spectacular Dolly's Nights Of Many Colors at 9:30 p.m. each evening. Park hours are extended 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily with further extensions to midnight the nights of July 1 and 8. "Summer in the Great Smoky Mountains truly is something special," said Dolly in a press release. "When I was growing up, our entertainment was catching lightnin' bugs and looking up at the stars. We could only dream about what it would be like to take a family vacation together. We had heard about big rides and shows and festivals at places like the World's Fair, but we never dreamed that it could all be right here in the Smokies! Places like Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Dollywood are now everything we could imagine for a family vacation together."
U.S. Chart Updates The June 24 Billboard numbers released Tuesday see PTX Vol. IV: Classics, featuring Pentatonix's Grammy-award-winning collaboration with Dolly on a cover of her "Jolene," slide 11 places to No. 84 current albums in its ninth week and fall off the top 100 album sales chart, down from No. 98.
Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates 10 Years of The Story – An Album to Benefit War Child , the benefit album for War Child UK featuring Dolly's cover of "The Story" as its lead single, earns a fourth week on the Americana/folk album sales chart up eight to No. 8 and on the top rock albums chart up 10 to No. 37, also gaining nine to No. 6 compilation albums in its fifth chart week there.
Terminal Boy Sings With Skyped Dolly A Welsh little boy facing a fatal genetic disorder was treated with a Caribbean cruise thanks to a Make A Wish-type charity, complete with a Skype session with his idol, Dolly, that included a duet of "Jolene." Learn more here.
Our Lady J Talks Dolly Trans entertainer Our Lady J spoke with Deadline about working with TransParent and her relationship with Dolly here.
June 12: 'Closer' Releases Dolly Tribute Magazine Dolly fans will want to rush to newsstands to get a special collectors' edition magazine published last week by Closer Weekly in honor of the 50th anniversary of Dolly's first solo album and first country chart single. The 98-page magazine features interviews, more than 200 photos, career data, lists, quotes and more. Although there are a few mistakes (such as, for example, her list of No. 1 singles is missing her 1974 chart-topper with Porter Wagoner, "Please Don't Stop Loving Me," and her list of studio motion pictures omits 2002's Frank McKlusky, C.I., which had limited theatrical release in Florida for test audiences before being switched to direct-to-DVD), for the most part the publication seems to be accurate.
U.S., Overseas Chart Updates Down Under, My Dear Companion: Selections From The Trio Collection by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt slips eight to No. 38 on the Australian country albums chart in its 39th week, it was revealed Sunday. Across the pond, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe this week dips one on the British country compilation albums chart to No. 5 in its 39th chart week, it was announced Friday. On the same tally, Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) loses one to No. 14 and Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) slides one to No. 11. In the States, the June 17 Billboard tallies released Tuesday showed PTX Vol. IV: Classics, featuring Pentatonix's Grammy-award-winning collaboration with Dolly on a cover of her "Jolene," decreases 18 in its eighth week to No. 98 album sales and 10 to No. 73 current albums in its eighth week. Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates 10 Years of The Story – An Album to Benefit War Child , the benefit album for War Child UK featuring Dolly's cover of "The Story" as its lead single, re-enters the Americana/folk album sales chart at No. 16 and top rock albums chart at No. 47 for a third week on each, rising four to No. 15 compilation albums in its fourth chart week there.
Wildfires Update Story The AP took a look at the Great Smoky Mountains, and Dolly's influence, six months after the deadly wildfires ln a piece here.
Fans Petition Dollywood: Bring Dolly Back Some Dolly fans have started an online petition demanding Dollywood increase its use of Dolly's image throughout the park. They complain most Dolly merchandise and use of her music have been significantly reduced at the park in recent years, several attractions named after her history have closed, that her picture no longer appears in the park brochure, and that even Dolly Dollars were discontinued after 25 years (interestingly, Disney's theme parks also discontinued Disney Dollars last year after 30 years, so that could just be an industry trend). Check it out here.
Cracker Barrel Coverage The Brand Channel spoke with Cracker Barrel last week about its focus on music, including the recent Grammy-winning Dolly collaboration with Pentatonix. Read more here.
Norwegians Dance To 'Jolene' Last Tuesday's episode of The World Of Dance with Jennifer Lopez featured a trio of dancers from Norway who chose to perform to Dolly's original "Jolene." Watch it on YouTube here.
Dolly Calls Fans Back To Smokies Dolly also in recent days released a new Dollywood commercial encouraging visitors to return to the Smokies following last fall's wildfires because the area is still open for business. The park is promoting the spot with the hashtag #someplacespecial. Check it out here or in the media player below.
Graham Loves Dolly Talk show host Graham Norton was being interviewed in Ireland and was asked for his favorite all-time guest, The Huffington Post reports here. His answer: Dolly, who impressed him by hiding her microphone pack in her wig so that it doesn't add to her tiny waistline.
June 5: U.S., Overseas Chart Updates Down Under, My Dear Companion: Selections From The Trio Collection by Dolly, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt holds steady at No. 30 on the Australian country albums chart in its 38th week, it was revealed Sunday. Across the pond, The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe this week holds steady on the British country compilation albums chart at No. 4 in its 38th chart week, it was announced Friday. On the same tally, Emmylou Harris' Original Album Series: Volume 1 (with two Dolly covers, one track with Dolly harmony and one track with Trio harmony by Dolly and Linda Ronstadt) dips one to No. 13 and Ronstadt's Original Album Series (featuring one Dolly cover and one track with Dolly harmony) gains three to No. 10. In the States, Playlist: The Very Best Of Dolly Parton falls off the country catalog albums tally in the June 10 numbers Billboard announced Tuesday, falling from No. 22 in its third week on the chart. PTX Vol. IV: Classics, featuring Pentatonix's Grammy-award-winning collaboration with Dolly on a cover of her "Jolene," topples 33 in its seventh week to No. 80 album sales, 22 to No. 63 current albums and off the Hot 200 pop albums chart, down from No. 149. Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates 10 Years of The Story – An Album to Benefit War Child , the benefit album for War Child UK featuring Dolly's cover of "The Story" as its lead single, falls off Americana/folk album sales, down from No. 13, and top rock albums, down from No. 33, slipping 15 to No. 19 compilation albums in its third chart week.
'9 To 5' Heading Back To London Dolly's 9 To 5: The Musical is returning to London. The London Fringe will produce the show Aug. 30-Oct. 1 at Upstairs at the Gatehouse at Highgate Village, Broadway.com reports here.
Dolly fans will want to rush to newsstands to get a special collectors' edition magazine published last week by Closer Weekly in honor of the 50th anniversary of Dolly's first solo album and first country chart single. The 98-page magazine features interviews, more than 200 photos, career data, lists, quotes and more. Although there are a few mistakes (such as, for example, her list of No. 1 singles is missing her 1974 chart-topper with Porter Wagoner, "Please Don't Stop Loving Me," and her list of studio motion pictures omits 2002's