Sept. 28:
'Dolly & Friends' DVD Update
There may be a delay in the release of the upcoming 3-DVD collection Dolly Parton and Friends, Dollymania has learned. The title's distributor, MPI Home Video, on Thursday removed the collection from its listing of titles coming soon with specific release dates and placed it in a list of videos "in the works" with no set release dates. I have contacted the company for more details, but no response had been received by the time of this update. In addition, I have found some hints of what this collection may contain. Dollymania has confirmed that WPA Film Library, a subsidiary of the distributor's parent company, MPI Media Group, has the rights to and copies in its archives of at least seven episodes of Dolly's mid-1970s syndicated series Dolly as well as at least 176 episodes of The Porter Wagoner Show featuring Dolly from 1967 through 1974. Now, mind you, this is pure speculation on my part, but I would guess that either of those could be the source for at least some material on this collection. Yippee!

Albums Down Slightly
Little Sparrow moves down three spaces to No. 66 in its 35th chart week, according to the Oct. 6 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday. Also on this week's charts, the Songcatcher soundtrack, with the Dolly and Emmy Rossum duet "When Love Is New," falls nine notches to No. 69 on the country albums chart in its 14th chart week, while the Sweet November soundtrack, featuring Dolly on Paula Cole's "Heart Door," moves up three places to No. 16 for its eighth week on the soundtrack albums chart and shoots up 24 spots to No. 170 on the pop album chart for its 11th chart week.

Sept. 27:
'Shine' Steady
Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow remains in place at No. 4 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown for its 10th chart week, it was announced Wednesday. Remember to cast your vote daily for Dolly's video for "Shine" at CMT's Most Wanted Live here and on Great American Country's Top 15 Countdown here.

A Look Inside
Dollywood recently released the artist's rendering at left of what the interior of Dolly's new museum at the park, scheduled to open as part of the Adventures In Imagination expansion in April 2002. (I apologize for the delay in passing this photo on to you. The park did not include it with the original press release issued last week, and it was apparently posted over the weekend in a rather out-of-the-way area of their web site.) The $10 million addition will include the expanded Dolly museum, called "Chasing Rainbows," in addition to a new 4-D simulator ride, "Smoky Mountain Wilderness Tours," hosted by Dolly; an interactive toy store, a food location and the park headquarters for the Dollywood Foundation's Imagination Library program. As Dollymania was the first media outlet anywhere to report (see Sept. 15 news update), the new museum will feature interactive and behind-the-scenes collections, stories and memorabilia from Dolly's career.

Off In LA, On In Seattle
A Dollymania reader from the Los Angeles area forwarded to me the following response from PBS affiliate KCET over their second pre-empting of the scheduled broadcast of Dolly's appearance on Austin City Limits there earlier this month: "Currently 'Austin City Limit: Dolly Parton' does not appear on our broadcast schedule. However, KCET's programming is scheduled two months in advance and it is possible that a decision to air the program will be made at a later date. Your suggestion (and those of other viewers -- you're not the only one who requested this particular episode!) that we air this program has been forwarded to our Broadcasting Department for review. Continue to check your television listings, the KCET website or call our Member Services Department at (323) 953-5238." Those who haven't e-mailed them yet asking that they air the show, which was also pre-empted during its original April broadcast, may do so at viewerservices@kcet.org. Thanks, Richard! Seattle viewers, however, are luckier. Although its original airing was pre-empted, their PBS affiliate, KBTC 28, is scheduled to air the show at 10:30 p.m. local time Saturday, Oct. 6. Thanks, Ren!

Stella News
Dolly's sister Stella Parton will perform at the Christian Country Music Awards Nov. 1 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, according to Country.com.

Sept. 24:
Dollywood, England?
Could Dollywood be headed to England? Well, London's Sunday Times reported this weekend that Dolly has had associates scouting sites in the Midlands area of England as the possible location of her first expansion outside of the U.S. While the article claims they are considering locating an actual second Dollywood theme park there, the description of pig races and chicken chases seem to suggest it may be a Dixie Stampede dinner theater they are working on instead (although the story mis-identifies the chain as "Little Dollies" instead of Dixie Stampedes). Read the full story here.

'Sparrow' Holds Steady
Speaking of Great Britain, Little Sparrow remains steady at No. 7 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 35th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1 and reached No. 30 pop.

More Press
Dolly gets another mention of her induction earlier this year in the national Songwriters Hall of Fame with a photo from the event in the current issue of Country Music magazine. The photo at left notes: "In long overdue accolades, two of country music's most significant tunesmiths – Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton – were recently inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Emmylou Harris welcomed her Trio singing partner Parton, while Kermit the Frog ushered in the Red Headed Stranger." She's also shown in that issue of the magazine in a photo with Merle Haggard at the 1970 CMA Awards. Thanks, Mike!

Maybe Dolly Can Have Her Do Commercials
Miss Tennessee Stephanie Cublers of Knoxville, second runner up in the Miss America Pageant Saturday night, gave prominent mentions to Dollywood during an interview portion of the nationally televised program. She said how much she loved the park, for which she has season passes. The park's train was also pictured during her bio-clip during the show.

More TV!
Sunday night's special 50 Years of NBC Late Night Television featured many of Johnny Carson's best moments from three decades of hosting The Tonight Show, including his famous remark during a 1977 Dolly appearance that he'd give a year's salary to take a peak under her shirt.

Get Those 'Sweethearts'
Remember, Ralph Stanley's new CD Clinch Mountain Sweethearts, featuring a duet with Dolly on "Loving You Too Well," hits stores Tuesday. You may order a copy here!

Sept. 21:
Albums Down On Charts
Little Sparrow moves down one space to No. 63 in its 34th chart week, according to the Sept. 29 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday. Hal Ketchum's Lucky Man, with the great Dolly duet on "Two of The Lucky Ones," however, falls off the country chart's top 75 albums after just one week when it came in at No. 72. Also on this week's charts, the Songcatcher soundtrack, with the Dolly and Emmy Rossum duet "When Love Is New," falls five notches to No. 60 on the country albums chart in its 13th chart week, while the Sweet November soundtrack, featuring Dolly on Paula Cole's "Heart Door," drops two places to No. 19 for its seventh week on the soundtrack albums chart and re-enters the pop album charts after several weeks' absence, coming in at No. 194 for its 10th chart week. (And for those who may be wondering why there was no CMT chart update yesterday, the network did not update their chart from the previous week, apparently due to the circumstances following the terrorist attacks last week. Therefore, "Shine" remains at No. 4.)

CMT Buzz
I'm told Dolly showed up in a few places on CMT in recent days. First, Amber Mogg's News Break on Wednesday mentioned the expansions to Dollywood and Dolly's comments in the Knoxville News-Sentinel reacting to last week's attacks (see Sept. 17 Dollymania news update). On Most Wanted Live Wednesday, guest Sherrie Austin said Dolly was her favorite singer and that she just "died" when Dolly and Hal Ketchum recorded "Two of the Lucky Ones" (order here!), which Austin co-wrote (of course, Austin herself had minor chart success with her cover of Dolly's "Jolene" earlier this year on her Followin' A Feeling album). Also, I'm told that Jamie O'Neal appeared on the show a week or so ago and spoke of her adoration for Dolly, for whom her family band used to open on the road. (When Jamie appeared in the Country Music Magazine Star Stats column not too long ago, she said her favorite singers of all time were Dolly, Ronnie Millsap and Tina Turner!) Thanks, Mike!

PMS News
An interesting article Wednesday on the New Media Music site discussed the use of pre-menstrual syndrome in music, prompted by a song on the subject from Mary Jay Blige's new album. Of course, an entire paragraph was devoted to Dolly's "PMS Blues" from Heartsongs. The writer cited Dolly's graphic images (rhyming "dishes flyin'" with "can't stop cryin'" and "teeth a-clenchin'" with (my favorite) "fluid retention" . . . "nothin' fits me when it hits me") and said the song has become a popular karaoke track. Read the full story here.

Sept. 19:
Great Dollywood Photos Available
Frequent Dollymania contributor Debbie Poole was fortunate enough to catch most of Dolly's performances at Dollywood last week filming for Graham Norton's Christmas special for British television and is making her photos available for you to enjoy! For more images like the one at left, click here. Also, Dollymania reader Chris reports that he was lucky enough to be an extra on the set for filming at Dolly's Splash Country, where he was able to "save" Dolly from a waterfall and get a big hug and kiss. Thanks, Debbie and Chris!

CMT Contest
Because of Dolly's long history with the Grand Ole Opry, the good folks over at CMT asked me to pass along news of a special contest they have announced celebrating the move of the Opry broadcast from TNN to their network. A lucky winner will be flown into Nashville to attend the Opry Homecoming 2001 celebration. Entries must be received here by Sept. 30. (And speaking of the music channels, remember to cast your vote daily for Dolly's video for "Shine" at CMT's Most Wanted Live here and on Great American Country's Top 15 Countdown here.)

Sept. 18:
Great Dollywood, Graham Stories
The Mountain Press, a newspaper in the East Tennessee area, published two great stories Sunday on Dollywood's 2002 season expansion and Dolly's filming of the Graham Norton Christmas special last week. While many additional papers on Monday printed news on the "Adventures In Imagination" addition to the park, this was the only story other than Dollymania's which I have seen that wasn't simply the Associated Press version. On the park addition, the paper quoted public relations manager Pete Owens saying: "Imagination is one of the most important things. We wanted to give families another opportunity . . . to do things as a family." He added that the new Dolly museum will include many "stories that Dolly's really never told before" and that the 4-D simulator ride will be a "full sensory experience" complete with wind, smells and water. On the Graham Norton special, which Dolly filmed throughout last week and which will air in Britain during the holidays, they noted that Dolly gave a performance in which she lip-synched many of her hits for the show, and she and Graham float down a ride at Dolly's Splash Country singing "Islands In The Stream." A producer for the show also said Dolly "has been incredible. She's an international superstar, yet she is the nicest, sweetest" person. Read the full Dollywood story here and the Graham story here.

'ACL' Pre-Empted Again In LA
I'm told that KCET, the PBS affiliate in Los Angeles, again pre-empted Dolly's episode of Austin City Limits over the weekend in favor of a concert by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra in observance of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. So far, a make-up date for it to be aired has not been announced. The original airing earlier this year was pre-empted for fundraising programming for the station. If you would like to e-mail the station to encourage them to broadcast the show, their address is viewerservices@kcet.org. Thanks to all of you who alerted me to this!

Sept. 17:
Dolly Reacts To NY, DC Attacks; Films Norton Special
In an article in Saturday's Knoxville News-Sentinel, Dolly made her first public comments about last week's tragic attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., saying she was trying to remain positive in light of the horror. "It's hard," she told the newspaper. "That's when you really need to stay upbeat if you can . . . It's always good to help the other people that can't get up from this. I think everybody is dealing with this tragedy in their own kind of way, based on what they feel and what their own fears and insecurities are. I'm a very patriotic person, but I also know that when things are at their worst that I need to be at my best." She added that the events have led her to deal with her feelings through songwriting. "Everybody deals with this differently. I deal with it very internally," she explained. "I see how everybody else deals with it, and I am able to write about their emotions. It allows me a way to express (sorrow), not just for myself, but for the people who can't put (their emotions) into words. It's very strange and deep places where I am going." Dolly kept on a smile for her fans Friday, according to the article, as she performed songs for Graham Norton's Christmas television special with her which will air in Great Britain. She was also at the park this week taping the tour she gives visitors in the park's new mountain simulation ride which will open next year (see note below and story in Sept. 15 update). Norton himself said the events were "surreal," as news reports were being piped through the speakers at Dollywood instead of the usual music. "It was incredibly emotional there – really charged," Norton told the newspaper of his attendance of Tuesday night's show at Dolly's Dixie Stampede. "The performers on the horses were crying, and since then working has been OK. People needed a release from what was happening." The full article is available here.

'Sparrow' Up In England
Little Sparrow moves up two notches to No. 7 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 34th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1.

Dollywood News Printed All Over
Many major papers across the country on Sunday carried the news of Dollywood's 2002 $10 million expansion center, which will include a new Dolly museum, toy store and mountain tour simulation ride hosted by Dolly. The newspapers printed an Associated Press story which was released on the AP wire service Saturday afternoon which also noted the soon-to-be-constructed Dixie Stampede in Orlando. Of course, Dollymania was the first media outlet anywhere to publish the Dollywood announcement when it appeared on the news posting dated Saturday (uploaded Friday night).

Miss. Gets 'ACL'
Mississippi residents will get a second chance to see Dolly's performance from earlier this year on Austin City Limits when Mississippi Educational Television airs a repeat of the concert at 10 p.m. Central Sept. 29 (with another airing at 1 a.m. Sept. 30). As with the first time it aired here, it is to be broadcast two weeks later than in most other markets in the country. Also, as I reminded you when I mentioned the repeat of the show on most PBS stations over the weekend, check you local listings if it did not air Saturday night, because they may have it scheduled for a later date.

Sept. 15:
Dollywood 2002 Expansions Announced
Adventure will await visitors to Dollywood when its 17th season opens on April 6, 2002, it was announced Friday (artist's rendering at left). Next season's expansion will be Adventures in Imagination, a $10 million addition to the park which will feature an expanded Dolly museum, headquarters for the Dollywood Foundation's Imagination Library program and a 4-D simulator ride through the Smoky Mountains, among other things. The museum will be called "Chasing Rainbows" and feature interactive and behind-the-scenes collections, stories and memorabilia from Dolly's career. The ride, called Smoky Mountain Wilderness Tours, takes visitors on a thrill-filled journey through the mountains with Dolly as their guide. There will also be an interactive toy store and a new food location. Dolly was scheduled to be on hand Wednesday to announce these expansions in person, but that press conference was canceled due to the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Instead, the announcement was made in writing on Friday.

Get In The Spirit
Students at Dolly's alma mater, Sevier County High School in Sevierville, were greeted Thursday with cheers, waves and honks of support as they posted more than 100 American flags along Dolly Parton Parkway near the school's entrance as a show of solidarity and remembrance in the wake of the horrible events on Tuesday, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported Friday. Editor's Note: The United Way of New York City and the area's community foundation, The New York Community Trust, have established The September 11th Fund to offer support to the victims and rescue workers in these tragic events. Donors may specify to which affected city their contributions are sent. Secure online donations may be made at the United Way of New York City's web site at http://www.uwnyc.org. Thank you to all who help!

'Women' Soundtrack Drops Oct. 1
The soundtrack for the Elton John-produced film Women Talking Dirty, which is reportedly slated to include several songs performed by Dolly which she and Elton co-wrote as well as a dance version of "Jolene," will hit stores in the U.K. on Oct. 1, it has been announced. The film, which features a fictional nightclub dedicated to Dolly, is slated for release in the U.K. on Sept. 28. No final track listing has been released, and there are not any U.S. music outlets currently offering the title for advance order to my knowledge. As soon as more information is available, you will find it here.

Sept. 14:
'Sparrow,' 'Songcatcher' still on chart, 'Lucky' debuts
Little Sparrow moves down five spaces to No. 63 in its 33rd chart week, according to the Sept. 22 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday. Hal Ketchum's Lucky Man, with the great Dolly duet on "Two of The Lucky Ones," debuts on the country albums chart at No. 72. Also on this week's charts, the Songcatcher soundtrack, with the Dolly and Emmy Rossum duet "When Love Is New," falls two notches to No. 55 on the country albums chart in its 12th chart week, and the Sweet November soundtrack, featuring Dolly on Paula Cole's "Heart Door," inches up one place to No. 17 for its sixth week on the soundtrack albums chart.

Better Check Those Facts
An article in the Sept. 17 issue of Newsweek profiles Reba McEntire, saying with 42 million records sold and "31 chart-topping hits" she is "the most successful female country singer in history." Well, hold on, that's just not right. Dolly is undeniably the most successful female country singer in history. Her official sales figures are in excess of 50 million records, more than Reba, and she has had 24 No. 1 singles on the country charts, according to Billboard, the industry standard. The only other female performer to have that many No. 1 singles on any chart in any genre is Madonna, with 25 No. 1 singles on the dance sales chart. (I don't know where the article's author got the figure of 31 "chart-toppers," as Billboard records only 21 No. 1 singles for Reba, who has only released about 50 career singles.) Of course, Dolly also has a total of 56 top 10 country hits and 99 country chart singles. And she is tied with Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn for having more full-length albums enter the country charts' top 10 than any other artists in history – 39. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Reba! She is my second-favorite all-time performer. However, the facts show that Reba's own musical hero, Dolly, is the most successful female country singer in history, not Reba.

Sept. 13:
'Shine' Enters Top 5
Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow shoots up two more places to No. 4 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown for its ninth chart week, it was announced Wednesday.

Sept. 12:
More 'Julia' Information
I scoured the web for some additional information on Miss Julie Speaks Her Mind, and here's what I found. Author Anne B. Ross' publicist and publisher have for the past few weeks mentioned in their materials that Shirley MacLaine and Dolly will star in a film adaptation of the book. Producer Chris Knight of The Knight Company in Los Angeles has optioned the film rights to star Dolly and Shirley. Kerry Kennedy, who co-wrote the award-winning script for the recent TNT film Baby, has signed on to write the screenplay. The book centers around Miss Julia, a proper steel magnolia in the mid-to-late years of life who speaks her mind (sounds a lot like Shirley's character in Steel Magnolias) in the small fictional town of Abbotsville, N.C. Her life is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a close "friend" of her deceased husband. This "friend," Hazel Marie, arrives with "heels too high, a dress too short, and hair too yellow" (sounds like Dolly's image, doesn't it). She brings with her adventure and a 9-year-old little boy. Of course, Shirley MacLaine is reportedly signed on to play Julia with Dolly as Hazel Marie.

Dollywood Events Canceled
Several media events scheduled for today (Wednesday) at Dollywood have been canceled in response to the tragic events in New York and Washington, it was announced Tuesday. Instead of a press conference, items which were to be discussed will be mailed out to the media. On the agenda was scheduled to be announcements of the 2002 season additions to the park, among other things. No word yet on what impact this may have on the Graham Norton special, which had reportedly been scheduled for taping this week. In a brief statement issued by Dollywood on Tuesday, officials said: "The Dollywood Company joins all Americans in prayer for the victims, their families, the civil and military authorities, and our nation's leaders during this most difficult time." Our prayers join theirs in this time of national trial.

Stampeding Into Orlando
The business section of the Orlando Sentinel on Tuesday had a great article on Dolly's Dixie Stampede coming to town. The story noted that the $25 million dinner theater, the fourth in Dolly's chain dinner theaters, will be located on a 14-acre site off Interstate 4 at 7950 Vineland Avenue. The 128,000-square-foot center will open in November 2002 and seat 1,200 patrons to be the largest of the Dixie Stampedes. You may recall as was reported on Dollymania that local zoning officials shot down the Stampede last year, fearing its location could not handle the traffic it was expected to generate. Late last year, land in a less congested area was purchased to accommodate those concerns. Dolly told the newspaper: "Orlando has five times more visitors than we have in east Tennessee. So we expect to do really well. Families seem to love the show." She added, "We're not going to be competing with Disney." Read the full article here.

Sept. 10:
Dolly Movie News
A book review in the Dallas Morning News I came across Monday caught my attention with news of an upcoming Dolly film. The review of Miss Julia Takes Over, the sequel to Anne B. Ross' book Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind, noted that the original book is soon to be filmed as a movie starring Dolly and Steel Magnolias co-star Shirley MacLaine. You may recall that a while back Dolly mentioned in an interview that she was in the planning stages for a new film project with Shirley but couldn't release any details yet, so I assume this is it. More details as soon as they become available.

Hope For Dolly On Satellite Radio
An article in Sunday's Washington Post concerning the XM Satellite Radio Service which will begin operating on Wednesday had one radio personality affiliated with the service lamenting that Dolly isn't on radio. "Of all the country music stations in the land, relatively few will play a good Dolly Parton song," Jessie Scott complained. "The Garth Brooks-Shania Twain axis of popular country has all but eclipsed old favorites, even when those old favorites are still creating good new music." It notes that she began her show on the X Country channel of XM with the Trio's "I Feel The Blues Movin' In." "A lot of people don't know that Emmylou, Dolly and Linda put a record out a couple years back. Most country stations just won't touch it," she added. Read the full article here.

Sept. 10:
Dolly Comes Home
Sources in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., tell me Dolly will be at Dollywood, Dolly's Splash Country and the Dixie Stampede this week to film commercials for them and to tape the interview special with Graham Norton scheduled to air on British television at Christmas (see Sept. 3 news report). A performance by Dolly is also expected to take place on Wednesday, possibly for filming the special. I'm also told that Mr. Norton himself made a visit to Dixie Stampede last week. More information will be passed along as it comes available to me. Thanks!

'Sparrow' Down A Point
Little Sparrow drops one space to No. 9 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 33rd chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1.

Puzzled? Try This!
Hobby programmer Bob Seguin has developed a great puzzle featuring Dolly and is making it available exclusively through Dollymania. Dolly's smiling face is jumbled into squares, and you click on each square to put her back together in the right order. Simply click here for instructions to download the file Thanks, Bob!

Sept. 8:
More Praise For 'Sparrow'
It's been nearly eight months since Little Sparrow hit stores, but Scott Morris, entertainment writer at Tupelo's Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, just got a copy of the CD and raved about it in Friday's paper. He starts off recalling how personable she was when he interviewed her last year at her Stars Over Mississippi benefit performance and then gets into the new CD, noting, in part: "One listen to her version of Cole Porter's 'I Get a Kick Out of You,' and you realize just how amazing Dolly is. With help from an all-star bluegrass lineup, Dolly clearly has fun adding her Southern twang to the Broadway classic. A couple of rock 'n' roll tunes get the same treatment. She turns Collective Soul's 'Shine' into a gospel song fit for Sunday morning, while her take on the Eagles' 'Seven Bridges Road' features beautiful harmonies with backup vocalists Sonya Isaacs and Becky Isaacs Bowman." He adds, "If you've ever been a Dolly fan, this will be a great addition to your CD collection. I expect to get years of enjoyment from my copy." The full article is available here.

LA Gets 'ACL'
Asking Los Angeles-area fans to e-mail KCET a little over a month ago has apparently made a difference! The PBS station has reversed its earlier decision not to air the repeat of Dolly's appearance on Austin City Limits, I'm told. The show is now scheduled to air Sunday, Sept. 16, at 11 p.m. (Pacific time). The station had pre-empted the original airing of the show in April and had no plans to broadcast the repeat this month before Dollymania readers were asked to request it. I'd suggest anyone who e-mailed asking them to play the show now send a nice note of thanks to viewerservices@kcet.org. Thanks, Greg!

Get 'Joshua' On CD
Reserve your copy the new British release of Joshua/Coat of Many Colors. While Coat has been re-issued stateside by BMG affiliate Buddha Records, this marks the first time her 1971 classic Joshua has been available on CD. Get your copy here!

Get 'Lucky'
My copy of Hal Ketchum's new CD, Lucky Man, arrived on Friday, and I can tell you that you need to get this one! His duet with Dolly on "Two of the Lucky Ones," a tune written by Will Rambeaux, Sherrie Austin and Jon Davis, is amazing. Their voices blend well together, and it is a beautiful, very adult contemporary, song (rather reminiscent of the style of duets she's recorded with Julio Iglesias and James Ingram). The only thing which detracts from this recording is that the instrumentation on the chorus is a little too loud, in my opinion. Get your copy here.

Sept. 7:
'Sparrow' Still In Top 60, Passes 150,000
Little Sparrow moves down two spaces to No. 57 in its 32nd chart week, according to the Sept. 15 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday. For those of you who wonder about sales figures, the CD has sold about 153,000 copies since its January release (compared to nearly 154,000 copies of The Grass Is Blue since its release two years ago). Thanks, Jennifer! As projected on Dollymania at the beginning of August, Sparrow passed the 150,000 milestone before the end of that month, and I will now predict that it should surpass the sales of the Grammy-winning Blue early next week. Also on this week's charts, the Songcatcher soundtrack, with the Dolly and Emmy Rossum duet "When Love Is New," falls four notches to No. 53 on the country albums chart in its 11th chart week. Also, the Sweet November soundtrack, featuring Dolly on Paula Cole's "Heart Door," drops one place to No. 18 for its fifth week on the soundtrack albums chart.

Sept. 6:
'Shine' Moves Up Chart, Enters 'H.R.'
Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow shoots up three more places to No. 6 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown for its eighth chart week, it was announced Wednesday. In addition, the video officially entered the network's "Heavy Rotation" list on Wednesday. Although it has been in what most would consider heavy rotation on CMT for the past several weeks, the video this week was added to the official list of the seven videos which will be scheduled for airing more than any others on the channel. Remember to keep voting on Most Wanted Live here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here.

BBC Show Coming To America
Those of you who are lucky enough to subscribe to cable systems which carry BBC America will have the opportunity this season to see legendary British talk show host Michael Parkinson interview Dolly, according to the fall TV preview in next week's TV Guide. Although no exact date for Dolly's appearance is given, it is scheduled to air in the U.S. during the new season, which starts at 7 p.m. Eastern Nov. 17. Dolly's interview aired in the U.K. in mid-February as a part of her British media tour to promote Little Sparrow.

'Lucky' Press
Dolly has been getting quite a few mentions in the press this week with the release of Hal Ketchum's new CD, Lucky Man, on which the two duet on the song "Two Of The Lucky Ones." USA Today on Tuesday raved over the CD, noting, "Dolly Parton stops by on Two of the Lucky Ones for a surprising duet." The Curb Records release hit stores on Tuesday, and you can order a copy here.

Dolly Says No To Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Enquirer on Monday reported that Tony Orlando will lead what is billed as the World's Largest Chicken Dance and Kazoo Band at the 25th Annual Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati on Sept. 15 after Dolly turned down an invitation to head up this year's event. A massive letter-writing campaign, "Good Golly! We Want Dolly!", was started by radio station WLW and the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce to lure Dolly to the city, even garnering an official invitation passed by the City Council.

Sept. 3:
'Sparrow' Still Steady
Little Sparrow remains steady at No. 8 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 32nd chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1.

Dolly Doing U.K. Special
And speaking of England, a gay-themed British news site on Friday reprinted a Teletext story announcing that Dolly will film a 60-minute special for Channel 4 in the U.K. The special Graham Goes To Dollywood will feature an interview and performances (reportedly to include "Jolene," "9 to 5" and "Islands In The Stream) by Dolly and will be filmed at the theme park. It will be hosted by Graham Norton, the star of the British television show So . . . Graham Norton, on which Dolly appeared earlier this year to promote Little Sparrow. The story noted that Dolly agreed to the special, set to air at Christmas, after having such a great time on Norton's show (a recap of which was provided on Dollymania in the March 2 news report). The full story is here.

Bluegrass Charts Updated
The September issue of Bluegrass Unlimited has hit newsstands, and Dolly is still doing well on their monthly bluegrass charts. On the album side, Little Sparrow falls one place to No. 3 in its sixth chart month. Dolly has four songs from the CD on their singles chart: "Marry Me," up two spots to No. 2 in its sixth month; "Seven Bridges Road," up two notches to No. 7 in its sixth month; "Bluer Pastures," steady at No. 12 for its fifth month; and "Little Sparrow," down five places to No. 21 in its fifth month. Thanks, Tony!

'Shine' On CMT Labor Day Countdown
Thanks to your votes, Dolly's video for "Shine" made it into the top 50 on CMT's annual Labor Day weekend Top 100 videos of all time countdown, coming in at No. 49. Thanks to all who voted! And remember, cast your votes for the video daily on CMT's Most Wanted Live here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here. The video is currently No. 9 on CMT's weekly video countdown.

Maybe It Can Be The Winter White House
Mike Lucovitch's political cartoon in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Friday featured President Bush returning to the White House from his vacation in Texas and telling advisors it's time to get back to real business: planning his next vacation! Among the three possible locales on Bush's fictitious vacation planner was Dollywood. Thanks, Stephen!

A 'Lucky' CD
Remember Hal Ketchum's new CD Lucky Man, featuring a duet with Dolly on "Two Of The Lucky Ones," hits stores Tuesday after several changes in its release date. Get you copy here!