Nov. 30: Canadian 'Mom' DVD Hits U.S. 1-24 The Canadian indie film The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom, which had already been released north of the border on DVD, has secured its U.S. release date: Jan. 24 from Osiris Entertainment. Reserve your copy from Amazon.com here.
'Glee' Use Of Dolly Song Noted The appearance of Dolly's "Jolene" on Glee Tuesday night made country music blogs The Boothere and Taste of Countryhere.
Latest Aussie News Dolly's Better Day World Tour is about to wrap up its final leg with her last Australian concert Thursday in Melbourne. The Queensland Times on Tuesday profiled a fan here who won a Dollyite contest to meet her backstage.
Nov. 29: Adele Loves Her Some Dolly
"I f***ing love Dolly Parton!" British soul diva Adele confesses in her new concert DVD/CD Adele: Live at the Royal Albert Hall, which comes out Tuesday. In an exclusive clip from the DVD released by E! Online here, she gushed about a Dolly interview being a "really amazing read" that had her laughing hysterically and said she'd love to cover a Dolly song someday.
Dolly Loves Her Some Little Willies Dolly loves Norah Jones' cover of her classic "Jolene," recorded with her country side project The Little Willies. "I love hearing Norah Jones sing anything," she said. "But I was overjoyed and overwhelmed when I heard her sing my song 'Jolene.' I salute The Little Willies." Read more about the project from The San Francisco Examinerhere and order the set containing the track, For The Good Times, which comes out Jan. 10, here.
New Review From Down Under Posted Another review of Dolly's Brisbane, Australia, concert came out Monday, this one from The Morning Bulletinhere.
Library Expands In U.K. Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program has reached Wales, launching in the city of Cardiff, Wales Online reported here.
Nov. 28: 'Jolene' To Be Featured On 'Glee'
It took two and a half seasons, but Dolly finally has a song on FOX mega-hit musical Glee. It was announced that this week's episode, airing Tuesday night, will feature her classic "Jolene." The song is sung by the very masculine female coach of the school's football team, Coach Beiste, when she finds cheerleader coach Sue Sylvester attempting to steal the Ohio State football recruiter with whom she had her first date in the previous episode. She sings the song using an arrangement very close to Dolly's original 1973 instrumentation and only changing one lyric: the original "auburn hair" is changed to "golden hair" to match Sue. The character of Artie sings harmony vocals on the track, which his featured in the episode "I Kissed A Girl," consisting of several songs written by women for women such as Melissa Etheride's "I'm The Only One" and k.d. lang's "Constant Craving." Listen to the Glee cover in the media window above or by visiting YouTube here. The MP3 download will be available for purchase starting Dec. 6 from Amazon here.
'Better Day' No. 1 In Australia Dolly is wrapping up her Better Day World Tour with its Australian leg, and the concerts Down Under have pushed a second Dolly CD to the top spot on the Australian country albums chart this week. Her current studio collection Better Day leapfrogs five places to the top spot this week, its ninth on the charts there and besting its previous chart high of No. 5, while debuting on the 50-position pop albums list at No. 29. The title it replaces at the country peak, The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Volume 1, slips one to claim the No. 2 spot after one week at No. 1 and has marked 90 weeks on the country tally there since its 2007 release. That set also slides one to No. 4 in its 16th week on the pop catalog albums chart. The compilation The Essential Dolly Parton gets a second week in the country top 20, advancing one to No. 17. Half a world away in England, Better Day spends a fifth week at No. 3 on the British country albums chart in its 13th overall week there, while Dolly: Live From London rises three to No. 15 U.K. country compilations in its 89th chart week.
Dolly Updates Fans From Down Under
With the tour about to wrap up, Dolly on Saturday released a web blog video to update fans on what she's been up to Down Under. Watch it on YouTube in the media player above or by clicking here. The tour concludes with her added-on extra Sydney and Melbourne dates Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.
Nov. 26: Tour Down Under Continues
The Australian leg concluding Dolly's Better Day World Tour continues this weekend Down Under with three consecutive nights in Brisbane, the first of which brought four of five stars out of the reviewer for The Brisbane Timeshere after Friday's concert. Also, the tour's promoters there this week released a bonus 15th episode of their Dolly Tour TV web series streamable in the media player above or by visiting YouTube here.
Unreleased Dolly-Anderson Track Comes Out A "lost" demo recording of Dolly and Bill Anderson performing "If It's All The Same To You" in the mid-1960s has surfaced on a newly-released boxed set. Anderson cut the song shortly thereafter with his usual duet partner of the time, Jan Howard, taking it to No. 2 on the country chart in 1970. The Dolly version appears on the four-disc collection Bill Anderson: The First 10 Years: 1956-1966, which was released by German re-issue label Bear Family Records earlier this week and is available as an import from Amazon here.
Dolly Helps Grammy Charity Dolly has stepped up once again to assist the Grammy Foundation's MusicCares charity by donating an item for its annual auction, which started Friday. Her contribution is a framed and autographed vinyl album of her 1980 collection Dolly, Dolly, Dolly. The opening minimum bid is $100, and the auction concludes on Dec. 5. Check it out here.
Nov. 25: Thanksgiving Greetings From Down Under
Dolly Records on Thursday posted a Thanksgiving greetings video from Dolly in Australia on tour. Check it out in the media player above or by visiting YouTube here.
Holiday CD Continues Chart Rise It's still looking a lot like Christmas for Dolly and Kenny Rogers, as their duets album from 1984, Once Upon A Christmas, enters the top 10 country catalog albums chart this week and breaks the top 200 for the first time this year, the Dec. 3 Billboard numbers released Thursday showed. The collection rises four to No. 9 country catalog in its third chart week this year, 68th since release, and it re-enters the top 200 overall albums chart, snagging the No. 189 position for its first week this year and 10th week since its release. The album risks falling off the 50-position holiday albums list, though, slipping 10 digits to No. 49 in its sixth week on that chart this year, its 37th since release. (The updated Canadian charts were not available Thursday.) Elsewhere in the U.S., Kristen Chenoweth's Some Lessons Learned, featuring her version of Dolly's "Change" and a tribute number, "What Would Dolly Do?," falls off the country albums chart, down from No. 70 last week, its ninth. Chicago's O Christmas Three, featuring the Dolly duet "Wonderful Christmas Time," gains a dozen places to No. 35 independent label albums in its second week there. Rhonda Vincent's Taken, with a Dolly duet, re-enters the bluegrass albums tally at No. 8 for a 30th week. Overall, Scotty McCreery 's Clear As Day regains one to recapture the No. 1 country spot and No. 13 pop in its seventh chart week, while Lady Antebellum's Own The Night regains one to the No. 2 country spot and No. 16 pop in its 10th chart week.
Nov. 23: Reviewer: Concert DVD Coming Dolly's first of three Melbourne dates in Australia was recorded for a future DVD release, according to a review posted after Tuesday night's concert in a newspaper. The Sydney Morning Herald review, which gave 3.5 out of five stars here, noted: "Last night, Dolly Inc harnessed the 25 years Melbourne longed for her return to film her live DVD." The news has yet to be confirmed elsewhere. A review was also posted in The Herald Sunhere.
'Sacrifice' Makes CMT.com The music video for Dolly's new single, "The Sacrifice," was added to CMT.com's online streaming service Tuesday. Watch it here.
Band Perry Sings Dolly For The President The Band Perry chose Dolly's classic "I Will Always Love You" to perform before President Obama and the First Lady for the country episode of the PBS series In Performance at the White House. PBS has posted the performance (in which they nervously messed up the first verse) on YouTube here. The program airs at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Dollywood Takes Brass Rings Dollywood this week expanded its lead as the theme park with the most Brass Ring Awards from the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions, taking home two new trophies from the association's convention for a cumulative total of 20. The Gemtones won Best Atmosphere/Street Performance and Sha-Kon-O-Hey! Land of Blue Smoke, which closed last month after a three-year run, won Best Overall Production in the $400,001-$700,000 production budget category. "What better news to get when I'm half way around the world on tour in Australia than to find out that Dollywood's live entertainment won two more Brass Ring Awards from the fine folks at IAAPA," Dolly said in a press release. "It makes me proud to know that when folks come to Dollywood, we're giving them our best, and I truly appreciate such high praise from our industry."
Nov. 20: 'Joyful Noise' Track Listing Released The final track listing has been released for the soundtrack CD of the upcoming Dolly and Queen Latifah film Joyful Noise, confirming the tracks on which Dolly will perform. She is named as an artist on four songs of the 12-track release that hits stores Jan. 10, three days before the film opens in theatres. At least three of them are ones she composed for the picture: the Latifah duet "Not Enough (Love)," the Kris Kristofferson and Jeremy Jordan trio recording with her on "From Here To The Moon And Back" and the project's first single, "He's Everything" (which became available via Amazon's MP3 download service here over the weekend after a few weeks as an iTunes exclusive) with Latifah and Jordan as well as Keke Palmer, Andy Karl, and DeQuina Moore. Those same artists also join her and Angela Grovey on "Higher Melody." Thanks, Tony! According to Universal Music Christian Group/EMI Distribution, the complete track listing is as follows:
Not Enough (Love) - Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah
Man in the Mirror - Keke Palmer
In Love - Kirk Franklin
Maybe I'm Amazed - Jeremy Jordan and Keke Palmer
Fix Me, Jesus - Queen Latifah
From Here to the Moon and Back - Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson and Jeremy Jordan
I'm Yours - Keke Palmer and DeQuina Moore
Mighty High - Karen Peck
That's the Way God Planned It - Ivan Kelley feat. Our Lady of Perpetual Tears Choir
Higher Medley - Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan, Andy Karl, Angela Grovey, DeQuina Moore
He's Everything - Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan, Andy Karl and DeQuina Moore
Joyful Noise Suite - Mervyn Warren
Dolly Tops Aussie Chart The Australian leg of her Better Day World Tour has propelled Dolly to the top of the country chart Down Under, it was revealed in this week's tallies. Her 2007 compilation The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Volume 1 celebrates its 89th chart week there by taking the No. 1 country albums spot, advancing from No. 4 the previous week and besting its previous peak position of No. 3. The title also gets a 15th week on the pop catalog albums chart there, rising four to No. 3 for a new peak there as well. Also, her Better Day advances 11 places to No. 6, just shy of its previous peak at No. 5. In addition, the compilation The Essential Dolly Parton debuts on the top 20 country albums list at No. 18. On the other side of the world, former No. 1 Better Day spends a fourth week at No. 3 on the British country albums chart in its 12th overall week there, while Dolly: Live From London slips one to No. 18 U.K. country compilations in its 88th chart week.
More News From Australian Tour In additional news Down Under, the official website for Dolly Records, Dolly Parton Music.net, on Friday revealed that her 2009 concert DVD/CD combo, Dolly: Live From London, had gone gold in Australia. Although the notice did not state whether it was certified as an album or as a DVD, given the release's generally low sales, it was most likely certified as a DVD, which means 7,500 units sold. (By comparison, a gold album in Australia is 35,000 copies sold.) Dolly only has one gold album Down Under, 1980's 18 Greatest Hits, and the DVD Dolly Parton & Friends, featuring episodes from her 1970s variety show, went platinum there (15,000 copies) earlier this year. And her tour there continues, with a review from her sold out Hope Estate Winery shows here from The Herald and an audio report on the concerts from radio network ABC here. A story on those shows' opening act made The Heraldhere, a mixed review came from The Sydney Morning Herald on her first Sydney show here and SameSame recapped her Sydney press conference here.
S.D. Library Sends Out Millionth Book The Sioux Falls, S.D., affiliate of Dolly's Imagination Library literacy program has passed the 1 million book milestone since its launch there, TV station KELO reports here.
Nov. 18: 'Christmas' Still Selling Well Once Upon A Christmas, the 1984 holiday opus by Dolly with Kenny Rogers, continues its pre-Christmas climb up the charts in North America this week, gaining three to No. 13 in its second chart week this year on the country catalog albums tally, its 67th week since release on that list, although it slides 14 spots to No. 39 in its fifth week this year on the overall holiday albums chart, its 36th there since release, the Nov. 26 Billboard charts showed. Up north, the title holds steady at No. 6 country and advances nine to No. 52 pop in its second week on the Canadian charts this year. Elsewhere on the U.S. charts, Kristen Chenoweth's Some Lessons Learned, featuring a cover of Dolly's "Change" and the tribute "What Would Dolly Do?," drops 15 places to No. 70 country in its ninth week. Chicago's O Christmas Three, with a Dolly duet on "Wonderful Christmas Time," debuts on the 50-position independent label albums chart at No. 47. Overall, Miranda Lambert's Four The Record holds onto the No. 1 country spot and slides eight to No. 11 pop in its second week, while Scotty McCreery 's Clear As Day holds steady at No. 2 country but falls two to No. 14 pop in its sixth chart week.
Two More Concert Grosses Reported Two additional dates from Dolly's Better Day World Tour were reported to Billboard BoxScore this week, although they were several months apart but both in Texas. Her Oct. 7 Austin-area show at the Cedar Park Center ranked No. 180 on the week's list, bringing in a gross of $253,165 on Oct. 7 that opened the second American leg of the tour. More than 93 percent of the venue's 4,034 available seats were sold for the show. Her July 19 Dallas-area engagement at the Verizon Theatre, the second show of the tour's first American leg, ranked No. 183 with a gross of $244,775 and 97 percent of the venue's 3,923 available seats sold.
Nov. 16: Dolly Releases 'The Sacrifice' Video
Although a rough cut had previously been released, the official final video for Dolly's single "The Sacrifice" premiered on Extra Monday and was sent to music video channels on Tuesday. Watch it courtesy AOL in the media player above or by clicking here
Latest News From Down Under Coverage continues this week of the Australian leg of Dolly's Better Day World Tour. Reviews of her Sydney concert made Take 40here and The Sydney Morning Heraldhere. Her meeting Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese, who cleared the way for her bus to be allowed into the country, made The Daily Telegraphhere, and a story on a fan who plans to jump the stage at her Brisbane show appeared in The Courier and Mailhere.
Dolly Gets Firefox Cub In Her Honor Dolly had a famous cloned sheep named after her several years ago, and now she has a red panda cub. Software company Mozilla has adopted three red panda cubs at the Knoxville Zoo in honor of the seventh anniversary of launching its web browser Firefox (since another name for the red panda is the firefox). One of the pandas is named Dolly after Dolly Parton, while the other two are Bernadette and Winston, according to TomsHardwarehere.
In Memoriam: Phil Wells Phil Wells, webmaster of the former Dolly fan website Voice of an Angel, was shot and killed by his ex-boyfriend this week in Las Vegas. Wells was working at the time as a bartender at a gay nightclub in Las Vegas, where he had relocated from Knoxville. More details are available from the local media here. Our prayers and thoughts are with his friends and family members.
Nov. 14: British, Aussie Charts Updated Dolly's Better Day remains the third-best selling country title in the U.K. for a third week, its 11th in the top three since release overseas, this week's British country tally shows. On the British country compilation chart, Dolly: Live From London rises one to No. 17 in its 87th chart week. In Australia, Better Day re-enters the top 20 country albums tally at No. 17 for a seventh week Down Under, while The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Volume 1 gains three to No. 4 in its 88th chart week.
Australian Tour Gets Another Great Review Dolly's Better Day World Tour continued in Australia over the weekend with its second show Down Under, Saturday night in Adelaide. Check out a review from Adelaide Nowhere. Thanks to Chuck for a YouTube video of her Sydney press conference here. Also see a photo slideshow from The Examinerhere. The tour continues Tuesday with her first show in Sydney.
Nov. 12: 'Joyful Noise' Gets Website Dolly's upcoming film with Queen Latifah, Joyful Noise, debuted its official Warner Brothers website on Friday. Check it out here!
More From Tour Another recap of Dolly's Australian tour press conference came out Friday, with The Star Observerhere. Also, a story on the sound system used for the Better Day World Tour came out from Pro Sound Webhere.
Nov. 11: 'Christmas' Big In Canada Dolly's 1984 holiday collection with Kenny Rogers, Once Upon A Christmas, this week made its annual big return to the Canadian charts, re-entering the top 50 country list up north at No. 6 and the top 100 pop tally at No. 61 to mark its first appearance this holiday season on either chart. In the U.S., the Nov. 19 Billboard numbers showed the CD gaining three to No. 25 holiday albums, its 35th week on that chart and fourth week this year, while re-entering the 25-position country catalog albums chart at No. 16 to mark its 66th week there, its first this year. Elsewhere on the U,S, charts, Chicago's O Christmas Three, featuring a Dolly duet on "Wonderful Christmas Time," falls off the 50-position holiday albums chart, down from No. 20 the previous week, its fourth. Kristen Chenoweth's Some Lessons Learned, with her version of Dolly's "Change" and the song "What Would Dolly Do?," dips 23 spots to No. 55 country in its eighth week and falls back out of the top 200 pop albums list, down from No. 174 the previous week. while The Grascals' Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin, featuring three Dolly guest spots, falls back off the 15-position bluegrass albums tally, down from No. 13 the previous week, its 37th. Overall, Miranda Lambert's Four The Record debuts at No. 1 country and No. 3 pop, while Scotty McCreery 's Clear As Day holds steady at No. 2 country but loses five to No. 12 pop in its fifth chart week.
More News From Down Under Coverage of Dolly's Australian press conference to promote her Better Day World Tour there continued on Thursday with a story and video from News.com.auhere, a video from The Agehere and a story from The West Australianhere.
Nov. 10: Aussies Love Dolly On Tour Dolly is the toast of the country Down Under with the kick off of the Australian leg of her Better Day World Tour this week. She held a press conference in Sydney that was covered by The Daily Telegraphhere and Balmain Village Voicehere. And Tuesday night's tour opener in Perth snagged rave reviews from all media including The West Australianhere (which includes a sidebar here about a reader who won a contest to meet Dolly), The Agehere, The Australianhere and Perth Nowhere, plus a video report (using stock footage, not new shots from the concert) from Brisbane Timeshere. The tour next moves to Adelaide on Saturday.
Dolly, Boulay Duet Hits Web The new Dolly duet with Quebec singer Isabelle Boulay on a cover of her "True Blue," previously reported on here back in June, has been released. You may listen to the track via YouTube here or in the media player below, and you may advance order this month's release of the album containing the song, Les Grands Espaceshere.
Nov. 8: Aussie Tour Kicks Off
After temporarily removing it Sunday, Dolly's Australian promoter for her Better Day World Tour re-posted the final installment of its preview web series, viewable in the media player above and by visiting YouTube here. The final leg of the tour kicks off Down Under Tuesday night in Perth.
Pennsylvania Library Expands Dolly's Imagination Library has hit the Pittsburg, Pa., area, The Pittsburg Morning Sun reported here Monday, noting the early childhood literacy program has expanded in Crawford County.
Nov. 7: 'Better Day' Still In U.K. Top 3 Dolly's Better Day hangs on at the No. 3 British country albums chart position for a second week this week, its 10th on the U.K. chart. It spent eight weeks on the British pop albums list, peaking at No. 9 there, her second-ever pop top 10 there. On the British country compilation chart, Dolly: Live From London falls four to No. 18 in its 86th chart week. In Australia, Better Day falls back off the top 20 country albums tally, down from No. 13 the previous week, its sixth Down Under, while The Very Best Of Dolly Parton, Volume 1 gains one to No. 7 in its 87th chart week.
Dolly Heads Down Under Dolly's Better Day World Tour is readying the launch of its Australian leg, which kicks off Tuesday at the Burswood Dome in Perth. Perth Now reports here that her bus, which required several special variances to Aussie traffic laws to allow it to be used Down Under, has arrived at the venue. Thanks, Chris! The tour's promoters had on Sunday posted the final installment of their tour videos web series to YouTube but for some reason removed it by Sunday night.
Picture Could Have Been 'Educating Dolly' American producers originally wanted Dolly and Paul Newman to take the lead roles in the 1983 classic Michael Caine and Julie Waters picture Educating Rita, which earned Waters an Academy Award nomination, the actress told The Sunday Mercury Newshere.
'Hollywood' Headed To Indy The Indy Star over the weekend profiled the city's upcoming Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival, highlighting Friday night's line-up with the Dolly fan documentary Hollywood To Dollywood. Read more here.
Nov. 4: 'Better Day' Back Off Chart The chart return of Dolly's Better Day turned out to be short-lived, as it falls back off the U.S. tallies this week in the Nov. 12 numbers released Thursday, down from No. 50 the previous week, its 13th on the 75-position country albums chart. Chicago's O Christmas Three, with its Dolly duet on "Wonderful Christmas Time," loses nine spots to No. 20 holiday albums in its fourth week, while Once Upon A Christmas by Dolly and Kenny Rogers from 1984 holds steady at No. 28 holiday albums in its 34th week on that chart, its third week this year. Kristen Chenoweth's Some Lessons Learned, featuring her cover of Dolly's "Change" and her tribute number "What Would Dolly Do?," shoots up 39 places to No. 32 country in its seventh week and re-enters the top 200 pop albums list at No. 174. while The Grascals' Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin, with three Dolly guest spots, loses four to No. 13 bluegrass albums in its 37th chart week. Overall, Toby Keith's Clancy's Tavern debuts at No. 1 country and No. 5 pop with 69,000 copies sold in its first week, while Scotty McCreery 's Clear As Day slips one to No. 2 country and falls four to No. 7 pop with 42,000 units sold in its fourth chart week.
Manchester Show Grosses $1.1 Million Another Dolly concert made Billboard's Boxscore report this week of concert grosses, even though it's nearly two months old. Her Sept. 11 stop at the Evening News Arena in Manchester, England, was the 16th highest-grossing date on the list this week at $1.1 million with 90 percent of the venue's 12,202 available seats sold.
Nov. 3: Dollywood Puts Out Eagle Videos
Dollywood on Wednesday released new videos promoting the upcoming Wild Eagle ride – one showing the rider's point of view here and in the media player above, and the other combining it with exterior views here and in the media player below. The ride opens in March.
Nov. 2: 'ET' Talks With Dolly, Queen
Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday posted a brief interview with Dolly and Queen Latifah at the gospel festival on Friday talking about their upcoming film Joyful Noise. Watch it here or in the media player above.
Nov. 1: Twins' Dolly Doc Adds More Cities Hollywood To Dollywood, the documentary about two gay twins heading cross country in an RV named "Jolene" to meet Dolly (and featuring cameos by your webmaster, Chad Allen, Leslie Jordan, Dustin Lance Black and Beth Grant, among others), has added several screenings in coming weeks, the Lane Twins tell me. They will be in Chicago Nov. 9, the Indianapolis Gay and Lesbian Film Festival at 7 p.m. Nov. 11, the Quad Cinema in New York City Nov. 17, and Vegas Independent Film Festival in Las Vegas Nov. 18, all of which feature a Q&A with the guys after the screenings. In addition, they will appear on Rosie O'Donnell's new show Nov. 8 talking about the film and on Dr. Phil Nov. 11 promoting the opening of the Adam Sandler film Jack and Jill, in which they have roles. The Dolly documentary has received several film festival awards since its premiere a few months ago, most recently getting the Courage Award from the Offshoot Film Festival in Fayetteville, Ark.
The final track listing has been released for the soundtrack CD of the upcoming Dolly and Queen Latifah film