Dolly Parton News

Dolly appeared in Dandridge, Tennessee on Thursday in a special ceremony to celebrate a new commemorative coin and the release of the 90th eagle from the American Eagle Foundation, based out of her Dollywood themepark. In the the woods overlooking Douglas Lake, Dolly hiked up a mountain trail in her 4-inch heels as she joked, “Well, if you’re looking for my wilderness shoes, here they are!” Dolly named the bird Liberty before pulling the cord and setting it free, saying “I thought that sounded better than Baldy.” Video coverage of the event is available from WBIR. Read more about the ceremony from the Associated Press.

Dolly appeared live via satellite from Dollywood today to chat with Fox News about the park’s 23rd season, the new River Battle ride, her recent American Idol appearance, and 9 To 5: The Musical. During the second segment of the interview, Dolly got a surprise from the host when he revealed that Dolly’s 9 To 5 costar Lily Tomlin was on the phone listening in. The two chatted briefly about the upcoming musical before the host revealed another surprise to Dolly as he introduced Michael Johns, one of the final nine American Idol contestants that Dolly mentored last week who was just voted off on last night’s show. Check out both segments from Fox News:

Dolly made other appearances throughout Dollywood today to celebrate the park’s 2008 season. She first appeared at the park’s new River Battle water ride wearing a red leather raincoat saying, “I’ve threatened them about the water. Even though I’ve got my raincoat on, I’d just as soon not get wet cause I might fall apart!” Video from that event is available from the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Dolly then appeared at a new Mexican dance show in Dollywood before doing a brief parade through the park. Later that evening, Dolly appeared on top of a grass-covered float in her annual Dolly Parade down the Parkway in Pigeon Forge. Check out more coverage and a few photos from Dollymania. Fans who attended any of the events today are encouraged to write and send us photos!

An official website for Dolly’s upcoming 9 To 5 Broadway musical was just launched after Dolly’s recent House Of Blues appearance in Los Angeles. Fans can listen to Dolly read a letter about the upcoming musical, send a Dolly ecard to their friends, and will soon be able to watch video footage of Dolly performing at the House of Blues. 9 To 5: The Musical opens in Los Angeles on September 3rd and runs through October 19th before heading to Broadway in 2009. Group tickets for its Los Angeles run are currently available from Center Theatre Group with single tickets going on-sale to the general public on June 3rd.

Dolly’s musical also received a great deal of media attention following her House Of Blues appearance. Further coverage and photos from Dolly at the House Of Blues is available from Entertainment Weekly and Playbill. The Hollywood Reporter also has also posted video coverage of the House of Blues event:

Dolly Parton week continued tonight on American Idol with all of the Idol contestants beginning the show with a performance of Dolly’s “9 To 5″. Dolly later performed the brand new single from her Backwoods Barbie album, “Jesus & Gravity”, complete with a gospel choir and her full band. After the performance, Dolly joked with host Ryan Seacrest, saying “I’ve got Jesus and you’ve got Simon!” Then after a round of mixed performances on last night’s show, Ramiele Malubay was sent home with the other eight contestants heading on to the next round of competitions. All of last night’s live performances from the contestants, as well as full-length studio versions, are now available for download on iTunes.

The American Idol website has posted three interview clips with Dolly as she discusses working with all the Idol contestants, the making of her new Backwoods Barbie album, and writing all the music for her upcoming 9 To 5 Broadway musical. Here is the video from tonight’s performance:

American Idol kicked off Dolly Parton week tonight with a bang as each contestant took on some of Dolly’s biggest hit songs. The show began with an unfunny Ryan Seacrest making an April Fools Day joke followed by a brief but cute video segment highlighting Dolly’s vast career as a singer/songwriter followed by her singing “9 To 5″ at a piano with all the contestants. Most contestants gave decent, or as Simon Cowell would say, “unmemorable” performances of Dolly’s songs with a few notable exceptions: Michael Johns ended the show with an powerful rendition of “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right” to which all the judges loved. Carly Smithson gave “Here You Come Again” a more mellow yet emotional touch with mixed reviews from the judges. Jason Castro made a good song choice by picking Dolly’s Oscar-nominated “Travelin’ Thru” which fit his folksy singer/songwriter voice. But the performance of the night was David Archuleta as he belted out an emotional “Smoky Mountain Memories”, receiving high praise from the crowd and judges with Randy Jackson calling it the best performance of the night and Simon Cowell saying he was “absolutely on the money”. Here is the full list of tonight’s performances:

• Brooke White – “Jolene”
• David Cook – “Little Sparrow”
• Ramiele Malubay – “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind”
• Jason Castro – “Travelin’ Thru”
• Carly Smithson – “Here You Come Again”
• David Archuleta – “Smoky Mountain Memories”
• Kristy Lee Cook – “Coat Of Many Colors”
• Syesha Mercado – “I Will Always Love You”
• Michael Johns – “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right”

All performances from tonight’s show, both the live versions and full-length studio versions, will be available tomorrow for download on iTunes. Tune into American Idol’s live results show tomorrow night at 9 PM to watch Dolly perform her new single “Jesus & Gravity” from Backwoods Barbie. Here’s a clip from tonight’s show: