Spotlight On Dolly Parton
Dolly
will debut "Pure and Simple" at the Ryman Auditorium in
Nashville.
After selling out Nashville's historic Ryman
Auditorium in record-setting time, Dolly adds a second benefit
concert on Saturday, August 1, 2015. In addition to the sold-out
performance on July 31, 2015, Dolly will showcase her new concert
"Pure and Simple" again on August 1, 2015 in support of the Opry
Trust Fund. The July 31 show along with the encore performance on
August 1 mark the first time in 12 years Dolly has headlined in
Nashville.
Dolly said, "The show won't be flashy, but I will be. I
don't have ... video screens, pyrotechnics and the like," she said.
"But I hope people will enjoy sittin' back and enjoying the stories
and songs told and done in a simple way. Hopefully the shows will
represent the spirit of our beloved, historic Ryman Auditorium, the
original home of the Grand Ole Opry...where I became a member back
in 1969. I am so looking forward to performing there again."
In 1965, the Grand Ole Opry celebrated its 40th birthday and
started the Opry Trust Fund as a way of helping those in the country
music industry. To date, the fund has distributed over $2 million to
those in need.
Dolly originally announced one scheduled performance for July 31,
2015, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN, as part of
The Gift of Music presented by the Dustin J. Wells Foundation. The
foundation supports the W.O. Smith School of Music in its efforts to
share the gift of music with children. Dolly said,
"Through all of us working together we can make a difference in
helping a child feel the magic in making music."
In addition to Dolly's "Pure and Simple" performance at the
Ryman, to kick off Dollywood's "Showcase of Stars" this summer,
Dolly will bring her "Pure and Simple," concert to Dollywood on
August 8 and 9. As part of their ongoing commitment to Dolly's
Imagination Library, Dollywood is donating all proceeds to the
program in an effort to help garner $1 million. Dolly
said,
"I am so excited that Dollywood is bringing back the celebrity
concert series, and I'm honored that I get to be first. It's always
great to play in my own backyard and I know all of my country music
friends who are coming to do their concerts will love it as much as
I do. So look for my show 'Pure and Simple' in August and help
support my Imagination Library."
2015 marks the 20th anniversary of Dolly Parton's Imagination
Library and that's cause for celebration! Since launching in 1995,
Dolly's book gifting program, which once mailed just a few hundred
books each month, now mails more than 800,000 free books to children
in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, every
month!
"Pure and Simple"
The new show featuring Dolly with a three-piece acoustic band.
The simple style spotlights the purity and heartfelt emotion of
Dolly's music in an up-close and personal setting.
"Showcase of Stars"
Dollywood's popular concert series first began in 1988 in the
newly opened 1,739-seat D.P.'s Celebrity Theater. It featured
performances by the biggest names in country music. In addition to
Dolly's 2015 performances, Kenny Rogers will close out the series.
More entertainers will be announced throughout the summer.
Concert: Pure and Simple 07/31/15 Nashville,
TN Ryman Auditorium Time: 8:00pm. Box office: (615)
889-3060. Address: 116 Fifth Avenue North. Venue phone: (615)
889-3060. SOLD OUT
08/01/15 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium Time:
8:00pm. Admission: $100. Box office: (615) 889-3060. Address: 116
Fifth Avenue North. Venue phone: (615) 889-3060. *Tickets go
on sale 10 a.m. Thursday, July 2 , 2015
More on Dolly
The most honored female country performer of all time.
"I've always been a writer. My songs are the door to every dream
I've ever had and every success I've ever achieved," says Dolly
Parton of her incredible career, which has spanned nearly five
decades and is showing no signs of slowing down.
An internationally renowned superstar, the iconic and
irrepressible Parton has contributed countless treasures to the
world of music entertainment, penning classic songs such as
"Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors," and her mega-hit "I Will Always
Love You." With 1977's crossover hit "Here You Come Again," she
successfully erased the line between country and pop music without
noticeably altering either her music or her image. "I'm not leaving
country," she said at the time, "I'm just taking it with me."
Making her film debut in the 1980 hit comedy 9 to 5, Dolly earned
rave reviews for her performance and an Oscar nomination for writing
the title tune, along with her second and third Grammy Awards. Roles
in Steel Magnolias, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, and
Straight Talk followed, along with two network television series,
made for television movies, network and HBO specials, and
guest-starring roles in series television. In 2006, Dolly earned her
second Oscar nomination for "Travelin' Thru," which she wrote for
the film Transamerica.
Humble Beginnings
Dolly Parton's remarkable life began very humbly. Born January
19, 1946 on a farm in Sevier County, Tennessee, Dolly is the fourth
of twelve children. Her parents, Robert Lee and Avie Lee Parton
struggled to make ends meet in the impoverished East Tennessee
hills. This hard rural life was the foundation of Dolly's career, as
she began singing almost before she could talk, according to her
father. By age 10, Dolly was performing on local television and
radio shows in nearby Knoxville, Tennessee. "I always wanted to be a
star. It just seemed natural to me," she said. "Making music is all
I've ever known."
Dolly left for Nashville the day after her high school
graduation. On her first afternoon there, she met a young man, Carl
Dean, who would become her husband. Two years later, in May 1966,
they were married. "He's good for me, cause he's so different in
nature from me," she smiles.
Blossoming
Artist
In 1967, Dolly's career took off when country music superstar
Porter Wagoner began featuring her on his popular syndicated
television show, exposing Dolly to over 45 million people in more
than 100 markets and attracting the attention of record executives
at RCA. Dolly and Porter had 14 Top Ten hits together, and Dolly
quickly blossomed into one of the best-selling country artists in
music history. By 1974, Dolly ended her working relationship with
Wagoner. She was voted the Country Music Association Female Artist
of the Year two years in a row, and in 1978, Dolly was named the CMA
Entertainer of the Year.
In 1974, "I Will Always Love You" topped the charts and did so
again in 1982 when it was revived in the movie Best Little
Whorehouse in Texas, making Dolly the first artist to earn a number
one record twice with the same song. In 1992, the song was recorded
by Whitney Houston for the movie The Bodyguard and went on to sell
in excess of 4 million copies, topping the charts once again. "I
Will Always Love You" was named BMI's Most Performed Song of the
Year in 1993.
Dollywood
Dolly saw a cherished dream become a reality in 1986 with the
opening of her own theme park called Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge,
Tennessee, at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains. The state's
number one tourist attraction, Dollywood was selected by the theme
park industry as one of the top three theme parks in the world in
2006.
In 1988, she began the Dollywood Foundation to inspire children
in her home community to dream more, learn more, do more and care
more. Currently the foundation funds the Dolly Parton Imagination
Library across America and in Canada, by giving every preschool
child a book each month from the time he or she is born until the
child reaches kindergarten. With the help of local sponsors, this
program has expanded to over 800 communities in 41 states and will
give away over 5 million books in 2007 alone. Dolly says, "My dad
was prouder of me for this program than for my music career. He
thought it was grand that all the kids called me the Book Lady."
Also in 1988, Dolly founded a group of dinner attractions called
Dixie Stampede. In 2001, she built Dollywood's Splash Country, which
is Tennessee's largest water park. Dolly Parton's entertainment
businesses attract 4.5 million visitors annually and employ more
than 3,000 people.
Long respected for her instinctive business savvy, Dolly
established Velvet Apple Music (BMI) early in her career and owns
the copyrights and the publishing for her vast songwriting empire.
She owns her own successful record label, Dolly Records.
Dolly Parton transitioned her flair for making hit music into
producing hit movies and television shows when she established
Sandollar Productions with former manager, Sandy Gallin. A film and
television production company, Sandollar has produced feature films
such as Father of the Bride I and II, Straight Talk, Sabrina,
Shining Through, IQ, and the Academy Award-winning (for Best
Documentary) Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, along with Fox
television shows Babes and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Her 1994 autobiography was aptly titled "My Life and Other
Unfinished Business."
Dolly Parton is the most honored female country performer of all
time. Achieving 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum
awards, she has had 25 songs reach number 1 on the Billboard Country
charts, a record for a female artist. She has 41 career top 10
country albums, a record for any artist, and she has 110 career
charted singles over the past 40 years. All-inclusive sales of
singles, albums, hits collections, paid digital downloads and
compilation usage during her Hall of Fame career have reportedly
topped a staggering 100 million records world-wide.
She has garnered 7 Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association
Awards, 5 Academy of Country Music Awards, 3 American Music Awards
and is one of only five female artists to win the Country Music
Association's Entertainer of the Year Award.
In 1999, Dolly Parton was inducted as a member of the Country
Music Hall of Fame. She has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame and became a member of the National Academy of Popular Music
Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. Broadcast Music, Inc. honored
Dolly with their Icon Award in 2003, and in 2004, the U.S. Library
of Congress presented her with their Living Legend Award for her
contribution to the cultural heritage of the United States. This was
followed in 2005 with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor
given by the U.S. government for excellence in the arts.
In December, 2006 Dolly was honored by the Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts for her lifetime of contributions to the arts. In
June 2007 Dolly was named the recipient of the prestigious Johnny
Mercer Award from the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. The Johnny Mercer
Award is exclusively reserved for a songwriter who has already been
inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in a prior year, and
whose body of work is of such high quality and impact, that it
upholds the gold standard set by the legendary Johnny Mercer.
Yet with all of the national and international recognition given
her, Dolly Parton calls the bronze statue of her, which stands on
the courthouse lawn in her hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee, her
"greatest honor, because it came from the people who know me."
Dolly Parton Presents A Kansas Teacher
With The 2015 Chasing Rainbows Award |
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Dolly Parton Presents A Kansas Teacher With The 2015
Chasing Rainbows Award
Pigeon Forge, Tenn. (June 23, 2015) - Dyane Smokorowski was named
the 14th recipient of the Chasing Rainbows Award. She enjoyed a
weekend trip to Dollywood where Dolly herself presented Dyane with
the award. Each year, the National Network of State Teachers of the
Year (NNSTOY) honors one outstanding educator with this prestigious
award. The honoree is someone who "has overcome great obstacles in
his or her life, has captured the rainbow and is helping children."
This year's winner serves as the Instructional Technology Coach for
Andover Public Schools in Andover, KS. Smokorowski
said, "It is difficult to admit that my personal struggles actually
prepared me to be a stronger person today. I wanted to be someone
who could inspire others to reach beyond their environments, beyond
their extremities, and to do as I have always done - to dream
big!" In 2002, Dolly became the first to receive this
award from the NNSTOY. The award celebrated her commitment to
fostering a love of reading among children through her Imagination
Library. Since then, Dolly has presented the award each
year. Dyane Smokorowski's name will be added, along
with past recipients, to the award displayed in the Chasing Rainbows
Museum at Dollywood. For more information on the award
and how to nominate an outstanding teacher, visit the NNSTOY
website. http://www.nnstoy.org/award-and-scholarship-opportunities/
To check out Dolly's website, go to http://www.dollypartonentertainment.com/
Thanks For The Music Dolly! |