"Forever Country" is a mashup of three Country mega hits by Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and the late John Denver.
Thirty legendary and current Country superstars including Dolly and Willie appear in this first-of-its-kind, genre-specific music video directed by Grammy Awards Winner, Joseph Kahn. It’s hailed as the biggest music video in the history of the format.
Together "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "On the Road Again" and "I Will Always Love You" make up "Forever Country." These songs are not only synonymous with the icons who made them famous, but each one is a timeless classic. All three have taken their rightful place both in music and in American Pop Culture.
"Forever Country" hits radio airwaves on Friday, Sept. 16 at 8:30 a.m. EST and the highly anticipated video will debut on Tuesday, September 20.
Proceeds from the sale of "Forever Country" benefit the CMA Foundation, which donates millions to support music education in schools.
The 50th Annual CMA Awards will air live from Nashville, TN on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016.
In 1975, Dolly released "The Bargain Store" which topped the U.S. Country Singles Charts becoming her fifth consecutive No. 1 single and the album became another Top 10 hit. In October, Dolly was named Female Vocalist of the Year at the CMA awards. The following month, she released her 16th solo album "Dolly: The Seeker / We Used To." "The Seeker" climbed to the No. 2 spot on the U.S. Country Singles Charts and "We Used To" reached No. 9.
The same year, Dolly earned her 10th GRAMMY nomination for her live performance of "Jolene." It was an incredible year of awards, nominations and chart-topping hits.
Quietly living behind the scenes, Dolly's mama, Avie Lee Parton looked on with pride and admiration. It had been 11 years since her daughter moved to Nashville, TN to follow her Music City dreams. Avie Lee was beyond proud of her Smoky Mountain Songbird and not just for the fame and notoriety she had earned. She was proud her daughter was getting everything she had dreamed of while keeping herself grounded and focused.
In this letter to Dolly’s Fan Club, Avie Lee shares two stories. The first is a delightful tale about 1000 pairs of shoes and the second is about Dolly's overwhelming generosity that surprised even Avie Lee.
Submitted by Avie Lee to Dolly Parton's Fan Club Journal, December 1975
Mama's Memories
As I watched the CMA awards Oct. 13 and saw Dolly win Female Vocalist of the Year, I said to myself, "I've seen another of Dolly's dreams come true."
Hi, I'm Dolly Parton's mother and I want to tell her many fans how proud I am to be her mother and to share some memories with you for this holiday season.
One year for Christmas we bought all the children new shoes, and my sister bought Dolly a pair of black patent leather slippers with bows. Another aunt gave her a pair that were too small for her child, so Dolly had three pairs. I can still remember how proud she was to have that many shoes at one time, and she said in her child-like voice, "When I grow up I'll have a thousand pairs of shoes."
Two years ago when I was helping Dolly move into her new home, I decided I would count her shoes just for fun, remembering what she had said as a child. I counted over a thousand pairs of shoes. She still loves pretty shoes and jewelry, and I remember how she would make rings and bracelets from any pretty thing she could find. I really enjoy seeing Dolly in all her pretty clothes and jewelry.
Dolly has always been sincere in that when she tells someone she is going to do something she does it. When Dolly was fifteen years old we bought a farm. We sold the house we had built because we didn't need two houses, but I cried anyway because I felt close to the home Lee and I had built with our own hands. I remember Dolly saying, "Don't cry Mama. I'll buy it back for you when I get rich." Well, I felt ashamed for crying and didn't let anyone know how foolish I had been. Five years later I had forgotten the promise Dolly had made. She came home for a visit, but it was more than a visit. She came in and said, "Mama, I've bought back your house for you. I told you I would and I have." Lee and I tried to tell her we didn't need it with the house on the farm, too, but she said, "I wouldn't be happy or satisfied to buy a home for myself until you had yours back," so that's where we live today.
Now that the children are all grown up and gone away from home, I have time to look back and think about things. I remember that Dolly made up songs before she could write them down. Her music has always been a sacred thing to her. When other children were going to ball games or out on dates, she would rather be somewhere singing. She would stay up all night writing songs and come downstairs to breakfast singing and laughing and tell her Daddy a joke before he left for work. She would say after he left, "I feel better if Daddy laughs before he leaves for work."
Dolly is a very sensitive person and she can't stand to see anyone sad or hurt. I believe that is why she has such a great talent to write. She can see sorrow and heartache in other people's lives and it hurts her very much.
Lee and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for helping Dolly see another dream come true.
Merry Christmas,
Lee and Avie Lee Parton
Read more about Avie Lee including the famous Stone Soup story in A Mother’s Love & Inspiration – Avie Lee Parton
Order "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" on DVD starring Jennifer Nettles as Avie Lee Parton.[su_button url="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BLZIFLI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01BLZIFLI&linkCode=as2&tag=sdprof-20&linkId=NURZAAKZCQPCF5Y7" target="blank" style="flat" background="#c13f47" size="6" center="yes" radius="3" text_shadow="0px 0px 0px #fff"]Order "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" on DVD[/su_button]
Dolly was recognized as being part of the 'Vocal Event of the Year' (the category name was changed to 'Musical Event of the Year' in 2005) at the Country Music Association's (CMA) annual awards show for her song "I will Always Love You," released as a duet with Vince Gill on her album "Something Special."
The song, "I Will Always Love You," has had a long history of success for Dolly and for the artists who have covered it (most famously Whitney Houston). It was originally written by Dolly as a thank you to Porter Wagoner, her long time singing and television partner because she had decided to leave the partnership. Dolly said,
"It's saying, 'Just because I'm going don't mean I won't love you. I appreciate you and I hope you do great and I appreciate everything you've done, but I'm out of here…’ And I took it in the next morning. I said, 'Sit down, Porter. I've written this song, and I want you to hear it.' So I did sing it. And he was crying. He said, 'That's the prettiest song I ever heard. And you can go, providing I get to produce that record.' And he did, and the rest is history."
The Dolly and Vince collaboration of "I Will Always Love You" was also honored with a GRAMMY nomination and a TNN/Music City News nomination for Vocal Performance of the Year and ultimately reached number 15 on the country charts.
