Image by Curtis Hilbun
Dolly’s longtime friend and duet partner, Kenny Rogers, returned to Dollywood to help raise money and awareness for her Imagination Library, a book gifting program for kids from birth to age five. Just days after announcing his retirement on the TODAY show, Kenny sang to a sold-out crowd, giving everyone a night to remember at Dollywood’s D.P. Celebrity Theatre. Fans from around the world made their way to Pigeon Forge, TN for a chance to see “The Gambler” performing songs from his treasure chest of mega hits in an intimate setting.
During a special meet and greet before the concert, we asked Kenny what about Dolly and her Imagination Library made him want to come be a part of the benefit concert series. He said,
"You know, she’s an amazing person. She can take something and really grow it into something fantastic. She said they’ve shipped 70 million books! I think it’s a great idea. I’m glad to be a part of this and I hope it helps!"
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The autumn air of the Smokies was filled with the sweet sounds of Kenny’s hit songs throughout the park. From “Coward Of The County,” “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town,” and “The Gambler,” to “Islands In The Stream,” “Lady” and “You Can’t Make Old Friends,” the moment the ever so recognizable sounds would begin, the crowd again and again erupted in thunderous applause.
When it was time to count the money, Kenny’s performance raised over $60,000 for Dolly’s Imagination Library bringing the total raised during the benefit concert series to more than $635,000.
When Dolly heard the news, she said,
"I’m so grateful to Kenny for wanting to help my Imagination Library. He’s always been such a great friend to me and I’m so happy that he made time to come to Dollywood and I know the fans just loved it. Kenny, if you’re reading this, I want to you to know just how much I appreciate you and you know I’ll always love you!"
In the midst of a fierce thunder and lightning storm in South Dakota, Kenny Rogers sat down to talk about his upcoming performance at Dollywood. The concert will benefit Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. He also talked about his relationship with Dolly throughout the years.
Kenny will perform one show on Sept. 27, 2015, as part of the Showcase of Stars concert series at Dollywood. His personal connection to the park goes back to the beginning. He said,
“I remember the opening when Dolly and I were there and I think she was a little hesitant as to whether or not the park was going to work or not and sure enough it did. And 25 years later I was there and I have to tell you that I have two boys 11-years-old and they much prefer Dollywood over Disney World. They said the people were so much nicer and I think the food's better there too.”
Kenny went on to say,
"I think with me and Dolly, just being together, at least I can only speak for myself, being together has its own rewards and creates its own memories. We've never planned anything, it's always kind of happened and that's what makes our relationship so spontaneous."
Of course, Dolly and Kenny's friendship goes back long before she opened her theme park in the Smoky Mountains. They met for the first time on Dolly's television show, but it wasn't until they recorded their first hit "Islands in the Stream" that they were able to really get to know one another. From then on, the two have had a lasting friendship. Kenny said,
“I did Dolly's TV show, the one that had the big butterfly on the wall. And I did one of my records, it was the first record I think that I had on Warner Brothers and I did that and I met her. She was incredibly sweet to me but it was more like a hostess and I was a guest. And then later on we met again when we were recording ‘Islands in the Stream.’ And I had really never spent any time with Dolly and that was the point when we really realized we had a lot of stuff in common and we truly enjoyed being in each other's company. She makes me laugh and apparently I make her laugh. I've seen some films of us on stage and I've never seen two people relate to each other better than Dolly and I do on stage.”
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Kenny's upcoming concert will benefit Dolly’s Imagination Library, a book gifting program that has, to-date, sent over 72 million free books to children around the world. When we quoted those numbers to Kenny even he was astounded by the effort and said,
"Wow, that's great."
Kenny is generously bringing his Through The Years World Tour to Dollywood’s D.P. Celebrity Theater as the final artist performing for the Showcase of Stars benefit concert series. However, not wanting to miss the opportunity to rib his old friend, Kenny said,
"I had heard [Dolly] did this before... but we have not gotten [the books] so put me on the list. Tell Dolly she owes me that much. (laughing) Tell her she has historically underpaid me, and I'm tired of it."
His joke is yet another testament to the friendship he and Dolly share that is blind to both the passage of time and distance between them. Kenny said,
“When we recorded this last song, ‘You Can't Make Old Friends,’ I hadn't seen her in two or three years. She came walking in the studio and it was like we were together yesterday. That's the beauty of her personality. I've said this before, she has no filter, if it goes in her mind it comes out her mouth. I think that's a great quality because people know where they are at all times with her and their relationship.”
Kenny will continue his tour on Oct. 3 in North Myrtle Beach, SC which is also home to Dolly's Pirates Voyage Dinner Attraction. In addition, Kenny will begin a new tour in November supporting his latest album, "Once Again It's Christmas" featuring several guests including Jennifer Nettles. Nettles, Kenny and Dolly's mutual friend, will star as Dolly's mother in the upcoming NBC television movie, "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors."
No word yet on any plans for another duet project. For now the two old friends are quite satisfied to team up to help put more books in the hands of more children.
Tickets to see Kenny Rogers at Dollywood's D.P. Celebrity Theatre available at Dollywood.com.
Featured image courtesy of Webster PR.
Dollywood’s D.P. Celebrity Theatre packed in an enthusiastic crowd of fans eager to hear The Band Perry perform their hits on home turf. With an intimate, acoustic setting, the vocally gifted siblings did not disappoint. Performing hit after hit, from “If I Die Young” to “Better Dig Two,” their harmonic voices were the perfect blend of what Dolly calls “blood harmony.” Kimberly even surprised the audience with her rendition of Dolly’s mega-hit song, “I’ll Always Love You,” and as you can imagine, the crowd went wild.
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Although Kimberly, Reid and Neil were all happy to be back home in East Tennessee playing for fans at Dollywood, they were also there to show their love and support of Dolly’s book gifting program for children, the Imagination Library. When asked what it was about the program that made them want to get involved, Kimberly said,
"We are big believers in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. With Imagination Library specifically, the three of us grew up loving, loving to read. It was one of the greatest loves that we remember and some of the earliest memories that we remember."
Neil went on to say,
"You never know how it will influence you in life. For the three of us and our writing, it was a big, big factor in the way we write our songs. You never know what reading a book will do to change your life. It's a really great thing and we're glad to be a part of it."
Dolly was thrilled that The Band Perry came out to support the program. She shared,
"I'm so proud to know that my Imagination Library has had such a positive influence on Kimberly, Reid and Neil, and I appreciate them coming to Dollywood to show their love and support!"
The Band Perry gave fans an amazing night of great entertainment, and more than $75,000 was raised for the Imagination Library! If you’ve not had the pleasure of seeing this trio perform, do yourself a favor and go see them.
Check out The Band Perry’s website for show dates and times.
Dolly announced earlier this year that Dollywood was bringing back the Showcase of Stars to help raise money for her Imagination Library. She herself kicked off the series in early August with two days of concerts that raised more than $500,000.
As the final artist in Dollywood’s Showcase of Stars lineup, Dolly’s longtime friend and duet partner, Kenny Rogers, will appear in concert on Sunday, Sept. 27 at the D.P. Celebrity Theatre.
Tickets to see Kenny Rogers at the D.P. Celebrity Theatre available at Dollywood.com.
Dollywood takes its location at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains seriously in terms of preserving the natural beauty of the area, and that extends to its construction projects.
Last month, Dollywood announced the addition of Lightning Rod, both the world’s fastest wood coaster and the world’s first launching wood coaster. While the thrilling $22 million ride marks the single largest attraction investment in The Dollywood Company’s history that investment will extend to keeping the ride’s construction area clean as the first litter-free construction site in Pigeon Forge.
Dollywood, in conjunction with ride manufacturer Rocky Mountain Construction, has committed to being an initial partner with Keep Sevier Beautiful’s Litter-Free Construction Program. This unique program educates workers and supervisors on proper disposal of waste and encourages them to maintain the property of the entire construction site, including incidental litter and debris. Keep Sevier Beautiful (KSB) Board Chair Tom Leonard said,
“Any litter within the site reflects upon the company, and pride in the construction site and in the beauty of our Smoky Mountain area is the key to the success of this program.”
Gene Scherrer, Dollywood Vice-President and General Manager said,
“The natural beauty of this region is unparalleled and it is important for us to preserve that charm for visitors and residents of our community. As we continue to work on ensuring we leave a positive footprint on our environment, we knew the Litter-Free Construction Program was one in which we wanted to take part.
Scherrer went on to say,
Lightning Rod is a world-class attraction and we want the construction site to reflect the extraordinary quality we expect from the ride. We hope this program will educate construction site employees, as well as the general public, on the importance of maintaining orderly and clean work sites throughout Sevier County.”
As part of the Litter-Free Construction Program, the city of Pigeon Forge has provided a dumpster for the collection of garbage in the form of office/food wastes/litter and waives the associated hauling fee. Keep Sevier Beautiful will provide specifically marked individual litter collection containers for the construction site, and Dollywood is responsible for emptying these containers into the dumpster as well as providing litter pickup labor, making sure the policy is followed and workers are educated about the program. In addition, all waste leaving the construction site must be covered to prevent negligent litter.
Keep Sevier Beautiful will designate the Lightning Rod construction area as a participant in the Litter-Free Construction Program with a sign in front of the construction site. The site will be visited by a KSB representative regularly for the purpose of assessing the level of litter visible on the site and will continue for the length of the project, which opens in March 2016.
Keep Sevier Beautiful (KSB), an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, is a volunteer-based organization which focuses on waste reduction/recycling, litter prevention and beautifying public spaces through education and community-based programs. KSB’s goal is to protect the natural beauty of the area that millions of visitors come to see each year.
Dolly Parton’s theme park continues to rack up accolades from Amusement Today’s annual Golden Ticket Awards. This year Dollywood earned three "best of" awards and placed in the top-five in seven additional categories. Dolly said,
“Every time they announce the Golden Tickets results, I am so proud to hear how much folks love and respect Dollywood. This is our 30th anniversary season, and if you would have told me all those years ago that we would win all these awards, I’m not sure even I could have dreamed it! I truly am thankful for all of the guests who have continued to support us and for all the new folks who visit us each year! I also am grateful for the dedicated team at my Dollywood Company for providing our guests a memorable experience when they come see us.”
The Golden Ticket Awards are the most sought-after awards in the business of amusements and attractions. Pete Owens, Public Relations Director for the Dollywood Company, said,
"As a park, it is always gratifying to be honored by your peers and experts. We are particularly proud of the designation as friendliest park. That goes to what Dollywood is also about and why we encourage our guests to love every moment with their families."
Dollywood’s three Golden Ticket Awards include:
Dollywood also ranked in seven additional categories:
The 2015 awards ceremony was held on Sept. 12, at Luna Park in New York City. Calculated from an international poll conducted by Amusement Today, the industry’s leading trade publication, the Golden Ticket Awards are the results of a detailed survey sent to a database of experienced and well-traveled amusement park fans around the world in balanced geographical regions. Voters are asked to rate the “best” in 25 categories such as best parks, roller coasters, water rides, shows, kids’ area, landscaping and Christmas events.
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Dollywood was recognized in 2010 at the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions with the Applause Award in recognition of a park whose management, operations and creative accomplishments have inspired the industry with its foresight, originality and sound business development.
