Photo Credit: Rob Hoffman
Eight-time GRAMMY® winner Dolly Parton received honors at the 2019 MusiCares® Person of the Year tribute on Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. Neil Portnow, President/CEO of MusiCares and the Recording Academy™ first made the announcement on September 4, 2018.
Little Big Town hosted the event and those appearing included GRAMMY® winners Vince Gill, Don Henley, Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson, and Mavis Staples; and GRAMMY® nominee Linda Perry. Dolly also graced the stage along with Leon Bridges, Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood, Miley Cyrus, Lauren Daigle, Norah Jones, Shawn Mendes, Katy Perry, P!NK, Mark Ronson and Chris Stapleton. The star-studded list of performers also included Jennifer Nettles, Brandi Carlile, Margo Price, Yolanda Adams, Cam and Jon Batiste.
Proceeds from the 29th annual benefit gala will provide essential support for MusiCares, a charity founded by the Recording Academy that ensures music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical and personal need. The tribute was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center two nights prior to the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards®.
Parton is the first artist from the Nashville music community to be honored by MusiCares. She is being recognized as the 2019 MusiCares Person of the Year for her considerable creative accomplishments and her longtime support of a number of causes through her Dollywood Foundation, including the Imagination Library, which, since 1996, has provided more than 100 million books to children from birth to five years of age in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the U.K.
"Dolly Parton has always been and continues to be a courageous trailblazer and indomitable inspiration for creators and artists—so for us to have the opportunity to honor her at our annual MusiCares Person of the Year gala is to pay tribute to a true pillar of strength and someone who we all look up to and cherish,” said Portnow. With her legendary talent, she has forged a career that spans decades and her gifts as a performer resound on both stage and screen. Dolly also knows the power of philanthropy and she has used her stardom to contribute to a wide range of causes from natural disasters to education and literacy programs."
"I am so excited and humbled to be honored as MusiCares Person of the Year,” said Dolly. “It’s even more special knowing the gala benefits music people in need. I can’t wait to hear all of the great artists singing my music.”
Remarks Dolly’s manager Danny Nozell, CEO, CTK Management, “I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving to be the first MusiCares Person of the Year representing the Nashville music community. It’s been a privilege to witness her generous heart, first-hand, for the last 14 years.”
"With each passing year, the goal of MusiCares remains clear: to do more and serve more music people in need," said Michael McDonald, MusiCares’ Board Chair. "Over the course of our last fiscal year, we provided more than $6.4 million dollars to more than 8,500 members of the music industry—the largest number of clients served and dollars distributed in a single year in our charity's history. We are confident that our 2019 Person of the Year tribute to Dolly Parton will help us raise the funds that sustain and expand our mission."
The MusiCares Person of the Year tribute ceremony is one of the most prestigious events held during GRAMMY Week. The Person of the Year gala will begin with a reception and silent auction offering an exclusive and unparalleled selection of luxury items, VIP experiences and one-of-a-kind celebrity memorabilia for bidding guests. The reception and silent auction will be followed by a gala dinner sponsored by AEG; a live auction; a tribute concert featuring renowned musicians and other artists; and the award presentation. The celebration culminates with the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. The telecast will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Established in 1989 by the Recording Academy, MusiCares offers health and human services and programs to members of the music community, including emergency financial assistance for basic living expenses such as rent, utilities, and car payments; medical expenses, including doctor, dentist and hospital bills; and treatment for HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, hepatitis C and other critical illnesses. MusiCares offers nationwide educational workshops covering a variety of subjects, including financial, legal, medical, and substance abuse issues, and programs in collaboration with health care professionals that provide services such as flu shots, hearing tests and medical/dental screenings. MusiCares provides access to addiction recovery treatment and sober living resources for members of the music community. Staffed by qualified chemical dependency and intervention specialists, MusiCares offers Safe Harbor Room® support, sponsored in part by the Bohemian Foundation, to provide a network to those in recovery while they are participating in the production of televised music shows and other major music events. MusiCares holds weekly addiction support groups for people to discuss how to best cope with the issues surrounding the recovery process.
Dolly will discuss stories and the history behind these costumes at the Museum’s Clive Davis Theater as part of an exclusive Town Hall Program to be livestreamed on Billboard's Facebook Page.
Monday, Feb. 4 from 5–6 p.m. PT at GRAMMY Museum L.A. Live and exclusively livestreamed on Billboard's Facebook Page
Eight-time GRAMMY® winner, Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and Oscar-nominated artist Dolly Parton has been widely renowned as not just a music legend, but a fashion icon. To showcase iconic costumes and pieces from her personal archive, the GRAMMY Museum® proudly presents Diamond In A Rhinestone World: The Costumes Of Dolly Parton presented by City National Bank, which will be the first exhibit Parton has had in the United States outside of her Tennessee theme park Dollywood. The exhibit will open on Feb. 4, when Parton will discuss stories and the history behind these costumes at the Museum’s Clive Davis Theater as part of an exclusive Town Hall Program. The exhibit opens to the public on Feb. 5 and will run through March 17. Additionally, Parton will be honored at the 2019 MusiCares® Person of the Year tribute on Friday, Feb. 8. The tribute will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center two nights prior to the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards®.
Diamond In A Rhinestone World: The Costumes Of Dolly Parton will offer a retrospective of Parton’s career and most iconic fashion moments. The exhibit will also feature Videri canvasses now at the Museum, making the GRAMMY Museum the first in the world to showcase this technology in a gallery setting.
"I probably have thousands of dresses from over the years," said Parton. "I had a hard time letting go of some of my favorites, but I’m excited for them to be included in this exhibit. I can't wait to see them on display at the GRAMMY Museum!"
This exhibit captures the spirit of Parton through some of her most cherished outfits, which include costumes from her most memorable album covers, music videos, and live performances.
"To say that it's an honor to showcase Dolly Parton's all-time greatest outfits and her first exhibit in the United States outside of Dollywood at the GRAMMY Museum is an understatement," said the Museum's Executive Director Michael Sticka. "Displaying these extraordinary costumes and pieces will take you through a career that has spanned decades of someone who is beloved as both a groundbreaking artist and a trendsetting pioneer. We are extremely grateful to Dolly for letting us feature some of the most memorable and innovative outfits in music history."
Exhibit highlights include:
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Dolly Parton teamed up with the award-winning vocal group Pentatonix to record her 1973 hit, "Jolene. " The new rendition debuted at No. 18 on the Hot Country Songs chart and now has earned both artists GRAMMY gold.
"Oh my Lord I am so excited to have won the Grammy with Pentatonix on my old song Jolene," says Dolly Parton. "I am so happy and am so very proud of Pentatonix. The song is one of my favorites. Thanks to the Grammys, but most importantly thanks to all the fans. I love you all."
The 2017 GRAMMY win gives Dolly her eighth competitive win and the second for Pentatonix. In 2011, the organization honored Dolly with the GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award. She received her first trophy with "Here You Come Again" in 1978 followed by two wins for "9 to 5" (Best Country Song & Best Female Country Vocal Performance) 1981, "Trio" (Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal) 1987, "After The Gold Rush" (Best Country Collaboration With Vocals) 1999, "The Grass Is Blue" (Best Bluegrass Album) 2000, and "Shine" (Best Female Country Vocal Performance) 2001.
Watch the original music video of "Jolene" by Pentatonix featuring Dolly Parton.
Dolly Parton will return to the GRAMMYS thanks to a collaboration with the award-winning a cappella group, Pentatonix and her timeless hit, "Jolene."
Dolly sang her way to two GRAMMY nominations back in 1974 and 1975 both for Best Female Country Vocal Performance with "Jolene," first with the album followed by a live performance the next year. Since then, the song has enticed countless artists to cover the tune including Olivia Newton John, Norah Jones, Alison Krauss, Kelly Clarkson, (Dolly's goddaughter) Miley Cyrus and The White Stripes.
While other artists enjoy singing it and have created beautiful versions of their own, "Jolene" the song, unlike the starring character within it, has been faithful to its creator. An international audience of over 180,000 fans gathered at the Glastonbury Festival in 2014 and sang along to “Jolene” during the record-setting appearance. The event staff even prepared a choreographed dance for the song.
The GRAMMY-nominated Pentatonix recording of “Jolene” features Dolly’s angelic vocals. Before receiving the nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance it debuted at No. 18 on the Hot Country Songs chart making Dolly the first and only artist with top 20 hits on Hot Country Songs in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, ’00s & ’10s.
Dolly's most recent nomination was back in 2013 when she and long-time friend and duet partner Kenny Rogers received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance with "You Can't Make Old Friends." She has a total of seven GRAMMY wins and in 2011 she was honored with a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award.
Watch the 59th GRAMMY Awards live on CBS on Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. EST.
One of the highlights of Dolly’s 42nd album 'Blue Smoke' is the duet 'You Can’t Make Old Friends,' recorded with one of her most beloved singing partners Kenny Rogers. The song is a poignant reflection of enduring friendship.
Rogers said of this, his first duet with Dolly since 1985’s 'Real Love,'
“We really are those kind of friends, where you can't make old friends. Dolly knows me like a book, and I know her like a book. So this is the perfect idea for a song for us."
Dolly calls Rogers her "best friend" and talks about how she is glad she got to "walk that road" with the man she sang one of the most loved duets of all time, "Islands in the Stream."
The song was nominated for a 2014 GRAMMY Award in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category. This was the third GRAMMY-nominated collaboration for Dolly and Kenny! Other nominated collaborations include 'Islands in the Stream' and 'Real Love.'
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