On January 4, 1969, Dolly Parton was fresh off the release of her first solo album released on RCA Records Nashville, the now-seminal “Just Because I’m A Woman,” and on that date, the singer-songwriter received the biggest accomplishment of her then-young career: being inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member. Fifty years later, Parton has achieved nearly every honor and accolade an entertainer can receive, and she is cemented as the female Country artist with the most Billboard Top 20 hits according to Guinness World Records. In conjunction with the release of her new album Dumplin’ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Dolly Records/RCA Nashville), Parton is set to return to the hallowed stage that was such an important part of her early days in Nashville: the Grand Ole Opry. The global superstar will celebrate the 50th anniversary of her Opry membership, performing on Saturday, October 12, 2019, and capping a week-long celebration of Parton’s impact on music and the Opry, dubbed Dolly Week 2019.
“It was always my dream to be on the Opry,” recalls Parton. “I actually got to sing on the Grand Ole Opry when I was about 10 years old. I officially became a member back in 1969 and I cannot believe next year I will celebrate 50 proud years of being a member of the Grand Ole Opry! They call it the ‘Mother Church’ because the old Ryman was a church, but it’s sacred to me, wherever it goes – the church of my heart. For me, the Opry is like the song ‘New York, New York’ – if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. I am excited to be coming back home to celebrate 50 years of membership!”
And Parton has made it everywhere. As a worldwide icon, she is arguably country music’s greatest global ambassador – and she has taken the Opry and the memories from those early days in her career with her wherever she goes. Because of her impact across all forms of music, it is only fitting that the Grand Ole Opry create programming for Dolly Week 2019 that acknowledges her broad influence.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019 AT 7 PM
Dustin Lynch, Suzy Bogguss, Stephanie Quayle, The Isaacs, Ashley Campbell, and more to be added.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019 AT 7 PM
Sara Evans, Sam Williams, Del McCoury Band, Don Schlitz, Stephanie Urbina Jones, Smithfield, and more to be added.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2019 AT 7 PM
Opry Country Classics-- Featuring performances of #1 Dolly hits
Dierks Bentley, Emmylou Harris, Margo Price, Chris Janson, Bill Anderson, and more to be added.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2019 AT 9:30 PM
Friday Night Opry-- Dolly’s Mountain Soul: Bluegrass, Americana & Roots Music honor Dolly
Emmylou Harris, Margo Price, Chris Janson, Bill Anderson, and more to be added.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2019 (Two Shows) SOLD OUT:
Dolly Parton’s 50th Grand Ole Opry Anniversary Celebration featuring Dolly Parton and many more.
Dolly Parton, Lady Antebellum, Jeannie Seely, Toby Keith, Margo Price, Hank Williams, Jr., Candi Carpenter, and more to be added.
Tickets are on sale now for Dolly Week 2019. Both performances on Oct. 12, 2019, are Sold Out.
Read About Dolly Parton's First Grand Ole Opry Performance In 1959
The Grand Ole Opry® is presented by Humana®. Opry performances are held every Friday and Saturday of the year, with Tuesday night shows through December 11. To plan an Opry visit, call (800) SEE-OPRY or visit opry.com. The Opry presents the best in country music live every week from Nashville, Tenn. Celebrating nine decades of entertainment, the Opry can be heard at opry.com and wsmonline.com, Opry and WSM mobile apps, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and its flagship home, 650 AM-WSM. The Grand Ole Opry is owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE: RHP). For more information, visit opry.com.
If you had gone from cabin to cabin across the mountains of Appalachia in the 1940s and 50s, you would have observed a wide variety of activities. You might have caught a glimpse of a young boy watching his grandfather whittle a slingshot handle from a piece of white oak. On down the dirt road, you may have seen a mother lovingly teaching her children how to churn butter. Up the mountain on Locust Ridge, however, something extra special was happening at the Parton’s Tennessee Mountain Home…
In the Smoky Mountain morning light, there was a little girl with great big dreams of becoming a star. Her stage, the front porch, had been there all along, but she needed a microphone. She knew it would require a little more creativity —she’d have to make one. She searched through a pile of tobacco sticks, trying to find just the right one to use as her microphone stand. She tried three or four and finally found one she could wedge between the weathered wooden slats. With her stand securely in place, it was time to find her microphone. She loved all things shiny and knew just what she would use. She removed the label from a recently discarded tin can and smiled at her reflection as she held her first microphone in her little hands. In a crowning moment, she balanced it atop the tobacco stick. She paused to take a deep breath, and that’s when the magic began.
If you had been there, you may have simply seen a little girl in her favorite cotton dress singing her heart out to her younger siblings and throwing some extra feed to the ducks and chickens to ensure a captive audience. If you could have seen it through little Dolly’s sparkling eyes, though, it would have taken your breath away! The wings of her imagination carried her to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. She swayed to the rhythm of her heartbeat in a beautiful shimmering dress and sang into the famed WSM microphone to a sold-out crowd at the Ryman auditorium.
Dolly shares,
“I just pictured myself out there in the big world singing songs I’d written, performing to people and getting out of the mountains and just traveling around.”
It was a window to her dreams. Singing meant the world to her, and she was determined to take her music beyond the hills of her home.
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With that same cadence of determination, that’s exactly what she did! Now an American music icon and longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry, the spirit that fueled her front-porch-dreams has propelled her from the beloved stage of her childhood to untold numbers of sold-out performances in venues all over the world.
Dolly says,
“That little tobacco stick and tin can have carried me far.”
Everything she envisioned on that front porch has become a reality, and though she may use many different microphones during her performances today, none could ever compare to the one of her youth…a tin can and a tobacco stick.
After making musical connections while performing on the Cas Walker Show, Dolly and her Uncle Bill Owens managed to get a guest spot on the Grand Ole Opry in 1959. Friends, Carl and Pearl Butler were instrumental in getting Jimmy C. Newman to agree to give up one of his regular Saturday night spots to Dolly. Johnny Cash introduced her saying,
"We’ve got a little girl here from up in East Tennessee. Her daddy’s listening to the radio at home and she’s gonna be in real trouble if she doesn’t sing tonight, so let’s bring her out here."
Dolly recalls seeing the classic WSM microphone stand and being in awe standing on the Ryman Auditorium stage. Dolly said,
"As I heard the band play my introduction, I lifted my head and looked up toward the lights. I smiled at the people in the balcony and then let ‘er rip."
Dolly sang George Jones’ song, "You Gotta Be My Baby" and received three encores that night.
Listen to a free song preview below of Dolly singing "You Gotta Be My Baby" via SoundCLoud.
