Dolly launched her "Blue Smoke" World Tour in Rancho Mirage, California, playing to more than 40 audiences across North America, Europe, and Australia.
She mentioned how excited she was to start the tour,
“It’s always great to perform at home in the good ole USA. We’re kicking off our Blue Smoke World Tour right here at home. I love traveling all over the world, but it’s true, there’s nothing like home.”
Dolly toured in support of her 42nd studio album "Blue Smoke," the title of which comes from the Cherokee word "Sha-Kon-O-Hey," which means "Land of the Blue Smoke."
The tour was officially announced on "The Queen Latifah Show" in October 2013.
Dolly credits her Uncle Bill Owens with being one of her earliest supporters and one of the biggest reasons she reached for her childhood dreams. On March 23, 2013, she dedicated a section of her Chasing Rainbows Museum at Dollywood in honor of Uncle Bill and everything he has done for her. The room features pictures, songs, her very first single and, occasionally, Uncle Bill himself!
LuLu Roman, known throughout the world as one of the most beloved stars of the long-running show "Hee Haw," teamed up with Dolly for a new version of Dolly’s classic, "I Will Always Love You."
The new version, which appears on LuLu’s 2013 album, "At Last" brings two friends of over 40 years back together.
LuLu said of the collaboration,
“Well, going into the studio this time was a great time. It really was. Dolly is just this, ‘What you see is what you get!’ Dolly is Dolly. She just lights up the room and lights up the attitudes. She’s just absolutely precious.”
Dolly was thrilled to hear the results,
"I have known and loved LuLu since the days of 'Hee Haw.' I have always known she was a great singer; but I did not know how great until she did this album. Hearing her sing my song "I Will Always Love You" gave me the chills. And being able to sing with her on it really got the goose bumps going. I am so proud of her. Hope you enjoy our version of the song."
The song "I will Always Love You" was written by Dolly in 1973 for her early singing partner Porter Wagoner and originally appeared on her 1974 album "Jolene." Possibly the most famous version of the song was recorded by the late Whitney Houston on the soundtrack for the movie "The Bodyguard" released in 1992. Another version of the song is on the soundtrack as well - a musical version by Jon Doe. Linda Ronstadt also did a cover of the song on her 1975 album "Prisoner in Disguise."
Dolly appears as herself and contributes several songs to the 2011 film, "Hollywood to Dollywood"
"Hollywood to Dollywood" is a 2011 documentary about identical twins who travel across the U.S. to deliver Dolly a script for a movie called "Full Circle" which they wrote and includes a part for her. One of the movie’s central themes is the twins’, both of whom are gay and Southern, concern about how the film will be received back home. The twins travel from Los Angeles to Dollywood and eventually meet Dolly and present her the script after dealing with tornadoes and floods on their journey.
Dolly commented on "Hollywood To Dollywood,"
“The movie is a documentary about these twin boys. They’re gay and their parents kind of turned them out, and they did come to Dollywood. I did meet them, and I allowed them to use some of my songs. They’re sweet, sweet, precious boys, and the fact that I was an inspiration and someone they kind of leaned on. You never know how God works to help people. We’re all God’s children no matter what. So there was a lot of love and understanding and I think they felt that.”
Directed by John Lavin, the film played at 60 festivals between 2011 and 2012, winning 24 awards, including several for best documentary. "Hollywood to Dollywood."
Lavin said of the movie’s themes and Dolly’s participation,
“...as we traveled, more and more references to the 'Wizard of Oz' seemed to magically occur, culminating with Dolly as Glinda the Good Witch and the Wizard rolled into one. If there is an overarching theme of the film, it’s courage: the courage the guys had in taking the trip and making the doc; the courage to be oneself that Dolly seems to inspire in everyone we met; and the courage the guys have to live their lives honestly.”
In addition to many Dolly classics like "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You," the documentary includes two previously unreleased songs, "The Sky is Not the Limit" and "Celebrate the Dreamer in You." The twins financed the movie’s musical royalties with their winnings on the TV game show "Wipeout."
“I have a lot of gay fans because they know that I just accept people as they are. That’s not my place to judge. I ain’t God, and I ain’t runnin’ for office. But I was proud to be part of that. It makes you feel good.”
Songs in "Hollywood to Dollywood:"
All songs written and performed by Dolly Parton
After the untimely death of Whitney Houston on February 12, 2012, Dolly said,
“Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston. I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, ‘Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.’”
Dolly’s song "I Will Always Love You" has been performed by many artists since it was released by her in 1974, but none more memorable than the version recorded by Houston for the soundtrack of the 1992 hit movie "The Bodyguard."
Hearing Whitney’s version of the song played at her funeral was particularly affecting for Dolly,
“I thought my heart was going to stop. It just pierced me like a knife. It’s just - I can’t explain that feeling, to think that was so final for her and that was my words and my feeling - I would forever be so connected to her."
Dolly presented Houston the GRAMMY award she won for singing the song in 1994.
