In 2005, the National Endowment for the Arts honored Dolly with its National Medal of the Arts, the highest award given to artists and art patrons by the U.S. government. It is awarded by the president to people who, "...are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the U.S."
President George W. Bush presented the award to the 10 recipients including Robert Duvall in an Oval Office ceremony on Nov. 10, 2005. Dolly couldn't attend but received her medal in Chattanooga in September 2008.
“It was my dream always as a little girl up in those Smoky Mountains to be a singer and travel all over the world... I've been blessed... that I've been able to do more than even my original dream really was. I want to thank you, and people like you all over the world, that have allowed me to see my Smoky Mountain dreams come true.”
Dolly embarked on her Vintage Tour between Aug. 16, 2005, (Atlantic City, New Jersey) and Dec. 16, 2005, (North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) in support of her "Those Were the Days" album. During the tour, Dolly visited 40 cities across the U.S. and Canada.
One of the main features of the tour was doing covers of other artists’ classic songs while adding her unique style (Bob Dylan’s "Blowin' in the Wind," for instance). Dolly commented on her process of picking and arranging the songs that she chose.
"I chose stuff I like to do... I mean, I hope people like it, but I enjoyed doing it, and I tried to treat every song just kind of with my own personality, kind of Dolly-ize them, but still try to pick up some of the best parts.''
Dolly contributed vocal harmony to the 2005 Brad Paisley song 'When I Get Where I'm Going,' written by George Teren and Rivers Rutherford.
The touching music video features individuals with photographs of their loved ones. It won Video of the Year at the Academy of Country Music (ACM) awards and the song won Vocal Event of the Year.
Dolly wrote a letter to the songwriters,
“I want to thank you and congratulate you for one of the greatest songs that I have ever heard and certainly one of the best songs that I've had the good fortune to sing on in my whole career. I hear nothing but great comments on it. I just lost a dear friend, and they played it at his funeral. It was his favorite song ever. But all of my living friends love it, too... I truly am as proud to have been a part of that [song] as anything I've ever done in my whole life.”
Paisley also chose the collaboration with Dolly, based on the recent loss of his aunt to cancer,
“Her voice is angelic and that takes it to a more spiritual realm instantly... and my aunt loved her and thought she was great."
The song was the second single released from Paisley’s "Time Well Wasted" album. "When I Get Where I'm Going" topped the Billboard Hot Country singles chart and landed at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Dolly’s song "Travelin’ Thru," from the 2005 motion picture "Transamerica," won the 2005 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Song. The award is given by a group of film reviewers for Phoenix area publications.
"Travelin' Thru" is an original song written and performed by Dolly for the movie "Transamerica." The song went on to receive nominations for an Academy Award for Best Song and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song. It was also nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Song and won for Best Original Song at the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards on 2005.
When Duncan Tucker, the director of the movie "Transamerica," was looking for a song for the end credits of his movie, he had only one thought, Dolly Parton.
Dolly said about her motivation for writing the movie’s song,
"Some people are blind or ignorant, and you can't be that prejudiced and hateful and go through this world and still be happy. One thing about this movie is that I think art can change minds. It's alright to be who you are."
