Dolly appeared in a special holiday episode of "The Magic School Bus," the animated children’s television show based on a series of children’s books and adapted by Scholastic Entertainment. The show premiered on Sept. 10, 1994, on PBS and helped kids, especially girls and minorities, get more interested in science. The series finished its run in 1997 but aired again on Fox, TLC, Fox Kids, Discovery Kids, Qubo, and NBC as recently as 2010.
Dolly voiced the character Katrina Eloise "Murph" Murphy, operator of Murph’s recycling plant and the cousin of Ms. Frizzle, one of the main characters voiced by Lily Tomlin. On a holiday episode that originally aired on Dec. 25, 1996, Murph taught the class the importance of recycling.
[su_vimeo url="https://vimeo.com/120158482"]
The Magic School Bus from Dolly Parton on Vimeo.
Dolly starred in "Unlikely Angel," a made-for-television film, as Ruby Diamond, a selfish country singer who is granted a second chance at salvation by St. Peter (Roddy McDowall) after she dies in a car accident. If Ruby is able to help reunite and heal a suburban family suffering after the passage of their mother (by midnight on Christmas Eve) she will be given her wings. If she fails to reunite the family, Ruby would head for far smokier shores.
Dolly was also an executive producer for the project and provided some original songs ("Wat'cha Tryin'na Do" and "Unlikely Angel"). "Unlikely Angel" premiered on CBS on Dec. 17, 1996.
Dolly was recognized as being part of the 'Vocal Event of the Year' (the category name was changed to 'Musical Event of the Year' in 2005) at the Country Music Association's (CMA) annual awards show for her song "I will Always Love You," released as a duet with Vince Gill on her album "Something Special."
The song, "I Will Always Love You," has had a long history of success for Dolly and for the artists who have covered it (most famously Whitney Houston). It was originally written by Dolly as a thank you to Porter Wagoner, her long time singing and television partner because she had decided to leave the partnership. Dolly said,
"It's saying, 'Just because I'm going don't mean I won't love you. I appreciate you and I hope you do great and I appreciate everything you've done, but I'm out of here…’ And I took it in the next morning. I said, 'Sit down, Porter. I've written this song, and I want you to hear it.' So I did sing it. And he was crying. He said, 'That's the prettiest song I ever heard. And you can go, providing I get to produce that record.' And he did, and the rest is history."
The Dolly and Vince collaboration of "I Will Always Love You" was also honored with a GRAMMY nomination and a TNN/Music City News nomination for Vocal Performance of the Year and ultimately reached number 15 on the country charts.
Dolly helped create a television sitcom called 'Mindin' My Own Business' for CBS. The show’s plot, which never made it into production, featured Dolly as a caterer to the stars. In addition to cooking, Dolly’s character found herself in a variety of crazy situations. The pilot episode never aired.
Dollywood Boulevard, an $8 million expansion, anchored the park’s 11th season. A $5 million state-of-the-art simulator ride was added. It was based on the classic 1957 Robert Mitchum film, “Thunder Road.” The ride was the world’s largest Turbo-Ride® Action Adventure featuring a contour-flair screen measuring 55 feet high and 70 feet wide. A themed restaurant and merchandise attraction completed the area.
Also in 1996, Dollywood introduced the popular Southern Gospel Jubilee during the park's fall Harvest Celebration. The country's largest Southern Gospel event featured gospel greats J. D. Sumner & The Stamps, the Lewis Family and the Kingsmen. This addition to the festival celebrates Dolly’s love for music, especially the gospel she grew up listening to as a child in church. Dolly said,
“Growing up in church with a musical family, that’s where my love of music and singing really took hold. I wanted to honor our rich musical heritage by adding the Southern Jubilee to our Harvest Celebration.”
