Transcript

8.28.26 · Country Weekly

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Speaker 1: Now it's time to catch up with Country Weekly, where
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Speaker 1: we dive into news and gossip from the world of
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Speaker 1: country music. I'm your host, Ken Dawkins, and I will
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Speaker 1: be reading from various sources found online. As a reminder,
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Speaker 1: Radio Eye is a reading service intended for people who
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Speaker 1: are blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult
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Speaker 1: to read printed material. I'm sure you've all heard the
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Speaker 1: big story this week from country music and from around
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Speaker 1: the world. And perhaps John Rich of the country duo
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Speaker 1: Big & Rich said it best, Dolly Parton, an American
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Speaker 1: original and an absolute country music hero, has sadly passed away.
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Speaker 1: The whole world will miss her. We'll begin with the
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Speaker 1: first article dated August 26th from Yahoo! Entertainment.com. Taylor Swift, Beyonce,
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Speaker 1: Jane Fonda, and so many others were among those to
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Speaker 1: pay tribute following the death of Dolly Parton, the beloved
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Speaker 1: country music icon, philanthropist and actor who died at 80.
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Speaker 1: Parton died bravely after facing a brief battle with cancer,
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Speaker 1: her publicist, Marcel Piresot, said in a statement Tuesday, adding
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Speaker 1: the singer was surrounded by the Vanderbilt-Ingraham Cancer Center by
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Speaker 1: loved ones. Brian Seaver, Parton's nephew and head of security
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Speaker 1: for more than two decades, had earlier announced the news
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Speaker 1: of her death on Instagram on Tuesday. Dolly opened doors
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Speaker 1: for singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers from every walk of life,
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Speaker 1: he said. By her example, we believe anything was possible.
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Speaker 1: Both President Trump and Governor Beshear announced that flags would
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Speaker 1: be lowered for a week in her honor. Parton's death
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Speaker 1: comes after she announced in May that she was canceling
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Speaker 1: her Las Vegas residency, which was set to begin in
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Speaker 1: September after already being postponed nine months. She cited unspecified
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Speaker 1: health issues but told the public on a video Instagram
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Speaker 1: that she was responding really well to meds and treatments
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Speaker 1: and improving every day. For more on the passing of
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Speaker 1: Dolly Parton, we head on over to Saving Country Music
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Speaker 1: with the article dated August 25th. Congratulations, you lived in
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Speaker 1: the time of Dolly Parton, an infinite gift from above,
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Speaker 1: not dissimilar to those that lived in the time of
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Speaker 1: Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Mother Teresa,
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Speaker 1: Willie Nelson, and Queen Elizabeth. Your own time has overlapped
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Speaker 1: with this transcendent entertainer sage, poet, angel, and prophet that
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Speaker 1: time will never forget and likely fail to ever replicate,
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Speaker 1: but hopefully never ceases to attempt to emulate. Even though
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Speaker 1: Dolly's time with us has reached its end, like a
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Speaker 1: multitude of vessels or crevices whose walls are concave, the
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Speaker 1: contributions of Dolly Parton's character are collected upon this earth
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Speaker 1: in deep and vast pools for all of us to
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Speaker 1: go and partake from and be refreshed by, cleansed, reinvigorated,
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Speaker 1: wiser from the experience, now and forever. Country music? This
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Speaker 1: doesn't even begin to contain the multitudes of this woman's
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Speaker 1: towering contributions across the entire expanse of humanity and for
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Speaker 1: the benefit of all the nations. For eighty years, Dolly
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Speaker 1: Parton exemplified to everyone how best to be a human being.
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Speaker 1: She defined the pinnacle of the human experience refined into
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Speaker 1: one character full of love, forgiveness, acceptance, generosity, understanding, wisdom,
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Speaker 1: and light. Dolly Parton's life will be remembered in the
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Speaker 1: coming days in short and long recitations, both dry and eloquent,
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Speaker 1: enumerating her contributions across a host of artistic disciplines, not
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Speaker 1: just country music. Parton's acting resume would make her passing
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Speaker 1: notable in its own right. Her canticles in gospel, her
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Speaker 1: works in pop or award-winning moments themselves, and acted as
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Speaker 1: bridges to and from her country catalog and to country
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Speaker 1: music in general. She was the genre's greatest ever ambassador.
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Speaker 1: But you already know about all of those things about
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Speaker 1: Dolly's life, recalling them as tenderly as you do details
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Speaker 1: of your own, because they are so integral and intertwined
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Speaker 1: with your experiences. This is Dolly Parton we're eulogizing, after all.
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Speaker 1: Though no one discipline, medium, or even country or people
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Speaker 1: were the sole domain of Dolly's influence, it's the beaming
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Speaker 1: pride of every single lover of country music that beyond
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Speaker 1: everything else, Dolly Parton more than anything else can be
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Speaker 1: counted as one of their own. Dolly Parton's incredible longevity
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Speaker 1: as a performer means nearly all of us have never
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Speaker 1: known a world without her in it. Even as the
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Speaker 1: world descended into chaos, as it wants to do so
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Speaker 1: often these days, Dolly Parton and the kind-heartedness she exuded
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Speaker 1: was a constant. Dolly Parton played, she sang, she wrote
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Speaker 1: some of the sweetest songs ever to pass across tympanic membrane,
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Speaker 1: evoking characters in your mind's eye and making you feel
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Speaker 1: their emotions like few other storytellers in her time or
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Speaker 1: any other could. Yet Dolly's own story was the story
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Speaker 1: of America. She grew up dirt poor in a cabin
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Speaker 1: with her siblings, achieved incredible worldwide success and fame, and
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Speaker 1: then returned that favor back to the bosom of America
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Speaker 1: in the form of love, charity, literacy, inspiration, opportunity, and,
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Speaker 1: of course, entertainment. Now, as Saving Country Music says, the
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Speaker 1: babies born into the bosom of America and beyond, they
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Speaker 1: will only know Dolly Parton in past tense, as a
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Speaker 1: memory in the minds of others, as a folk hero
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Speaker 1: and a patron saint of so many causes. Usually it
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Speaker 1: takes a tragic ending to a magnanimous person's life for
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Speaker 1: a date to be forever marked as the day of
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Speaker 1: their passing. Words fail and emotions swell at the news
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Speaker 1: that Dolly Parton is gone. But forever will the world
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Speaker 1: hold the date of August 25th, 2026 deep in their
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Speaker 1: hearts as the day that Dolly left us. For now,
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Speaker 1: we move on to other news. Zach Topp releases two
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Speaker 1: new songs. Zach Topp's career feels like it's at a crossroads,
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Speaker 1: and which way it turns could also have major implications
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Speaker 1: on the entire country music genre itself. As the clear
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Speaker 1: frontrunner when it comes to young traditional country artists, he's
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Speaker 1: the tip of the spear helping to reinstall twang and
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Speaker 1: roots back into country music. But it's hard to not
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Speaker 1: conclude that his latest album, Ain't In It For My Health,
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Speaker 1: didn't have the same heft and lift that his album
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Speaker 1: Cold Beer and Country Music released in 24 did. Cold
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Speaker 1: Beer and Country Music had the super hit in I
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Speaker 1: Never Lie and other very strong offerings, Use Me, Sounds
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Speaker 1: Like the Radio, and Bad Luck, all of which are
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Speaker 1: well over 100 million spins on Spotify. The only song
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Speaker 1: over 30 million spins from Zach's Ain't It In It
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Speaker 1: For My Health is the single South of Sanity, which
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Speaker 1: is arguably the best and most substantiated song on the album.
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Speaker 1: It was said when both of Zach's recent albums were released,
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Speaker 1: but especially his last one, his songwriting needs more body
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Speaker 1: and originality if he's going to sustain an A-list status
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Speaker 1: in the country. The story of this era in country
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Speaker 1: music is not just that it's more country, it's also
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Speaker 1: that the songs are more meaningful. Simply putting new spins
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Speaker 1: on 90s country themes isn't going to cut it in
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Speaker 1: the long term. Smartly, Zach Topp has released two new
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Speaker 1: songs in hopes of reigniting some of that initial momentum
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Speaker 1: behind him. and generally speaking, they feel like they could
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Speaker 1: be valuable in that pursuit. Good Girls and Cowgirls is
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Speaker 1: not going to earn Zach Topp or co-writers Carson Chamberlain
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Speaker 1: and Tim Nichols any comparisons to John Prine, but you
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Speaker 1: definitely can hear how an appeal can be found in
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Speaker 1: this song. Unlike some of the tracks from Ain't In
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Speaker 1: It For My Health that were a little too on-the-nose
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Speaker 1: with their familiarity with 90s country standards, Good Girls and
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Speaker 1: Cowgirls comes with a more fresh perspective and one you
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Speaker 1: can hear resonating with both the guys and the ladies
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Speaker 1: in the audience, which is how a song can earn
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Speaker 1: that viral lift. Zachtop premiered the song at the Under
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Speaker 1: the Big Sky Festival in Montana in July. Though sometimes
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Speaker 1: new songs take a moment to warm up to, especially
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Speaker 1: in the live context, the enthusiastic crowd was singing along
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Speaker 1: by the final chorus and ecstatic with the results. Good
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Speaker 1: Girls and Cowgirls is paired with the more sentimental song
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Speaker 1: Other Side of Hurtin' which might remind some of South
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Speaker 1: of Sanity in its more slow and cerebral nature, if
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Speaker 1: maybe a bit more inebriated. Again, you can leave your
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Speaker 1: John Prine comparisons for Pony Bradshaw and Ian Noe, but
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Speaker 1: you can see how the song is an answer to
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Speaker 1: the call for songs with more substance from Zach Topp.
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Speaker 1: It was also co-written with Chamberlain and Nichols. As South
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Speaker 1: of Sanity shows signs of stalling in the teens on
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Speaker 1: the charts and never really made for an ideal summer single,
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Speaker 1: those two new songs give Zach Topp more options of
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Speaker 1: where to draw from next, though songs like When You
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Speaker 1: See Me and I Know a Place from the last
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Speaker 1: album could also be strong options. Even though it's human
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Speaker 1: nature to think that whatever trend is happening now is
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Speaker 1: the one that will continue into perpetuity, life and country
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Speaker 1: music especially has proven to be cyclical. Will this neo-traditional
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Speaker 1: country resurgence bolstered by Zach Topp and songs like Ella
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Speaker 1: Langley's Choose in Texas elongate into the future, or will
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Speaker 1: we look back five years from now at this moment
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Speaker 1: as fleeting? This fate might hang on the fortunes of
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Speaker 1: a specific song or two, like it has on Choose
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Speaker 1: in Texas and I Never Lie. Will either of these
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Speaker 1: two new Zach Topp songs perform similarly? Time will tell,
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Speaker 1: but it does feel like a step in the right
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Speaker 1: direction for Topp. Now we move on over to countrynow.com
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Speaker 1: with the first article dated April, that's August rather, 24th.
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Speaker 1: Bailey Zimmerman scores sixth number one celebrates with Chevy Silverado
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Speaker 1: music video. Bailey Zimmerman is celebrating another major career milestone
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Speaker 1: as Chevy Silverado reaches number one on the media-based country
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Speaker 1: radio chart, marking his sixth career number one at country radio.
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Speaker 1: The country act marked the milestone by taking fans back
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Speaker 1: to where it all began with the release of the
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Speaker 1: song's official music video filmed in his hometown. Directed by
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Speaker 1: Isaac Mason, the video follows Zimmerman as he cruises through
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Speaker 1: the small town of Louisville, and that's Louisville, Illinois, behind
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Speaker 1: the wheel of a vehicle that inspired the song's title.
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Speaker 1: The first clip finds the singer-songwriter hugging his mom before
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Speaker 1: grabbing his keys and telling her he's heading out to
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Speaker 1: drive for with his friends. He opens the garage door
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Speaker 1: to reveal the white Silverado at the center of the
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Speaker 1: song's story. Then to set the scene for the storyline,
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Speaker 1: he takes a glance at a crumpled sun-bleached Polaroid of
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Speaker 1: a former love interest and places it on the dashboard.
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Speaker 1: Turning up the radio, Chevy Silverado begins blasting through the speakers,
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Speaker 1: serving as the perfect soundtrack as Zimmerman hits the road.
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Speaker 1: After stopping for gas, he travels down gravel roads to
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Speaker 1: pick up a few friends before the group cruises through
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Speaker 1: Illinois cornfields, singing and enjoying the upbeat tune together. Beneath
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Speaker 1: the feel-good road trip is a story about finally letting go.
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Speaker 1: Co-written by Zimmerman, along with Tucker Beathard, Isley Juber, Gavin Lucas,
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Speaker 1: and Heath Warren, the song centers on a young love
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Speaker 1: that got lost along the way. Even though the singer
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Speaker 1: might not have the girl anymore, he still has the
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Speaker 1: truck that holds all the memories of their past relationship.
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Speaker 1: Throughout the song, Zimmerman wrestles with the possibility of getting
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Speaker 1: her back, even imagining that his Silverado could drive all
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Speaker 1: night to find her if she asked him to. As
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Speaker 1: he sings the line, went from holding on tight to
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Speaker 1: letting me go, he throws the Polaroid out of the
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Speaker 1: truck window, signaling that he's finally ready to leave that
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Speaker 1: part of his life in the past. With the sun
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Speaker 1: setting over the Illinois countryside, the Just Believe singer eventually
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Speaker 1: returns to the same garage where his journey began, but
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Speaker 1: this time with an extra weight off his shoulders. Upon
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Speaker 1: learning the news that he has added yet another top-charting
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Speaker 1: track to his resume, Zimmerman took to social media to
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Speaker 1: thank everyone who helped him reach his achievement and support
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Speaker 1: the song's journey. He wrote, with this being my sixth
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Speaker 1: number one song, I wanted to do something special for
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Speaker 1: you all. Chevy Silverado video. My mom is out now.
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Speaker 1: I hope you all love it as much as I do.
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Speaker 1: Thank you all for getting this one all the way
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Speaker 1: to the top. You truly have no idea how much
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Speaker 1: it means to me. Love you all for real. Next,
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Speaker 1: KC Musgraves goes big for Middle of Nowhere Tour opening
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Speaker 1: night in Chicago. Casey Musgraves kicked off her middle-of-nowhere tour
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Speaker 1: in Chicago with one clear message, go big or go home.
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Speaker 1: And she certainly went big. From an unforgettable entrance to
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Speaker 1: performing on a rotating 360-degree stage, larger-than-life production, and plenty
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Speaker 1: of rhinestones, Musgraves pulled out all the stops. A little
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Speaker 1: after 9 p.m. on Friday, thunder struck Blair through the
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Speaker 1: speakers of the United Center and a countdown appeared on
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Speaker 1: the screen, letting fans know that Musgraves would be arriving soon.
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Speaker 1: Minutes later, she emerged atop a rusted tin structure featuring
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Speaker 1: a large middle-of-nowhere sign. Backlit by beams of light shooting
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Speaker 1: from the structure, she launched into Everybody Wants to Be
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Speaker 1: a Cowboy with an American flag and Chicago flag hanging
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Speaker 1: behind her. The Grammy Award-winning singer eventually made her way
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Speaker 1: through the crowd, separated by barricades, before stepping onto the
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Speaker 1: main stage, which featured a giant star at its center.
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Speaker 1: She wasted no time in setting the tone for the
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Speaker 1: energy of the night with fan favorites Dry Spell, justified,
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Speaker 1: and high horse. She then got even closer to the
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Speaker 1: sold-out crowd, moving on to the lower level of the
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Speaker 1: stage where she paused to address everyone in attendance and
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Speaker 1: acknowledged the fact that her 38th birthday happened to fall
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Speaker 1: on the opening night of the tour. The very, very
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Speaker 1: first show of this entire era is right here in
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Speaker 1: Chicago tonight. And did anyone happen to mention that it's
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Speaker 1: also my birthday, she asked? Yeah, thanks for the signs.
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Speaker 1: It's really cute. I love them. The Chicago crowd helped
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Speaker 1: make the milestone show even more memorable by holding up
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Speaker 1: special birthday signs and singing happy birthday several times throughout
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Speaker 1: the night, including when a team member brought her a
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Speaker 1: cake with candles to blow out. At one point, she
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Speaker 1: even pointed out, I think this is the biggest birthday
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Speaker 1: party I've ever had. From there, she transported the audience
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Speaker 1: to 2012, a.k.a. back to the beginning, she stated before
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Speaker 1: delivering merry-go-round. The performance marked the beginning of one of
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Speaker 1: the night's many visual spectacles, as Musgraves rotated around the
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Speaker 1: 360-degree stage, giving fans in every section of the arena
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Speaker 1: a chance to get a good view. Meanwhile, Garth Brooks
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Speaker 1: kicks off Blame It All on My Roots Tour with
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Speaker 1: a sold-out show, Stopping Night, in Indianapolis. Consider this your
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Speaker 1: sign to see Garth Brooks live. If you haven't experienced
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Speaker 1: one of his shows yet, you're missing out on a one-of-a-kind,
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Speaker 1: larger-than-life magic that the country music icon can bring to
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Speaker 1: the stage. On opening night of his Blame It All
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Speaker 1: on My Roots tour, which took place at the Gainbridge
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Speaker 1: Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Thursday the 20th, Brooks reminded everyone
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Speaker 1: exactly why he's been a force in country music for
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Speaker 1: nearly four decades and why his timeless catalog has kept
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Speaker 1: generations of fans coming back. It's safe to say this
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Speaker 1: was a show unlike any other. For starters, there was
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Speaker 1: no opening act. Instead, Brooks let the anticipation build while
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Speaker 1: fans piled into the arena setting. A handful of video
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Speaker 1: montage played across the screens, warming up the crowd and
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Speaker 1: taking fans through moments of his career, followed by a
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Speaker 1: pre-recorded video message filmed just for his Indianapolis audience. Band,
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Speaker 1: crew's been working their butts off for two years. Saw
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Speaker 1: drawings of this thing start happening two years ago. Can't
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Speaker 1: thank you enough for how you showed up on sale day.
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Speaker 1: And I think the wish here is the same wish
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Speaker 1: that I'm wishing for the band and crew myself. I
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Speaker 1: just hope you have the best time of your life,
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Speaker 1: he stated. The lights went dark and Countdown appeared on
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Speaker 1: the Halo, a 360-degree video system with inward and outward-facing
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Speaker 1: screens that was just one part of the cutting-edge technology
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Speaker 1: woven throughout the show. As the clock struck zero, Brooks
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Speaker 1: rose onto the stage to a screaming arena packed with
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Speaker 1: fans who had been there since the beginning of his career,
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Speaker 1: as well as younger generation of country fans who may
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Speaker 1: have been discovering his music for the first time. Brooks
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Speaker 1: made it clear that his goal with this run was
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Speaker 1: to take everything fans loved about his legendary arena shows
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Speaker 1: and rebuild it for 2026. He incorporated retro staging that
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Speaker 1: transported the sold-out crowd back in time, and at the
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Speaker 1: center of that experience was the return of the iconic
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Speaker 1: drum pod. This piece of stage technology Brooks debuted during
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Speaker 1: his 1996-98 world tour, and now, after nearly 30 years later,
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Speaker 1: it has come back in full force. The tour also
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Speaker 1: serves as the foundation for Killer Live, a groundbreaking new
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Speaker 1: approach to live recording that continues Brooks' tradition of capturing
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Speaker 1: history in real time. The nostalgia runs even deeper in Indianapolis,
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Speaker 1: in particular. While his current tour launched at Gainbridge Fieldhouse,
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Speaker 1: his 1996-98 world tour stop came to the same city
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Speaker 1: and took place at Market Square Arena, the downtown venue
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Speaker 1: that was demolished in 2001. The venue may have changed,
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Speaker 1: but all these years later, Brooks is still fulfilling his
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Speaker 1: mission of making every seat feel like the best seat
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Speaker 1: in the house. Some traditions will never die, good Lord willing,
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Speaker 1: from the band, the crew, and especially myself. Thanks for
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Speaker 1: letting us come back to the great state of Indiana
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Speaker 1: to play our music. Next, Eric Church reflects on the
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Speaker 1: power of music while accepting ACM Lifting Lives Award. Eric
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Speaker 1: Church was honored for his unwavering generosity during the 19th
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Speaker 1: ACM Honors on Wednesday a couple of weeks ago. Surrounded
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Speaker 1: by his family, including his wife, mother, father, sister, and brother-in-law,
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Speaker 1: Church took the stage to deliver a heartfelt acceptance speech,
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Speaker 1: reflecting on the role music has played throughout his life
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Speaker 1: and how it ultimately became a catalyst for giving back.
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Speaker 1: Church spoke out about the opportunities his career has afforded
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Speaker 1: him to help others particularly through the efforts he has
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Speaker 1: supported across his home state of North Carolina in the
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Speaker 1: aftermath of Hurricane Helene. For Church, the ability to use
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Speaker 1: his platform to make a difference has become one of
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Speaker 1: the most meaningful parts of his journey in music. And
18:01
Speaker 1: here's the thing. I believe that God made music the
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Speaker 1: universal language. I believe that that was decreed when King
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Speaker 1: David wrote the first song. And you forget what music
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Speaker 1: can do and who it can speak to, he said.
18:12
Speaker 1: Church revealed that because of music, they're putting a 37th
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Speaker 1: family in a home of western North Carolina with 41
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Speaker 1: more on the way in a neighboring county. And it
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Speaker 1: was because of the music that happened. It changed lives.
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Speaker 1: It's changing kids' lives. It's changing their future, he declared.
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Speaker 1: The ACM Lifting Lives Award honors the contributions of Gary Haber,
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Speaker 1: a business manager and past president of ACM Lifting Lives.
18:35
Speaker 1: This award is presented to a country music artist, duo, group,
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Speaker 1: or industry professional who is devoted to improving lives through
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Speaker 1: the power of music, has a generosity of spirit, and
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Speaker 1: is committed to serving others. It is voted on by
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Speaker 1: the ACM Lifting Lives Board of Directors. Church was honored
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Speaker 1: for his longstanding commitment to giving back and his continued
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Speaker 1: efforts to support communities in need. In particular, the award
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Speaker 1: recognizes his extensive work helping North Carolina recover and rebuild
19:04
Speaker 1: following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Church's efforts began
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Speaker 1: with a concert for Carolina, which he co-organized with Luke
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Speaker 1: Combs to raise funds for hurricane relief. He later donated
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Speaker 1: all of the royalties from his song, Darkest Hour, to
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Speaker 1: support those impacted by the disaster. Rather than stopping there,
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Speaker 1: Church continued looking for ways to help after recognizing a
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Speaker 1: gap in long-term support for communities working to rebuild. Through
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Speaker 1: his charitable organization, Chief Cares, which he founded in 2013,
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Speaker 1: Church's work to strengthen communities through hands-on support, compassion, and
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Speaker 1: long-term investment. His work in North Carolina now includes Blue Haven,
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Speaker 1: a housing initiative focused on building rent-free, mortgage-free homes for
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Speaker 1: families as the region continues its recovery. Church has also
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Speaker 1: donated millions of dollars to causes around the world, including
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Speaker 1: orphanages in Nepal, disaster relief in Haiti, and no-kill animal shelters.
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Speaker 1: His connection to ACM Lifting Lives also runs deep. having
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Speaker 1: participated in the organization's 2021 Ad Council and COVID Collaborative
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Speaker 1: public service announcement during the 56th ACM Awards. Now we
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Speaker 1: return to more about Dolly Parton and her passing, first
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Speaker 1: from Holler.com, the best Dolly Parton songs, according to the
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Speaker 1: folks at Holler. With the heavy news of Dolly's passing,
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Speaker 1: the team at Holler.com took time to remember her best
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Speaker 1: songs over 60 years. Number 20. Love is like a butterfly.
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Speaker 1: Dolly began every episode of her Dolly TV show in
20:37
Speaker 1: the 70s with this breezy song. Number 19, My Tennessee
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Speaker 1: Mountain Home. Dolly went back to her hillbilly roots on
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Speaker 1: her 1973 concept album, My Tennessee Mountain Home. Number 18 says, Holler,
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Speaker 1: Touch Your Woman. It's sexy and it's intimate, says Dolly,
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Speaker 1: about the sultry title track to her 1972 album, but
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Speaker 1: it's also innocent and pure. Number 17, here you come again.
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Speaker 1: I'm not leaving country, I'm taking it with me, Dolly
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Speaker 1: explained to her detractors as she hit back at country
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Speaker 1: music purists upset by her embracing 70s pop and disco.
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Speaker 1: Number 16 says holler the seeker. Dolly didn't realize that
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Speaker 1: she hadn't mentioned God or Jesus once in this profoundly
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Speaker 1: inspirational gospel song from 1975 until years later. Potential new boyfriend,
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Speaker 1: number 15. Written by Steve Kipner and John Lewis Parker,
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Speaker 1: this silky pop banger was the only single to be
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Speaker 1: released from Dolly's Burlap and Satin album in 1983. Wildflowers
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Speaker 1: comes in at number 14. Written by Dolly and recorded
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Speaker 1: with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt for the first of
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Speaker 1: the trio albums, this sweetly old-fashioned Appalachian folk song tells
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Speaker 1: the story of a misfit young girl who longs to
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Speaker 1: follow her dreams and escape the restrictions of the town
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Speaker 1: she grew up in. Number 13, Eagle When She Flies.
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Speaker 1: If I ain't writing about angels, I'm writing about eagles
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Speaker 1: or butterflies. Dolly jokes about her prediction, or predication, rather,
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Speaker 1: for writing songs about things and wings. Number 12, Old
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Speaker 1: Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You. Written by the
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Speaker 1: married songwriters Hugh Moffat and P.B. Siebert, Dolly took this
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Speaker 1: sweet ballad from Dolly, Dolly, Dolly to the top of
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Speaker 1: the country singles chart in 1980. At 11, Down from Dover. Lord,
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Speaker 1: I just can't be depressing enough, can I? Dolly jokes
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Speaker 1: about this tale of an unwed pregnant girl who runs
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Speaker 1: away from home after her parents disown her. Holler says
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Speaker 1: number 10, Islands in the Stream. Originally written by the
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Speaker 1: Bee Gees for Marvin Gaye, they eventually countrified it for
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Speaker 1: Kenny Rogers, who turned it into a duet with Dolly
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Speaker 1: and took it all the way to number one. To
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Speaker 1: Daddy is number nine, originally intended to be the first
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Speaker 1: single on an upcoming Dolly and Porter Wagoner album, The
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Speaker 1: pair fell out over this feminist saga when it was
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Speaker 1: originally written. Number eight, Just Because I'm a Woman. Like
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Speaker 1: all the best Dolly Parton songs, Just Because I'm a
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Speaker 1: Woman says a lot in a simple way. Holler says
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Speaker 1: number seven would be two doors down. If someone is
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Speaker 1: on a diet, they spend the whole time daydreaming about
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Speaker 1: what they could be eating if they weren't. When Dolly
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Speaker 1: Parton's on a diet, she writes a worldwide pop country
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Speaker 1: smash hit. Number six. Why'd you come here looking like that?
23:26
Speaker 1: Following the disappointment of her Rainbow album and her ill-fated
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Speaker 1: late 80s variety show, Ricky Skaggs took up the production
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Speaker 1: reins for her 1989 album White Limousine, catapulting her back
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Speaker 1: into country music. Number six, The Bargain Store. The invitation
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Speaker 1: to come inside and the guarantee that you'll be completely
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Speaker 1: satisfied if you do were deemed too risque by some
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Speaker 1: conservative country radio broadcasters upon The Bargain Store's release in 1975.
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Speaker 1: Then at number three comes 9 to 5. Starring alongside
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Speaker 1: Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, Dolly had to write her
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Speaker 1: first worldwide number one with her fingernails as she wasn't
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Speaker 1: allowed her guitar on the set of the movie 9
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Speaker 1: to 5. Number two, I Will Always Love You. I
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Speaker 1: was so emotional I was crying when I was writing it,
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Speaker 1: Dolly said. And Holler.com says number one song from Dolly Parton,
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Speaker 1: of course, is Jolene. Every band can sing it. Every
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Speaker 1: woman can relate to it, Dolly said about the song
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Speaker 1: that has gone to be covered by everyone from the
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Speaker 1: White Stripes to Ellie Goulding. Now it's on over to theboot.com
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Speaker 1: with the first article dated August 25th, of course. Whitney
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Speaker 1: wasn't the only one. Here's five singers who nailed Dolly's
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Speaker 1: I Will Always Love You. Dolly Parton may have written
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Speaker 1: and recorded I Will Always Love You first, but the
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Speaker 1: song went on to become one of the most beloved
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Speaker 1: vocal showcases in music history. Whitney Houston. Her 92 version
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Speaker 1: of the Bodyguard soundtrack is the cover most people immediately
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Speaker 1: think of. Her towering pop ballad rendition became a global
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Speaker 1: record-breaking smash. Vince Gill. He brought the song back to
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Speaker 1: its country roots with a celebrated version recorded with Parton herself.
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Speaker 1: Leigh-Anne Rimes. Rimes has repeatedly taken I Will Always Love
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Speaker 1: You to live performances, bringing the kind of powerhouse vocals
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Speaker 1: the song demands. How about Kelly Clarkson? Kelly delivered a
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Speaker 1: widely praised tribute performance of the song in honor of Parton,
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Speaker 1: putting her famously massive voice behind one of Parton's most
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Speaker 1: enduring compositions. And Jennifer Hudson. Hudson has delivered two particularly
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Speaker 1: memorable performances of the song. In 2010, she performed it
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Speaker 1: directly at Houston at the BET Honors while Houston watched
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Speaker 1: from the audience. Two years later, following Houston's death, Hudson
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Speaker 1: delivered an emotional impromptu rendition during the 2012 Grammy Awards. Next,
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Speaker 1: Dolly Parton's final message to fans was filled with hope.
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Speaker 1: Dolly Parton's death has left fans with heavy hearts and
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Speaker 1: one key question, did she know? As in, did Parton
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Speaker 1: know she was really sick even as she told us
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Speaker 1: her future was bright? We may never know the answer
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Speaker 1: to that question. For now, it's worth sitting with her
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Speaker 1: final messages sent in interviews and on social media. On Instagram,
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Speaker 1: Parton's final post came on August 5th. It's a throwback
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Speaker 1: clip of her singing Islands in the Stream with Kenny Rogers.
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Speaker 1: That's fitting, as Rogers, who died in 2020, was the
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Speaker 1: duet partner she was most closely associated with. Prior to that,
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Speaker 1: she sent out a video promoting her new museum and hotel.
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Speaker 1: My Life of Many Colors is set to open inside
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Speaker 1: her Songtellers Hotel in Nashville later this year. Before that,
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Speaker 1: it was a mix of throwbacks and promotional videos for
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Speaker 1: projects she was working on. Country fans have started to
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Speaker 1: realize that her last very personal Instagram post was sent
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Speaker 1: to thank Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey, for a donation
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Speaker 1: to her imagination library. Last Friday, Parton spoke to people
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Speaker 1: about her health and indicated she was moving full steam
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Speaker 1: ahead with professional plans. Turing might not be an option
26:58
Speaker 1: she shared, but she was working on Avatar performances that
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Speaker 1: allowed her to be present in a different sort of way.
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Speaker 1: The 80-year-old confessed to hard times with my health and
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Speaker 1: added a familiar line that she was finally paying attention
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Speaker 1: to her own health after years spent looking after her
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Speaker 1: late husband, Carl, who died back in 2025. But I
27:17
Speaker 1: think because we live in a 24-7 world with social media,
27:21
Speaker 1: everything gets magnified in ways it wasn't years ago, she says.
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Speaker 1: I used to joke that I was the queen of
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Speaker 1: the tabloids, but now I guess I can say I'm
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Speaker 1: the queen of social media, or AI. Seriously, though, even
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Speaker 1: though I'm still healing, I'm still working. This message is
27:37
Speaker 1: similar to what she shared throughout 2026, even as more
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Speaker 1: and more missed appearances stacked up. And finally, the song
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Speaker 1: that Dolly Parton wanted to be played at her funeral,
27:47
Speaker 1: It'll Break Your Heart. Dolly Parton had already chosen one
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Speaker 1: of the songs she wanted played when the time came
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Speaker 1: to say goodbye. Years before her death, the country music
27:57
Speaker 1: icon revealed that she wanted an old gospel hymn with
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Speaker 1: a deeply personal connection to her family to be sung
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Speaker 1: at her funeral. In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly,
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Speaker 1: Parton was asked to choose the soundtrack to her life.
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Speaker 1: Among the songs she named was If We Never Meet Again,
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Speaker 1: an old country gospel hymn about reuniting in heaven. She
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Speaker 1: then explained why the song was so personal. That was
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Speaker 1: my daddy's favorite, Parton said. We did sing it at
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Speaker 1: his funeral, and I would like it to be sung
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Speaker 1: at mine. The song's message about separation and an eventual
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Speaker 1: reunion now carries an even deeper meaning. Parton also expected
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Speaker 1: another song to be part of her funeral, I Will
28:34
Speaker 1: Always Love You. Well, this concludes the reading of Country
28:38
Speaker 1: Weekly for this week. If you have any comments or
28:40
Speaker 1: suggestions about our program, kindly call us at 859-422-6390. Thank
28:47
Speaker 1: you for joining me, and on behalf of everyone here
28:50
Speaker 1: at Radio Eye, this is Ken Dawkins wishing you a
28:53
Speaker 1: great day.