Latest Dolly Parton News

Dolly Parton sings her family's story on 'Smoky Mountain DNA.' She says it is her 'favorite album'

Nov. 13, 2024 13:08 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — Dolly Parton's musical story starts further back than most might expect — to the British Isles of the 1600s. That's where her ancestors hail from, eventually landing in the hollers of East Tennessee and its familiar mountain ranges, bringing their songs with them. A new album...

Death toll from Hurricane Helene rises to 227 as grim task of recovering bodies continues

Oct. 05, 2024 21:31 PM EDT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The death toll from Hurricane Helene inched up to 227 on Saturday as the grim task of recovering bodies continued more than a week after the monster storm ravaged the Southeast and killed people in six states. Helene came ashore Sept. 26 as a Category 4...

Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Martin Scorsese and more stars pay tribute to Kris Kristofferson

Sep. 30, 2024 17:40 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Reaction to the death of Kris Kristofferson. The singer-songwriter and actor died Saturday at his home in Hawaii surrounded by family at age 88. ___ “The first time I saw Kris performing at the Troubadour club in L.A. I knew he was something...

Nashville's Mother Church of Country Music retains its roots as religious house of worship

Sep. 07, 2024 08:16 AM EDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium is known as the Mother Church of Country Music. And, indeed, it began as a church, built by a riverboat captain who was converted to religion by an evangelist. More than 130 years after it was built as the nondenominational...

Dolly Parton is sending free books to children across 21 states — and around the world

Aug. 28, 2024 07:01 AM EDT

Dolly Parton's father grew up poor and never got the chance to learn to read. Inspired by her upbringing, the 78-year-old country music legend has made it her mission over the past three decades to improve literacy through her Imagination Library book giveaway program. It has...