Watch Dolly Parton perform 'Jolene' at amazing Grand Ole Opry 50th anniversary show
27 November 2019, 12:01
Dolly Parton fans were treated to a special medley of her hits at a celebration of her 50th anniversary on the Grand Ole Opry.
A two-hour special aired in the US on NBC last night (November 26), with Dolly marking 50 years in the long-running country institution, though you could actually add another 10 years to that figure.
“A lot of people think this is my 50th year at the Grand Ole Opry," she said. "It’s actually been 60, because the first time I got to sing on the Opry, I was 13 years old."
“But then the night that I became a member after I was working with The Porter Wagoner Show — and got to actually be a member 50 years ago this year — was one of the highlights of my whole life because it was a true dream of mine.”
Recorded back on October 12 at the Opry House, the special marked Dolly's half-century as a member of the famous Opry, including performances by several of country music’s biggest stars including Emmylou Harris, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Margo Price and others.
Dolly Parton Sings "Jolene" - Dolly Parton: 50 Years at the Opry
Dolly finished the show with a handful of her hits, including 'Jolene', '9 to 5' and 'I Will Always Love You'.
“We’d come down to Nashville back and forth in an old, beat-up car, sleeping in the backseat, and go to the Grand Ole Opry, wait backstage, looking at all the greats," the Queen of Country said.
"That was always my dream. My daddy loved the Grand Ole Opry, so we had to listen to it back home, and me dreaming of being on it and I just remember that being special.”
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Various artists paid tribute to the music icon, with Lady Antebellum opening the special with her classic duet with Kenny Rogers, 'Islands in the Stream'.
Emmylou Harris sang an acoustic version of 'To Daddy', while Margo Price took on 'The Seeker'.
