Dolly Parton posthumously accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Americana Honors & Awards, appearing in pre-recorded video clip at the event on Wednesday night (September 12).
News of Dolly’s death rocked the music world when it emerged last month. Though she had previously told fans she was dealing with some health issues that she “didn’t pay attention to” while looking after late husband Carl Dean, the public had no idea of her cancer diagnosis, which her sister later explained was because “she did not want people sad”.
According to Variety, the audience gathered at the Ryman Auditorium for the Americana Awards gasped when Parton appeared on a large screen to accept the award in what was intended to be in absentia, but would up being posthumous.
”Well, hey, it’s Dolly, and I am so honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association,” she said in the pre-recorded video. “I mean, roots music, or what is now called Americana music, is what I grew up playing back in the Smoky Mountains. It’s that same music that drew me back to East Tennessee back in 1997 to write and record my album Hungry Again.”
Parton continued, “And that project really opened the door to a series of bluegrass and acoustic albums that changed the course of my career in so many ways. Now, new fans discovered these albums, new Americana music communities embraced them, and now, looking back at it all, I see this era of my career as a musical renaissance of sorts.”
To conclude her acceptance speech, the ‘9 to 5’ singer thanked “everybody at the AMA for recognizing me with this award”, saying: “It’s a great honor, truly, and just know that I will always love you.”
Parton was further honored on Wednesday night with a performance of her song “Coat of Many Colors” led by Brandi Carlile and I’m with Her. Before the video of her acceptance speech was played, Emmylou Harris introduced the segment.
In recent weeks, similar tributes for Dolly have poured in from across the world. Kacey Musgraves performed ‘Here You Come Again’ in Boston, while Maisie Peters covered the same song at Reading Festival.
Jack White played ‘Jolene’ at a recent London show, while Orville Peck delivered a rendition of ‘I Will Always Love You’. Olivia Rodrigo also dedicated her duet with Sarah McLachlan at Daisy Chain Fields to the later singer.
The outpouring of love for the ‘9 to 5’ singer also saw the board of Nashville International Airport recently vote to rename it her in honour.
Meanwhile, Dolly’s relatives confirmed that the country star’s funeral had taken place in a private ceremony at Nashville’s Woodlawn Memorial Park, where fellow country stars Porter Wagoner, George Jones and Tammy Wynette are also buried.
Her estate have also confirmed the inaugural edition of the “star-studded” DollyFest, which will last two days in Nashville and London. The festival, which was supposed to go ahead this January if it weren’t for Dolly’s health struggles, will celebrate her legacy “instead of a traditional public memorial”.
The NME obituary for Parton concluded: “Resplendent in her rhinestone suit, she embodied both qualities as a unifying icon. The world has become more divided since that set, but everyone will always love Dolly.”
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