Pictured (L-R): Greg Linn, SVP, Marketing & Content, Legacy Recordings/Sony Music; Parton; John Jackson, SVP, A&R, Legacy Recordings/Sony Music; and John Zarling, EVP, Marketing & New Business, Sony Music Nashville. Photo credit: John Shearer
Dolly Parton is kicking off 2018 in a big way, receiving recognition from the Emmys, RIAA and Guinness World Records for multiple milestones.
Parton is nominated for a 32nd Midsouth Regional Emmy Award in the Community Service category for Smoky Mountains Rise, along with collaborators Nicholas E. Dugger, Danny Nozell, Pete Owens, Scott Durand, Shanna Strassberg, Edie Lynn Hoback and John Zarling. The event will be streamed live Saturday, Jan. 20, at 8 pm CT from Nashville’s Music City Center, and during the ceremony, Parton and the Dollywood Foundation will receive The Governors’ Award for outstanding achievement in community service.
She is also being recognized in the pages of the Guinness World Records 2018 Edition, for holding records for the Most Decades with a Top 20 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart and Most Hits on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs Chart by a Female Artist. To make it official, Guinness World Records visited Dolly in Nashville recently to present her with record title certificates and sit down for an exclusive interview that can be seen here.
Surpassing George Jones, Elvis Presley and Reba McEntire, Parton is the only artist with Top 20 hits across six consecutive decades (1960s–2010s), earning her the title of Most Decades with a Top 20 Hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart. Beginning with her first Top 20 entry, “Something Fishy” in 1967, she’s a credited artist on a further 73 Top 20 hits, including her most recent, a new version of her beloved 1974 title “Jolene,” featuring a capella quintet Pentatonix, which debuted at No.18 on the chart dated October 8, 2016.
The 2016 remastered version of “Jolene” was also Dolly’s 107th chart entry, solidifying her second record title for the Most Hits on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs Chart by a Female Artist. Of the 107 hits, twenty-one were achieved with former partner Porter Wagoner (1927–2007).
Parton also recently was surprised with the news of four Recording Industry Association certifications. She was presented with plaques in recognition of the RIAA Gold certification of her recording of “I Will Always Love You” (RCA) with over 500,000 digital sales and streams, Gold certification of “Jolene” (RCA) with over 500,000 digital sales and streams, and Platinum certification of “9 To 5” (RCA) which has amassed over one million digital sales and streams. “9 To 5,” penned by Parton, has also been chosen as the music bed to a new Northwestern Mutual national TV commercial.
As the sole songwriter of “I Will Always Love You,” recorded by Whitney Houston on The Bodyguard film soundtrack (Legacy/Arista), Parton also received a plaque commemorating Triple-Platinum certification for over three million digital sales and streams of the smash hit.
Photo: John Shearer
About the Author
Hollabaugh, a staff writer at MusicRow magazine, has over 20 years of music business experience and has written for publications including American Profile, CMA Close Up, Nashville Arts And Entertainment, The Boot and Country Weekly. She has a Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University, (go Horned Frogs), and welcomes your feedback or story ideas at lhollabaugh@musicrow.com.View Author Profile
