The perfect tribute for the east Tennessee queen.
On August 25, 2026, Dolly Parton sadly passed away at 80-years-old in Nashville Tennessee. Dolly had been dealing with undisclosed health issues for the last year or so, and she previously shared that she was having issues with severe kidney stones. Dolly’s reps confirmed she sadly died following a “brief battle with cancer,” though the specific kind was not revealed.
And last night, her friend Reba honored Dolly with a flawless performance of Dolly’s song “Appalachian Memories,” which was released in 1983 as part of her 25th solo studio album, Burlap & Satin. Dolly wrote it about her life growing up in the Appalachian mountains, and the struggles of poor families like hers. It was emotional, and flawless, and Reba was the perfect selection for the moment.
In an interview with Vogue, Reba opened up about her Emmy tribute to Dolly, as well as her memories with the country music icon, recalling the first time she met Dolly in 1977 at the Grand Ole Opry.
She says Dolly showed up unexpectedly that night,
“The first time I was in her presence, it was September 17, 1977. I was making my Grand Ole Opry debut and was supposed to sing two songs that night. They came to me and said one of my songs was going to have to be cut because Dolly Parton had just walked in the back door.
I said, ‘Heck, you can have both of them if I can just meet Dolly!’ I will never forget her walking through in this beautiful black chiffon outfit with rhinestone butterflies. She looked just like an angel!”
As to why she chose “Appalachian Memories,” Reba knew how special that song was to Dolly as it was about her raising in Appalachia and it was a huge part of her. Reba felt it was the perfect way to honor Dolly, saying the way she always “carried her upbringing with her” and she always admired that:
“It’s always been one of my favorite Dolly songs. She wrote it about her family and I think it’s just so beautiful and perfect to honor who she was and where she came from. She always carried her upbringing with her, and I admired that. There will never be another Dolly Parton.”
Of course, if you’re going to honor Dolly the right way, Reba made sure to bring it with her dress, choosing a sparkly, long-sleeve white dress designed by Michael Schmidt, which was an homage to the dress Dolly wore the first time she performed “Appalachian Memories.” They also showed footage from that performance ahead of Reba’s, and it was just perfect:
“I didn’t want to wear black. I wanted to wear something sparkly, just like Dolly would have done. When Dolly did her first TV special, ‘Live in London,’ in 1983, she wore a white fringed gown, and that’s where she first sang ‘Appalachian Memories.’ So my white gown is a little nod to that moment.”
Reba also got to borrow some special jewelry, which Dolly’s family loaned to her:
“My manager, Justin McIntosh, surprised me by asking Dolly’s niece, Rebecca, if they would loan some of Dolly’s jewelry for me to wear. They graciously said yes, and it was an honor to have a little piece of her on stage with me. I picked a pair of rhinestone earrings and a butterfly ring. There’s nothing that says Dolly more than rhinestones and butterflies!”
The two of them were friends for years, and while because they were both so busy it was hard to stay in touch, especially because Reba could only get a hold of her via fax (even Kenny Rogers didn’t have Dolly’s phone number), they would always catch up when they worked together, which was quite a bit over the years:
“We didn’t talk as much as I would have liked to—it was hard to stay in touch like that when we were both always working so hard! Dolly communicated mostly via fax. I asked Kenny Rogers one time if he had Dolly’s phone number, and even he didn’t have it.
Our catch-ups usually happened when we worked together, which thankfully was a lot over the years. We’d talk about our families and friends that we shared. I cherish those memories.”
Dolly also famously offered her entire band to Reba after a tragic plane crash in 1991 took the lives of 7 band members and her tour manager. Reba was visibly emotional talking about how Dolly ultimately sent her band leader, Gary Smith, to help her put a new band together.
Reba says it was something she’ll “never forget”:
“When I lost my band in the plane crash in 1991. Dolly was one of the first people to call me. She offered her band to me. And her band leader did help put a new band together when it was time. I’ll never forget that.”
These kinds of tributes, especially for a figure of Dolly’s reach and magnitude, often fall flat, but Reba was the perfect choice and delivered it with so much heart and passion, making it so heartfelt and authentic.
Dolly was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards throughout her career, spanning from 1978 to 2023. She was first nominated in 1978 for Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music Nominated for her appearance on ABC’s Cher… Special. In 2017, she was nominated for Outstanding Television Movie as an executive producer for NBC’s Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love. In 2020, she was nominated for Outstanding Television Movie as an executive producer for the Netflix film Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bones. In 2021, she was nominated for Outstanding Television Movie as an executive producer for the Netflix movie Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, which she won. In 2023, she was nominated for Outstanding Television Movie as an executive producer for NBC’s Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas.
They really did a fabulous job, I really loved how they had the footage of Dolly performing “Appalachian Memories” for the first time at the beginning, and I think Dolly would’ve absolutely loved this:
“Appalachian Memories”
