Sevier County superstar
Dolly Parton took some personal time off from her busy press schedule Saturday to celebrate the life and music of former television partner and mentor,
Porter Wagoner. In her own
Celebrity Theater, the singer spent an emotional and poignant afternoon singing the songs and sharing the stories of the time she and
Porter spent together and the impact the legend had on all who surrounded him.
Parton also took the opportunity to surprise manager, and original Wagon Master, Don Warden with an induction into the Missouri based
Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. The
Dollywood Theater was transformed with familiar sets from the long-running country music show and
Dolly’s band, The Backwoods Boys, dressed in the signature costumes from the era.
Dolly, herself, wore a
Porter-inspired outfit to set the mood for the afternoon.
“This won’t be a sad time,” she assured the crowd. “This will be a happy time!” The private event was attended by Wagoner’s children and grand children and many of the
Grand Ole Opry stars who had performed with him during his long and successful career. “
The Porter Wagoner Show” debuted on syndicated television in 1960 and the flashy country star brought new talent
Dolly Parton aboard in 1967.
Parton credits his support and the popularity of their duets together, as the foundation of her own success.
During the emotional memorial, Wagon Master
steel guitar player Don Warden was surprised by
Parton with a tribute of his own. Dressed in the original costume he wore on the famed show, Warden was gifted with a sculpture from
Parton who described him as her “Angel on Earth” and told of his induction into the
Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. When
Dolly left the
Porter Wagoner Show, Warden went with her as manager and has remained with her as an adviser through the years. This very special tribute marked the first time the two had performed together in 34 years.
Eyes glistening with tears, Parton closed the memorial with the original version of her 1974 musical farewell to their partnership, “I Will Always Love You”. “Not a dry eye in the house,” says Sevierville media artist Jacob Timmons, who designed and manages Parton’s web empire. “The whole first row of the theater was Porter’s family, the second row was legends from the Grand Ole Opry. It was a powerful and moving expression of love”. Porter Wagoner died on October 28, 2007, in Nashville Tennessee. His career spanned seven decades.
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As thunder storms and funnel clouds ripped through
East Tennessee yesterday,
Pigeon Forge had their own special angel keeping skies sunny and dry! This area's favorite daughter,
Dolly Parton, welcomed Spring with her annual parade down the city's main street, and even the weather seemed to be under her spell.From the
Dollywood Foundation offices to
Wears Valley Road, eager fans lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the
Backwoods Barbie and, as usual, she didn't disappoint! Signature smile (and wig!) glowing, looking full of life and bursting with happiness,
Dolly waved and chatted with the crowd from atop her new custom built float.Sharing time with her home town fans before jetting off to a year-long World Tour,
Dolly has had a busy Spring already; appearing as a mentor on
Fox Television's popular hit,
American Idol and promoting her latest album. Not likely a few rain drops would dampen her enthusiasm or that of the crowds cheering her on.The yearly tradition celebrates the official Grand Opening weekend of the star's
Dollywood Theme Park and has become an eagerly awaited kick-off for summer in the
Smokey Mountains.
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S.D. Professionals, LLC Makes TV Debut On American Idol
S. D. Professionals, LLC owner Jacob Timmons isn’t appearing as a contestant on
American Idol this week but, with the help of super star
Dolly Parton, his work will be seen on the popular talent showcase just the same. Timmons, owner of the Sevierville based media design company, was contacted by representatives from
American Idol to create the visual animation for Parton’s appearance on episodes airing this week. “It isn’t every day you see
American Idol on caller ID!” Timmons laughed.On Tuesday night, Sevier county’s hometown celebrity is sharing her wisdom and years of performance experience with the Idol finalists celebrating her music. Parton will be performing her new hit “Jesus and Gravity” live during the elimination phase of the show Wednesday evening. No coincidence that the Fox network staff looked to Timmons for artistic visual interpretation when planning Dolly’s Idol debut.
S. D. Professionals, LLC designed and maintains Parton’s new web site,
http://www.dollyparton.com/ as well as her
Imagination Library web site and book order system,
DollysImaginationLibrary.com. The artist also recently produced the video content for Parton’s new 2008 Backwoods Barbie World Tour which kicks off this month. Timmons’ work opens the famous show tonight and he looks forward to seeing “
S. D. Professionals, LLC” roll by on the credits.“We are thrilled to be part of the evening”, says Timmons, “and feel Dolly will have a little bit of Sevierville there with her”! Local residents can enjoy the same affordable services as the successful Fox network by contacting
S. D. Professionals, LLC at
http://www.sdwebpros.com/ or by calling 865-774-9023.
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Dolly Parton will mentor American Idol Contestants Season 7
Dolly Parton announces this week that she will in fact be a star mentor for this year's Season 7 contestants.
Check out
American Idol for more information and keep checking out
Dolly Parton's website for new stuff!
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Injured Dolly Parton Postpones13-Show Tour
Associated Press Reports:
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A back problem has forced Dolly Parton to postpone a concert tour she planned in support of her new CD. Parton was scheduled to kick off a 13-show tour Feb. 28 in Minneapolis, two days after the release of "Backwoods Barbie," publicist Marcee Rondan said Monday.
Doctors advised Parton to take up to eight weeks off to recover from the unspecified problem.
Rondan said she had no information on the nature of Parton's back condition.
"I know I have been breaking my neck and bending over backwards trying to get my new `Backwoods Barbie' CD and world tour together, but I didn't mean to hurt myself doing it," Parton, 62, said in a statement.
She said doctors told her she will be "good as new in a few weeks, and I can't wait to get back out there."
The tour will be rescheduled for late April through May. Tickets will be honored for the new dates.
On the Net:
Dolly Parton:
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United Way of Cass-Clay raised more than $4.4 million dollars
United Way of Cass-Clay raised more than $4.4 million dollars in 2007, surpassing the organization’s goal by $50,000, organizers announced Friday.
Doug Hamilton, the 2007 campaign chair, announced the 2007 campaign’s 7 percent increase compared to funds raised in 2006 during a news conference.
Hamilton also highlighted some of the organization’s key moments in 2007, including:
- More than 1,800 volunteers from 92 businesses helped 450 seniors during the organization’s 16th annual “Day of Caring,” making the 2007 event the organization’s biggest to date, Hamilton said.
- Businesses, organizations and individuals donated more than $72,500 worth of supplies during the School Supply Drive, which provided 3,200 children with backpacks and school supplies at the start of school.
- United Way distributed an average of 7,722 books a month to children in Cass and Clay counties through Imagination Library, which provides free books to children from birth until their fifth birthday.
More than 1,600 individual donors and 516 organizations helped raise funds during the 2007 campaign, which will be allocated to 57 programs, Hamilton said.
He added that the continued success of the fundraising campaign demonstrates how well local residents take care of others.
“United Way’s success illustrates that we live in a very generous community,” Hamilton said.
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Dolly's Imagination Library program get's praise with GoLaurens.com
Most of us are from the generation that was taught that you work for everything you have, you don’t ask anyone for anything, you say please and thank you, and you don’t believe everything you hear or read.Well, you can believe this. You can get something for nothing and here’s how. For those of us with children, the United Way and Laurens County School Districts 55 and 56 began offering a program to assist pre-school aged children with reading levels to promote school readiness.This program, called the Imagination Library, is available to any child age under age five in Laurens County. By enrolling, children receive a book a month delivered to their homes from the Imagination Library program. Ideally, a child enrolling in Imagination Library at birth would start school at age five with a library of 60 books of his very own. The books each child receives are hardback, age appropriate books that are pre-approved by a national board of educators. Have you priced hardback children’s books lately? They are expensive! United Way and the two School Districts pick up this tab for any child living in this community at an average price of $35 per year per child. Imagination Library was the brainchild of country music legend, Dolly Parton. Because Parton was from a very impoverished home, she shares that her mother used to read the same book over and over to her. She says she remembers as a child thinking that if she grew up to become wealthy, she would make sure that children of all ages had the books they needed to succeed. Five years ago, in 2002, United Way and the School Districts began offering this program to the children of this community. Like Dolly, we share the same dream for Laurens County’s children. We want to make sure that all children arrive to school prepared to learn and prepared to read.Since we began the program, over 3,500 children have benefited from Imagination Library and over 65,000 books have been delivered to our children! We believe it’s an investment in our children and an investment in this community’s future.If you have children and you have not enrolled them in our Imagination Library program, what are you waiting for? Find out more by checking this program out on our website at www.uwlc-online.orgWe’d like nothing better than for every child in our community to have that library in their homes. And, the best news is that this program is FREE. Now that’s something for nothing!
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