Earlier this week, Dolly Parton’s husband of almost sixty years- Carl Dean- passed away at the age of 82.
What a love they shared… and she honored him by releasing a song to tribute him called “If You Hadn’t Been There”, and released the following statement:
“I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old. We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together. Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him.”
Oh, my heart.
Here’s “If You Hadn’t Been There”:
Absolutely beautiful.
And what a gorgeous tribute to an everlasting love.
I have been lucky to have been married almost eighteen years thus far, and can only hope to achieve that same longevity.
Earlier this morning, Sabrina Carpenter dropped the deluxe version of her Grammy Award winning album “Short n’ Sweet”, and it features a remake of her hit song “Please, Please, Please” with none other than the ICONIC Dolly Parton on it!
And of course, it’s stinking adorable.
Aaaahhh! LOVE it!
And I love the reference to Sabrina’s ex- actor Barry Keoghan- at the end.
Perfect.
And in case you missed it, here’s Sabrina’s full 2025 Grammy Award performance. It finally got released to YouTube:
I freaking love her.
Again, her deluxe version of “Short n’ Sweet” is out now, and I highly suggest you check her out if you’re not up on how awesome she is!
Yeah, that was a moment for sure, and that, combined with her drunken New Years Eve performance had a lot of people wondering what the heck was going on…
Well, Elle King posted a new song to instagram this week seemingly addressing the incident.
It’s called “Banned From the Grand Ole Opry”, and it’s pretty good.
Billboard just released their list of the “100 Best Country Singers of All Time” this week, and it’s definitely getting some attention.
Now, it seems that the list is based on opinions of the staff, and not the actual chart history, which I would have assumed, since it’s Billboard, but hey, I don’t make the rules.
Here are the Top 10:
Dolly Parton
Johnny Cash
Willie Nelson
Loretta Lynn
Hank Williams Sr.
George Jones
Garth Brooks
Charley Pride
George Strait
Merle Haggard
Pretty solid Top 1o, right? I may have changed up the order a bit, but I can’t really argue those picks.
It’s the rest of the list that gets a bit crazy. And Jason Aldean’s wife Brittany is pissed that he’s not in the Top 100, which I feel like if Luke Bryan is, they Jason should be, too. Especially as he’s had a ton of #1 hits… but they put Maren Morris on there. The whole list out of the Top 10 makes no sense.
It’s the day after the Presidential Election, and I’m not going to get politcal at all. We have to much of it on social media, so I’m here to throw out some distractions, like the latest mash-up from one of my favorite content creators “There, I Ruined It”.
Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” mashed with Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This):
“Rolling Stone” Magazine just released their list of the “Best Country Songs of All Time”.
This is JUST according to “Rolling Stone”, and to be honest, I don’t always agree with their opinions on music, but this list isn’t as terrible as some of their past lists (and that’s just MY opinion).
Here is their Top 10:
1. “Jolene” by Dolly Parton:
Personally, this isn’t my favorite Country song- as really, Dolly should be more mad at her man and NOT Jolene, but it’s undeniably a classic, and is deserving of the top spt.
Also, it’s Dolly.
She pretty much wins life.
2. “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash:
No arguments here.
3. “Crazy” by Patsy Cline:
Patsy was just incredible. To me, she is one of the all time greats. The emotion she puts into her voice, and her entire catalogue is perfection.
4. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” by Hank Williams:
You really can’t have a list of Country All-Time greats without Hank, am I right?
5. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones:
One of the saddest songs of all time… which is perfect to round ou the Top 5.
Also, people complain about Morgan Wallen’s antics, but he has nothing on George, Hank, Johnny, Willie, Waylon, and a majority of the Country greats. Those guys were hot messes. Legends, but also hot messes.
You can’t argue me on this one.
6. “You Don’t Know Me” by Ray Charles:
Well, that’s random…
Why not “Georgia on My Mind”?
7. “Standing on the Corner: Blue Yodel No. 9” by Jimmie Rogers:
Well, that’s a throwback for sure!
8. “Stand by Your Man” by Tammy Wynette:
Funnily enough, Tammy was married 5 times…
Also, this song is bad advice considering that some men don’t need stood by.
9. “Mama Tried” by Merle Haggard:
This one will always rank as one of my favorites!
10. “Amarillo by Morning” by George Strait:
Oooooohhh… George Strait is always a winner.
Although, I’d switch this out with “This is Where the Cowboy Rides Away”.
Actually, if the entire Top 10 was George Strait songs, I’d be fine with it.
Beyonce’s highly anticipated “Renaissance Act II: Cowboy Carter” dropped this morning, and what I wanted o hear was her take on Dolly Parton’s iconic “Jolene”, and Beyonce delivered and then some.
She went a rewrote the song from a much stronger woman’s perspective- basically going from the plea “Please don’t take my man” to “Just you try, fool”.
Personally, I think it’s a really cool take on the song. I know Country traditionalists will be freaking out and saying “that ain’t Country” and blowing a total fuse when they hear it. I can feel the heads exploding over here. But, let’s be honest, Dolly’s version, although a classic, is basically a woman begging another woman not to take her man. That’s dumb. First of all, her man should know better. Second of all, why beg a woman to stay away? You’re giving Jolene all the power. Tell that redheaded hussy to go ahead and try.
This is probably why I’m not a songwriter.
Just in case you need a refresher, here’s the original version:
And really, who is dumb enough to mess with Dolly?
Dolly Parton’s “Pet Gala” is happening right now on CBS.
Am I watching?
No. My husband has commandeered the TV for the Memphis Basketball game (Go Tigers!), but I have my phone, and upon opening instagram, I saw this performance from Dolly Parton and Country’s new darling Lainey Wilson doing a version of Dolly’s iconic “I Will Always Love You”:
And to celebrate her birthday, she just released a Deluxe Version of her “Rockstar” albuym featuring some new reimagined tracks, like “Sweet Dreams” by The Eurythmics:
Ok, how cool was that? Haunting and creepy, and still has the rock edge and those stellar Dolly vocals. Honestly, I think that is one of my favorite verisons of that song.
She also released a version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water”:
Annnnnddd… a version of Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise”!
Overall, she has nine new tracks on the Deluxe version of her “Rockstar” album, which is available now.
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