- The Grand Ole Opry celebrated its 100th anniversary with a live concert special that included a tribute to Dolly Parton.
- Around 50 Grand Ole Opry members performed Parton’s hit song “I Will Always Love You.”
- The tribute followed shortly after the death of Parton’s husband, Carl Dean.
- Parton wrote the song about her departure from “The Porter Wagoner Show.”
On Wednesday night, the Grand Ole Opry’s 100-year live concert celebration closed out with an emotional tribute to Dolly Parton, who could not appear at the show in person.
Around 50 Grand Ole Opry members gathered on stage behind Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady A, who stood with Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood.
The five at the stage front took the lead on Parton’s hit “I Will Always Love You” as the Opry members sang in a choir behind.
“Good-bye, please don’t cry / ‘Cause we both know that I’m not / What you need,” they sang. “But I will always love you / I will always love you.”
The stirring tribute to one of country’s most influential hitmakers ended the star-studded night of country music performances for “Opry 100: A Live Celebration,” a three-hour concert special in honor of the radio show’s century-long legacy that aired on NBC.
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The massive concert took place at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House and Ryman Auditorium and featured performances from Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, the evening’s host, Blake Shelton, and more.
Before the tribute to Parton, a video of Dolly herself played on the screen before the Opry.
“Well hello, I am Dolly Parton and I am a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry,” Parton said. “And I am so sorry that I can’t be there with everybody in person, but of course you know my heart is with you and my spirit is with you.
“I wanted to be on the Grand Ole Opry my whole life when I was a little kid, cause that’s just what you do when you sing country music, that’s where you want to go,” she continued. “And I am proud to say that my family, all the folks at the Grand Ole Opry, are very near and dear to me. And I have been a member of the Opry for 56 years.”
The stirring performance of “I Will Always Love You,” Parton’s emotional 1974 ballad, follows the death of her husband, Carl Dean, on March 3.
Dean died in Nashville at 82 years old after a nearly 60-year-long marriage to Parton.
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” Parton wrote on social media earlier this month. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathies.”
While the iconic track has long comforted those who’ve lost romantic love, Parton actually wrote the track about the end of a professional era.
The song was inspired by Parton’s departure from the “The Porter Wagoner Show” after working closely with the country singer for five years.
After Parton left the show, her career skyrocketed with “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You,” which Wagoner produced.
Parton performed the song for Wagoner at the Opry in 2007 at an event celebrating his 50-year anniversary as an Opry member.
Wagoner died in October of that year, and Parton sang the song one last time for Wagoner in his final moments.
Audrey Gibbs is a music journalist with The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected].
