Whoo! Hello, everybody! VOICEOVER: Performing from the home of country music, a living legend... # In the wink of an eye... # ..celebrates a musical milestone. # I am a seeker... # Join Dolly Parton and her star guests as she marks 50 years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. # And I... # Spectacular songs, incredible music, and the one and only Dolly Parton. # Here you come again. # (COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYS) Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Able 2020 Ladies and gentlemen, celebrating 50 years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry, please welcome Dolly Parton. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Let's do 9 To 5. Everybody get in on this one. (BAND PLAYS 9 TO 5) Yeah, why not? # Well, I tumble outta bed and stumble to the kitchen # Pour myself a cup of ambition # Yawnin' and stretchin' and try to come to life # I jump in the shower And the blood starts pumpin' # Out on the streets the traffic starts jumpin' # With folks like me on the job from 9 to 5 # Working 9 to 5 # What a way to make a living # Barely gettin' by # It's all taking and no giving # They just use your mind # And they never give you credit # It's enough to drive you # Crazy if you let it # 9 to 5, for service and devotion # You would think that I # Would deserve a fair promotion # Want to move ahead # But the boss won't seem to let me # I swear sometimes that man is out to get me # Mmmmm # They let you dream just to watch them shatter # You're just a step on the boss man's ladder # But you got dreams he'll never take away # You're in the same boat with a lot of your friends # Waiting for the day your ship will come in # The tide's gonna turn an' it's all gonna roll you away # I just know it! # Working 9 to 5 # What a way to make a living # Barely gettin' by # It's all taking and no giving # They just use your mind # And they never give you credit # It's enough to drive you # Crazy if you let it # 9 to 5 They got you where they want you # There's a better life # Y'all dream about it, don't you? # It's a rich man's game # I don't care what they call it # And you spend your life # Putting money in his wallet # 9 to 5 # Just working, working, working # Working 9 to 5 # They've got you working 9 to 5 # Working 9 to 5 # They keep you working, working, working # Working 9 to 5 # Give me 5. # (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Isn't that you? Thank you! You're the best background group I ever had. Thank you so much. Well, hello there. I'm Dolly Parton and tonight I am celebrating 50 years at the Grand Ole Opry. I'm going to be sharing some amazing stories with you, I'm going to sing for you, and so are some of my musical friends. Well, here I am at the old Ryman Auditorium. A beautiful place. It's the mother church of country music. And this is where I became a member of the Grand Ole Opry 50 years ago. That's right. You didn't even know I was that old, did you? (LAUGHS) Well, maybe I haven't aged that much, but I have certainly aged my plastic surgeons. Now, seriously, the Opry has a new home and that is where we're celebrating. Now, I have performed a lot of duets in my career, but one of my favourites is with the dear Kenny Rogers. Now, performing Islands In The Stream tonight is Lady Antebellum. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Lady Antebellum. Good evening, everybody. How you doing? (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) We are so excited to be here this evening. We are always so honoured to be able to stand up on this stage and for us being able to be a part of the celebration of Dolly, 50 years as an Opry remember, we are just over the moon, so thank you so much to the Grand Ole Opry for having us tonight. We're going to do one of our favourites. Y'all sing along. This is Islands In The Stream. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) (BAND PLAYS ISLANDS IN THE STREAM) # Baby, when I met you there was peace unknown # I set out to get you with a fine tooth comb # I was soft inside # There was something going on # You do something to me that I can't explain # Hold me closer and I feel no pain # Every beat of my heart # We got something going on # Tender love is blind # It requires a dedication # All this love we feel needs no conversation # We ride it together, uh-huh # Making love with each other, uh-huh Here we go! # Islands in the stream # That is what we are # No-one in between # How can we be wrong? # Sail away with me # To another world # And we rely on each other, uh-huh # From one lover to another, uh-huh # I can't live without you if the love was gone # Everything is nothing if you got no-one # And you just walk in the night # Slowly losing sight of the real thing # But that won't happen to us and we got no doubt # Too deep in love and we got no way out # And the message is clear # This could be the year for the real thing # No more will you cry # Baby, I will hurt you never # We start and end as one # In love forever # We can ride it together, uh-huh # Making love with each other, uh-huh # Islands in the stream # That is what we are # No-one in between # How can we be wrong? # Sail away with me # To another world # And we rely on each other, uh-huh # From one lover to another, uh-huh # Oh! # Sail with me, baby # Oh, oh, oh-oh # Why don't you sail away with me? Y'all sing it out. Here we go. # Islands in the stream # That is what we are # No-one in between # How can we be wrong? # Sail away with me # To another world # And we rely on each other, uh-huh # From one lover to another, uh-huh. # (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Hey up there! Wow. 50 years at the Grand Ole Opry. (LAUGHS) Well, this is really a special night for me and thank you for standing up for me. Or were you just resting your butts? (LAUGHS) Anyway, we've got a lot of show to do tonight. We only have a little while, but some of you heard me sing every song in the world through the years and I've always appreciated each and every one of you for following me around all these years. And standing here at the new Grand Ole Opry, singing some of the old songs is real special. Having this little circle here in the floor from the old Ryman Auditorium where I actually became a member is real special to me. So, we're doing a special tonight and you may be on television and as Porter used to say, if you're sitting by somebody you shouldn't be, you might want to move. But anyway, you just go ahead and sit down and relax. I appreciate the stand up for me. And I wonder how many of you go back this far with me to talk about an old bearded boy that I fell in love with a long time ago. Well, in my song, anyway. His name was Joshua. Do you remember him? (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) OK. (BAND PLAYS JOSHUA) # Well, a good ways down the railroad track # There was this little old rundown shack # And in it lived a man I'd never seen # Now, folks said he was a mean and a vicious man # You better not set foot on his land # But I didn't think nobody could be that mean # So I took out walking down the railroad track # I was a-going to go down to that little old shack # Find out if all them things I'd heard was true # There was a big black dog laying out in the yard # It growled at me and I swallowed hard # And I heard somebody say, "Well, who are you?" # Oh, and there he stood in the door of that shack # His beard and his hair was long and black # He was the biggest man I'd ever seen # And when he spoke his voice was low and deep # But he just didn't frighten me # Because somehow I just knew he wasn't mean # He said, "What you doing snooping around my place?" # And I saw a smile come across his face # So I smiled back and I told him who I was # He said, "Come on in and pull you up a chair" "You might as well, you're already here" # And he said, "You can just call me Joshua" # Oh, Joshua, Joshua # What you doing living here all alone? # Joshua, Joshua # Ain't you got nobody to call your own? # No, no # Now, we talked till the sun was plum out of sight # And we still talking when it got daylight # But there was just so much we had to say # I'd spent my life in an orphan's home # Just like him, I was all alone # So I said yeah, when he asked if I'd stay # Oh, we grew closer as time went on # And that little old shack, it was a happy home # And we just couldn't help but fall in love # And that big black dog and that little old shack # Sitting down by the railroad track # Well, it's plenty good enough for me and Joshua # Oh, Joshua, Joshua # Why you're just what I've been looking for # Joshua, Joshua # You ain't going to be lonesome anymore. # (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Thank you. How about it for Joshua? I want you now, if you will, please, to make welcome Miss Dolly Parton. I look around this old place here now and it too has been upgraded, but it still holds the essence and the memories that will live forever more. But there was an old dressing room here at the Ryman and it was really just a hole in the wall. The floors were uneven. You kind of had to walk peg-legged, even just to be in there. There was one mirror and it was kind of smoky. You could hardly see yourself real good, but we'd stand and fight over a little spot to touch up our make-up. Mama never did wear much make-up. But... I never even had none to borrow when you got through it. Somebody was always hitting me in the head with an elbow and I just prayed to the Lord they didn't break my hair. (LAUGHS) I don't need... Honestly, I'm not even going to talk about the hairspray. I don't know how we even could sing at all with all the perfume and spray that was going on in there. Hey, lookee here. Look at this old album cover. I had an album out in the 1970s called The Fairest Of Them All, and yes, I was dead serious about this outfit. (LAUGHS) Of course, that old dressing room really brings back so many precious moments to me. # Mirror, mirror on the wall # Who's the fairest of them all? # We'd sing, standing on this slanted floor # From Minnie Pearl to Dottie West # Kitty Wells and all the rest # But when beauty lives in memory # It lives forevermore # Mmm. # I'm loving sharing all my stories with you. You stay right where you are. * Thanks so much. I grew up, as you know, in the great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Any of you ever been up to the Smokies lately? (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Any of you ever been to Dollywood lately? (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Well, thank you for that. You know, my best joke is that I appreciate the money because it costs a lot to look this cheap. And that's the best... that's the best joke I have, but it's the honest truth. But seriously, I love Tennessee. I love being a Tennessee girl, so the Grand Ole Opry is especially special to me because my family always used to love to listen to the Opry. Especially my daddy. He loved it and he loved everybody on it. People like Roy Acuff and Kitty Wells and Ernest Tubb and Hank Snow, or whoever was on the Opry - he had to hear that. So, I used to listen to the Opry as a child and I'd think hard on people like you. We'd never been anywhere and it was just amazing. It was like, "What kind of place is that? "What kind of world is that?" And since I was so musical anyway... ..I thought, "I want to be part of that world." And so I used to travel back and forth with my uncle Bill, coming down to Nashville. I'd stand on the edge of the Grand Ole Opry, watch all the greats, thinking, "Someday I'm going to be on there." So, here I am. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) And the only thing I regret is that my daddy and mama are not here to see me tonight, but I have faith and I believe that they are, so I just hope they're proud of me. As proud of me as I am of them. So I'm going to sit down here and I know a lot of you thought, "I wonder why she didn't wear a beautiful beaded gown "or a dress for her 50th anniversary." It was because I knew I had to sit down on a stool and I didn't want to show the Opry box office, so... (LAUGHTER, CHEERING, APPLAUSE) You get it now, don't you? See? I've got to... I have to hike my leg, so that wouldn't be ladylike in a dress, would it? But anyhow, seriously. I write a lot of songs about the mountains and this is one of them. Are you ready? Here I go. # Sitting on the front porch on a summer afternoon # In a straight back chair on two legs, leaned against the wall # I watch the kids a-playing with June bugs on a string # And chase the glowing fireflies when evening shadows fall # In my Tennessee mountain home # Life is as peaceful as a baby's sigh # In my Tennessee mountain home # Crickets sing in the fields nearby. # (HUMS) (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Oh, thank you. I knew early on that I'd be moving to Nashville after I graduated from high school, and at my graduation, the kids were all saying what they were going to do. Want to get married, wanted to go to college, gonna go to the service, whatever. Well, I said, "I'm going to Nashville to be a star." Of course, everybody got a big laugh out of that and I was so embarrassed. But that was my dream. But after I made it, I felt a little bit like Toby Keith. "Well, how do you like me now?" (LAUGHS) But seriously, looking back, I realised that they were laughing because it was unusual because many people don't dream that big. And here is the man himself. Go, Toby! VOICEOVER: Give it up for Toby Keith. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Here you go, Dolly! # I wanted more from life than four kids and a wife # And a job in a dark Kentucky mine # A twenty acre farm, with a shaky house and barn # That's all I had and all I left behind # But at gambling, I was lucky, and so I left Kentucky # And left behind my woman and my kids # Into the gay casinos, of Nevada's town of Reno # This Kentucky Gambler tried to get rich quick Here we go! # Kentucky gambler, who's going to love your woman in Kentucky? # Who's going to be the one to give her everything she needs? # Kentucky gambler, who's going to raise your children in Kentucky? # Who's going to keep them fed and keep them shoes on their feet? # There at the gambler's paradise, Lady Luck was on my side # And this Kentucky gambler played just right # Hey, I won at everything I played, I really thought I had it made # I should have quit and gone on home that night # But when you trust the green backed dollar # Sorrow's always bound to follow # And Reno's dreams fade into neon amber # And Lady Luck, she'll lead you on # She'll stay a while, and then she's gone # You better go on home, Kentucky gambler # But a gambler never seems to stop till he loses all he's got # With a money-hungry fever, I played on # I played till I'd lost all I'd won # I was right back where I'd started from # Then I started wanting to go home # Kentucky gambler, there ain't nobody waiting in Kentucky # When you ran out, somebody else walked in # Kentucky gambler, looks like you ain't really very lucky # And it seems to me a gambler loses much more than he wins # Much more than he wins. # Thank you, Dolly. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) This song I'm going to sing is very special to me because I loved my parents, growing up, and those of you in the audience that are lucky enough to have good parents, you know, that's one of the greatest gifts that God can give you. Everybody's not that lucky. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) But I grew up, as you know, in a big old family. A family of 12 kids. Six boys and six girls. And of course Mama, she sewed all of our clothes. She cooked all of our meals. She made the curtains for our windows out of feed sacks. But this is a little song that I wrote and when it became a hit, I went back home and I took the money to Mama. I said, "Mama, this is about that little coat you made for me "and it's been a hit and I've got royalties." I said, "So I want to take you downtown to Knoxville..." which was the closest town, "..and I want to buy you a new mink coat. She said, "A mink coat? "Where am I going to wear a mink coat around here? "And besides, I don't want something that something's already worn." She said, "Just give me the money." (LAUGHTER) Because she still had a house full of kids back home at that time, so I gave her the money, I wrote this little song, but I'll dedicate it to all the good mamas that we have here tonight. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) # Back through the years # I go wondering once again # Back to the seasons of my youth # And I recall a box of rags someone gave us # And how my mama put the rags to use # There were rags of many colours # But every piece was small # And I didn't have a coat # And it was way down in the fall # Mama sewed the rags together # Sewing every piece with love # She made my coat of many colours # That I was so proud of # While Mama sewed, she told a story # From the bible, she had read # About a coat of many colours # Joseph wore and then she said # I hope this coat will bring you # Good luck and happiness # And I just couldn't wait to wear it # And mama blessed it with a kiss # My coat of many colours # That my mama made for me # Made only from rags # But I wore it so proudly # And although we had no money # I was rich as I could be # In my coat of many colours # Mama made for me # So with patches on my britches # Holes in both my shoes # In my coat of many colours # I hurried off to school # Just to find the others laughing # And making fun of me # In my coat of many colours # Mama made for me # And oh, I couldn't understand it # 'Cause I felt I was rich # And I told them of the love # Mama sewed in every stitch # I even told them all that story # Mama told me while she sewed # And why my coat of many colours # Was worth more than all their clothes # They didn't understand it # And I tried to make them see # One is only poor # Only if they choose to be # It's true we had no money # But I was rich as I could be # In my coat of many colours # Mama made for me # 'Cause she made it just for me. # (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Thank you. I know I'm celebrating my 50th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. My uncle Bill Owens, one of my mom's brothers, well, he used to take me back and forth to Nashville from the time I was about 10 years old because he saw how serious I was about my music and he was acting as my manager and trying to get me on a record label and certainly trying to get me on the Grand Ole Opry. Now, he always had some old trap car that we travelled in and we'd sleep in that old car. My bedroom was in the back and his was in the front seat. Of course, we used to beg and sweet talk our way backstage at the Grand Ole Opry and just standing there, watching all those greats and begging people to let us sing - it was amazing. We've got another wagonload of music and fun to send your way from the Ole Opry house. Some of your favourite stars are here tonight to entertain you. Mr Roy Acuff. And lo and behold, one night, after pleading and begging, a fellow by the name of Jimmy C Newman - a nice Cajun fella and a member of the Opry - gave me one of his spots. That was divine intervention, I've always believed. Anyway, you know how they have that little circle from the old stage here over there in the new Opry house? Well, backstage here, there's still a little circle. That's where I peed my pants. (LAUGHS) Not just because I was going to get to sing, but because I was going to be introduced by Johnny Cash. Good Lord. What a crush I had on him. That was the first time I understood what sex appeal was. Well, all I can say is... # I fell into a burning ring of fire. # And I remembered that. And I was 13 and that night I got to sing a George Jones song. It was a song called If You Want To Be My Baby, and it was his first hit, and it's a little song that I just love and I think you ought to hear it tonight. # Oh, you said you were my baby # Now I know that you're my baby # But it seems to me that you've got rovin' eyes # If you're gonna be my baby # Then you gotta be my baby # You can't keep your finger in two different fires # 'Cause when you're high steppin' I'm a crawlin' low # I get suspicious and I'm gonna tell you so # If you wanna be my baby # Then you gotta be my baby # And be nobody's baby, but mine # I said be nobody's baby, but mine. # * This young man nearly has as much energy as I do. I said nearly. You won't be able to take your eyes off of him. It's the wonderful Chris Janson. ANNOUNCER: Please welcome Chris Janson. Whoo! Grand Ole Opry, and it is Dolly Parton anniversary week, yes, sir. Man, when I got the call and the invite to be here, boy, what an honour it is. Thank you for letting me play for you. I'm gonna do my best to do it in the style of Dolly tonight. This is The Mule Skinner Blues. Feel free to clap along, dance along, throw your hats up in the air, whatever you want to do. Let's do it here, OK? # Well, good morning, captain # Good morning to you, sir Hey, hey # Do you need a new mule skinner # Down on your mud run? # Hey, hey # Yodel-a-ee-he-he He-he-he-he-he-he # Well, I'm an old mule skinner # Down that Tennessee way # Hey, hey # I can make any mule listen # Or I won't accept your pay # Yodel-a-ee-he-he He-he-he-he-he-he Oh, fiddle now! Yes! # Well, hey there, little water boy # Why don't you bring your water round? # Hey, hey # Well, if you don't like your job # Well, you can throw your water on down # Yodel-a-ee-he-he He-he-he-he-he-he Oh, play it now, buddy! How about it one time for the fiddle now, there, folks? (PLAYS HARMONICA SOLO) # Well, I've been working down in Georgia # Down at a greasy spoon cafe # Hey, hey # Well, I've been working down in Georgia # Just to get a little pay # Yodel-a-ee-he-he He-he-he-he-he-he. # How about a little more harmonica? You want a little bit of that? Let's get the hands going like this. Let's go. Now break it down, break it down, break it down. (PLAYS HARMONICA SOLO) (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Oh, it's Grand Ole Opry time! Yes, sir! DOLLY: My first top-10 record was on Monument Records with Fred Foster. Now, it was called Dumb Blonde. It says... # Just because I'm blonde, don't think I'm dumb # 'Cause this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool. # Well, that pretty much sums it up. Now, people always ask me if I'm ever offended by dumb blonde jokes. I say, "No, 'cause I know I'm not dumb, and I know I'm not blonde." # Don't try to cry # Your way out of this # Don't try to lie # Or I'll catch you in it # Don't try to make me # Feel sorry for you # Just because I'm blonde don't think I'm dumb # 'Cause this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool... # Thank you so much. I really owe a lot of thanks to Porter Wagoner, who was a member of the Grand Ole Opry for, Lord, since he was a young man until he passed away not so very long ago. And of course Porter had a band called the Wagonmasters. The Wagonmasters were one of the great country groups. And there was a fella named Buck Trent, yeah, he played banjo, and he made all those wonderful sounds on a lot of Porter's records that were so distinct. So, I have invited him out here. So would you please make welcome Buck Trent? Yay! The Wagonmaster! Now he's acting like Porter. Hello, Buck Trent. You go ahead and play a bit. (PLAYS CARROLL COUNTY ACCIDENT) # Carroll County's pointed out as kind of square # The biggest thing that happens is the county fair # I guess that's why it seemed like such a big event # What we call the Carroll County accident # Well, the wreck was on the highway just inside the line # Walter Browning lost his life and for a time # It seemed that Mary Ellen Jones would surely die # But she lived long enough for her to testify # Now, Walter Browning was a happy married man # And he wore a golden wedding ring upon his hand # Oh, but it was gone, nobody knew just where it went # He lost it in the Carroll County accident # Now, Mary Ellen testified he flagged her down # Said he was sick and could she drive him into town # And no-one even doubted what she said was true # 'Cause she was well respected in the county too # Now, I went down to see the wreck like all the rest # The bloody seats, the broken glass, the tangled mess # Oh, but I found something no-one else had even seen # Behind the dash in Mary's crumpled up machine # A little matchbox circled by a rubber band # And inside the ring from Walter Browning's hand # It took a while to figure out just what that meant # The truth about the Carroll County accident # By dark of night I dropped the ring into a well # And I made a solemn oath that I would never tell # The truth about the Carroll County accident # 'Cause the County ordered Dad a marble monument # Yes, I lost him in the Carroll County accident. # Yeah! Buck Trent. How about that? Come over here and talk to me a minute. Well, I was a bit of a wildflower with a restless nature 'cause I wanted to see and do everything. I even wrote a song about those feelings. And I always used to love Mother Maybelle Carter when she played the autoharp, so I'm gonna sing this one on the autoharp. And I think you ought to hear a little bit of this 'cause I bet some of you were wildflowers as well. Here we go. (STRUMS AUTOHARP) # De-de-de-de-de-de-de-de-de-de-oh # The hills were alive # With wildflowers and I # Was as wild, even wilder than they # For at least I could run # They just died in the sun # I refused to just wither and blaze. # (HUMS) Well, thank you, Mother Maybelle. She ain't the only girl I loved. Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn and I were very good friends even though we used to compete with each other on the charts from time to time. That never was a problem with us. There was never any kind of jealousy. We even did a trio album together. I also did a trio album with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. And those two albums are some of the best music that I've ever made in my whole career. And of course some of those girls couldn't be with us to celebrate tonight, but Emmylou is here! ANNOUNCER: Please welcome to the stage, Emmylou Harris! MAN: (SHOUTS) I love you, Emmy! I love you, too. # Mama never seemed to miss the finer things of life # If she did, she never did say so to Daddy # She never wanted to be more than a mother and a wife # If she did, she never did say so to Daddy # The only thing that seemed to be important in her life # Was to make our house a home and make us happy # Mama never wanted any more than what she had # If she did, she never did say so to Daddy # He often left her all alone, but she didn't mind the staying home # If she did, she never did say so to Daddy # And she never missed the flowers, the cards he never sent her # If she did, she never did say so to Daddy # Being took for granted was a thing that she accepted # She didn't need those things to make her happy # And she didn't seem to notice that he didn't kiss and hold her # If she did, she never did say so to Daddy # One morning we awoke just to find a note # Mama carefully wrote and left to Daddy # And as he began to read it, our ears could not believe it # The words she had written there to Daddy # She said the kids are older now, they don't need me very much # And I've gone to search for love I need so badly # I have needed you so long, but I just can't keep holding on # She never meant to come back home # If she did, she never did say so to Daddy # Goodbye to Daddy. # * You remember Here You Come Again? Yeah, well, let's do that one. So, I was very proud of that and I've sang it on the Grand Ole Opry lots of times. So, you see, I AM country. # Here you come again # Just when I've begun to get myself together # You waltz right in the door # Just like you've done before # And wrap my heart round your little finger # Here you come again # Just when I'm about to make it work without you # You look into my eyes # And lie those pretty lies # Till pretty soon I'm wonderin' how I came to doubt you # All you got to do is smile that smile # And there go all my defences # Just leave it up to you and in a little while # You're messin' up my mind, fillin' up my senses # Here you come again # Oh, lookin' better than a body has a right to # And shakin' me up so that all I really know # Is here you come again # And here I go Oh, ain't them fellas good? They're trying to outshine me. # All you've gotta do is smile that smile # And there go all my defences # Just leave it up to you and in a little while # You're messin' up my mind, fillin' up my senses # Here you come again # Oh, lookin' better than a body has a right to # And shakin' me up so that all I really know # Is here you come again # And here I go # Here I go # Here you come again # Darlin', here you come again # Here you come again # And here I go # And here I go. # How about that? Y'all did real good. Thank you. Thank you so much. My first RCA album was called Just Because I'm a Woman. Now, it was one of the very first songs about women standing up for themselves and kinda speaking up. Of course Kitty Wells stirred up a lot of ruckus when she did the answer to a song called The Wild Side of Life that said, "I didn't know God made honky tonk angels." Well, she did an answer said, "It wasn't God who made honky tonk angels." There were some good old boys back then of course, if they didn't have double standards, they'd have had no standards at all. # I can see you're disappointed # By the way you look at me # And I'm sorry that I'm not the woman # You thought I'd be # Yes, I've made my mistakes # But listen and understand # My mistakes are no worse than yours # Just because I'm a woman... # Now, I love men, don't get me wrong, but there were some of the old-timers back at the Opry back in the day, they weren't too thrilled about the way I looked. They thought I looked "cheap". I finally said to them, "Gentlemen, would you just relax? "We're on radio!" Of course most of the women were very supportive and they'd say, "Dolly, we've got your back." I said, "Well, thanks, "but my back is not what these old codgers are concerned about." Now here's someone who's a gentleman and a wonderful performer, and he is gonna light up the Opry with one of my old hits called Old Flames. It's Dierks Bentley. ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, Dierks Bentley. Thank you. Wow, what a feeling. It never gets old. It gets better every time. My mom came out tonight. My mom Cathy. Mom, step out here for a second. Say hi. She's wearing her... Looking good over there, Mom. How you doing? Say hi to all the folks. She didn't come for me, she came because of Dolly Parton, let's be honest. Yes, ma'am. That's why we're all here. That's why we're all here. No, but this place, such a special place for me. This song here, it's a song that Dolly Parton took to the top of the charts back in 1980. This is called Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle To You. Congratulations, Dolly, on 50 years at the Grand Ole Opry. # Downtown tonight I saw an old friend, someone who # I used to take comfort from long before I met you # I caught a spark in her eye of forgotten desire # With a word or a touch, Lord, I could have rekindled that fire # But old flames can't hold a candle to you # No-one can light up the night like you do # Flickering embers of love, I've known one or two # And old flames can't hold a candle to you # Sometimes at night I think of old lovers I've known # And how holding them close made me not feel so alone # Then I feel you beside me and even their memories are gone # Like stars in the night lost at the sweet light of dawn # 'Cause old flames can't hold a candle to you # No-one can light up the night like you do # Flickering embers of love, I've known one or two # And old flames can't hold a candle to you # Old flames can't hold a candle to you. # (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) * Well, I can't think of the Grand Ole Opry without thinking of Hank Williams Sr. What a great emotional singer and songwriter he was. Now, I can just picture him just standing right here on this stage singing my favourite Hank Williams song. # I'm so lonesome I could cry # Hear that lonesome whippoorwill # He sounds too blue to fly # That midnight train is whining low # And I'm so lonesome I could cry # Lord, I'm so lonesome # I could cry. # Oh, what a sweet, sad song. But I am so delighted that we also have his son Hank Jr with us tonight. Take it away, Hank Jr. ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, Hank Williams Jr. You know I'm born to boogie. Now, looky here, what are you trying to say, brother? Uh-huh. Well, I hear you and I understand perfectly. # Come in last night about a half-past 10 # Second wife of mine wouldn't let me in # I said move it on over # Move it on over # Move it on over # Move it on over # Move over, little dog, 'cause the big dog's moving in # Well, she warned me once, warned me twice # I don't take no gal's advice # I said move it on over # Move it on over # Rock it on over # Rock it on over # Move over, little dog, 'cause the big dog's moving in # Yeah # Remember, pup, before you whine # That side's yours and this side's mine # Move it on over # Move it on over # Rock it on over # Rock it on over # Move over, little dog, 'cause the big dog's moving in # Ain't that right? # Well, the doghouse here, it's kinda small # It's better than no house at all # Move it on over # Move it on over # Move it on over # Move it on over # Move over, skinny dog, 'cause the big dog's moving in # Ain't that right, big boy? # Yeah # If the wife and I's fussin', brother, that's alright # Me and that woman got a licence to fight # You'd better mind your own business # Me and Tom Petty said mind your own business # Mind your own business # You better mind your own business and you won't be minding mine # If I wanna honky tonk around two or three # Brother, that's my headache, don't worry about me # Better mind your own business # Mind your own business # Mind your own business # Mind your own business # You'd better mind your own business and you want be minding mine # Ain't that right, brother? Is that called southern rock? # Minding other people's business seems to be high-tone # I got all I can handle just to mind my own # You'd better mind your own business # Mind your own business # Mind your own business # Mind your own business # You'd better mind your own business and you won't be minding mine # Yeah # Move it on over # Mind your own business # Move it on over # Mind your own business # Nobody kid you, Hank is the rockabilly king. # * I am so happy to be here telling my stories. Lord knows I've got many a story, not just about the Grand Ole Opry and all the wonderful people that I have worked with through the years. Speaking of stories... MAN: (SHOUTS) I love you, Dolly! Well, thank you, you're supposed to love me, you're my husband. (LAUGHTER) No, my husband's back watching a ball game back at the house. He ain't a big fan of mine. Well, he's a big fan of MINE, but he don't follow my music that close. But anyway, you know my husband Carl Dean. 53 years now. Lord, I'm celebrating all kinds. 50 years on the Grand Ole Opry, 53 years married. I feel like I'm married to the Grand Ole Opry, actually. And I sort of am, certainly to country music. But getting back to telling stories. I write a lot of stuff, a lot of it's based on truth, some of it ain't, and some of it I kinda hide the truth, you know, mixed in with other stuff. Like this story about this old redheaded gal by the name Jolene, well, it's based on a thread of truth. But it was so frayed by the time I got finished with it, it didn't even matter. Anyway, let's go, boys, if you're ready. Here we go. Are you ready for Jolene? OK. (BAND PLAYS JOLENE) # Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene # I'm begging of you please don't take my man # Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene # Please don't take him just because you can # Your beauty is beyond compare # With flaming locks of auburn hair # With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green # Your smile is like a breath of spring # Your voice is soft like summer rain # I cannot compete with you, Jolene # He talks about you in his sleep # There's nothing I can do to keep # From crying when he calls your name, Jolene # Oh, but I can easily understand # How you could easily take my man # But you don't know what he means to me, Jolene # Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene # I'm begging of you please don't take my man # Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene # Please don't take him just because you can # You could have your choice of men # But I could never love again # He's the only one for me, Jolene # But I had to have this talk with you # My happiness depends on you # And whatever you decide to do, Jolene # Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene # Oh, I'm begging of you please don't take my man # Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene # Please don't take him just because you can # Jolene # You shameless hussy # Jolene. # (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Oh, thank you. Thank you. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Thank you. Thanks so much. I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am, and it's not over yet. Joining me tonight, Candi Carpenter. Please welcome Candi Carpenter. I love your Dolly Parton wigs. I wanted to wear mine, but...Dolly looks so much better in it than I do. I've gotten to hear her in concert many times and every time she's performed this next song, Little Sparrow, it's just given me chills. I'm no Dolly Parton, but I'm going to do my best to sing that for you now. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) # Little sparrow # Little sparrow # Precious fragile little thing # Little sparrow # Little sparrow # Flies so high # And feels no pain # All you maidens heed my warning # Never trust the hearts of men # They will crush you like a sparrow # Leaving you to never mend # They will vow to always love you # Swear no love but yours will do # Then they'll leave you for another # Break your little heart in two # Little sparrow, little sparrow # Precious fragile little thing # Little sparrow, little sparrow # Flies so high and feels no pain # Ooh # Ooh # If I were a little sparrow # Over these mountains I would fly # I would find him, I would find him # Look into his lying eyes # I would flutter all around him # On my little sparrow wings # I would ask him, I would ask him # Why he let me love in vain # I am not a little sparrow # I am just the broken dream # Of a cold false-hearted lover # And his evil cunning scheme # Little sparrow, little sparrow # Precious fragile little thing # Little sparrow, little sparrow # Flies so high and feels no pain # All you maidens fair and tender # Never trust the hearts of men # They will crush you like a sparrow # Leaving you to never # Mend. # (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Thank you. Dolly Parton is coming out soon, y'all! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) * I grew up singing in the church, believing that through God all things are possible. And I ask God every day to let me be a blessing to someone and to be a light in this world and to uplift people and glorify Him. I always count my blessings, far more than I ever count money. God, family, my music and my fans mean the world to me, so thank you for allowing me to do what I love to do. And now for a special performance of a song released in 1975, here is the lovely Margo Price with my song The Seeker. Ladies and gentlemen, Margo Price. Thank you so much. Alright. We're gonna do The Seeker for you next. (BAND PLAYS THE SEEKER) # I am a seeker # A poor sinful creature # There is no weaker than I am # I am a seeker and you are a teacher # You are a reacher, so reach down # Reach out and lead me # Guide me and keep me # In the shelter of your care each day # 'Cause I am a seeker # And you are a keeper # You are the leader # Won't you show me the way? # I am a vessel that's empty and useless # I am a bad seed that fell by the way # I am a loser that wants to be a winner # You are my last hope, don't turn me away # I am a seeker # A poor sinful creature # There is no weaker than I am # I am a seeker and you are a teacher # You are a reacher, so reach down # Reach out and lead me # Guide me and keep me # In the shelter of your care each day # 'Cause I am a seeker # And you are a leader # You are a leader # Won't you show me the way? # You are the mountain # From which there flows a fountain # So let its water wash my sins away # 'Cause I am a seeker, you are a keeper # You are a teacher # Won't you teach me the way? # Reach out and lead me # Guide me and keep me # In the shelter of your care each day # 'Cause I am a seeker, and you are a keeper # You are the leader # Won't you show me the way? # You are the leader # Won't you show me # The way? # (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) God bless y'all. And God bless Dolly Parton. Well, I have always loved the banjo. Of course, Grandpa Jones, Stringbean, Old Uncle Dave Macon to name a few, well, they played on the Grand Ole Opry. But back home, my grandpa Walter Parton and my uncle Philip Owens were pretty good on the banjo too. I even wrote a song about an old man that lived back there and he actually is the one that taught me how to play the banjo. Would you like to hear a little bit of old Applejack? OK, here I go. # Well, he lived by the apple orchard # In this little old orchard shack # His name was Jackson Taylor # We called him Applejack # And old Applejack was loved by everyone he ever knew # Of course Applejack picked apples, but he picked the banjo too # Play a song for me, Applejack, Applejack # Play a song for me and I'll sing # Play a song for me, Applejack, Applejack # Play a song, let your banjo ring # Play a song for me, Applejack, Applejack # Play a song, let your banjo ring. # Yeah! I want to thank all the folks at the Opry for being so great to us and I want to thank all their crew for helping us. And again, how about a nice hand for our wonderful, mighty fine band. And my singers back there. My mighty fine singers too. And I just again want to thank all the wonderful artists that have come to be part of all this. So, I've had a wonderful life. I have so many people to thank. But none more than you, my fans, so this is a song I like to end my show with. Of course it was written for other reasons, but it says the perfect thing to you. I will always love you. So, thank you. So, if you're ready to hear your song, I'll sing it for you. (BAND PLAYS I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU) (HUMS) # If I should stay # I would only be in your way # So I'll go, but I know # I'll think of you each step of the way # And I will always love you # I will always love you # Bittersweet memories # I guess that's all I'll be taking with me # Goodbye, please don't you cry # 'Cause we both know I'm not what you need # But I will always love you # I will always love you # I hope life treats you kind # And I hope that you have all you ever dreamed of # Oh, I do wish you joy and lots of happiness # But above all this, I wish you love # And I will always love you # I will always love you # I will always love # You # know I will always love you. # (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Thank you so, so much. Thanks for being part of this very special day with me. I appreciate all of you. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) (BAND PLAYS 9 TO 5) Want to sing a little with me? Come on. Let's do a chorus of this. # 9 to 5 # What a way to make a living # Barely getting by # It's all taking and no giving # They just use your mind # And they never give you credit # It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it. # Yodel-ay-he. (LAUGHS) Thank you so much. Gotta get out of here. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE)