Dolly Parton has posthumously accepted the lifetime achievement award at the Americana Music Honors & Awards.
To the surprise of attendees, Parton appeared on the screen at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. According to Variety, the award would have been given to Parton in absentia but was ultimately presented posthumously.
In the video, which was likely pre-recorded over the summer, Parton said she was “honored” to receive the award from the Americana Music Association.
“I mean, roots music, or what is now called Americana music, is what I grew up playing back in the Smoky Mountains. It’s that same music that drew me back to East Tennessee back in 1997 to write and record my album Hungry Again,” she said. “And that project really opened the door to a series of bluegrass and acoustic albums that changed the course of my career in so many ways.”
Parton added, “Now, new fans have discovered these albums. New Americana music communities embraced them.”
“And now, looking back at it all, I see this era of my career as a musical renaissance of sorts,” the legendary artist continued. “I want to thank everybody at the AMA for recognizing me with this award. It’s a great honor, truly. And just know that I will always love you.”
The award was accompanied by a tribute performance to the Queen of Country and an introduction by singer Emmylou Harris.
“Just a few weeks ago, something utterly unthinkable happened: Dolly Parton left our world. But over her time here, this tiny, extraordinary woman made it a better, brighter, and kinder place,” said Harris, 79.
Harris described Parton as “a country star, then a pop star, then a global icon.”
“She was one of our all-time greatest songwriters, but she shined just as brightly on stage. She lit up the TV screen, and then she lit up the movie screen. Her stunningly beautiful, pure mountain voice could make us cry and then crack us up with a well-aimed, sometimes bawdy joke,” she said in her emotional statement.
Harris concluded, “Farewell, Dolly, godspeed, and thank you for everything.”
Parton died on August 25 at age 80. She had briefly battled an undisclosed type of cancer, which was unknown to her fans and the public.
Parton’s sister Stella revealed that Parton “would not have wanted her fans worried about it.” She had not revealed the diagnosis to her entire family, either. Her niece, Jada Star, the daughter of Parton’s sister Freida, said that Parton “never wanted to worry anybody,” leading to news of her death coming as “a shock.”
According to Stella, Parton sustained her commitment to advocacy and philanthropy throughout her diagnosis, even allowing her medical team to try experimental treatments in hopes they could help others in her position.
“She left the world a better place by being in it,” Stella wrote on Instagram shortly after Parton’s death. “So let’s follow her example.”
