Dolly Parton Celebrates 50 Years as Grand Ole Opry Member
Dolly Parton has added another milestone to her already legendary career as she celebrates 50 years as a member of the prestigious Grand Ole Opry.
Parton marked this accomplishment on Oct. 12 with two sold-out performances at the Opry. Before playing her two sets at the revered country music institution, fellow country music artists Lady Antebellum, Toby Keith and Candi Carpenter took to the stage to honor the "I Will Always Love You" singer by performing some of her songs.
Parton then took the time to reflect on her decades-long membership into the Grand Ole Opry, telling Billboard, "The night that I actually became a member 50 years ago was one of the highlights of my whole life because it was a true dream of mine… You never know what's going to happen to you in your life. You never know if your dreams will come true. And if they do, you wonder how people will remember you when you're older."
The Grammy-winning singer then continued by saying, "I'm older and I'm seeing how people remember me and that makes me feel very humble and I'm just very honored that I'm still around."
The singer then took to the stage to perform many of her classic songs, including "Jolene," "9 to 5" and "Here You Come Again," among others. Parton's performances were filmed and will appear in an upcoming NBC special called NBC titled Dolly Parton: 50 Years at the Grand Ole Opry, which will air on Nov. 26.
The legendary singer shows no signs of slowing down either as she is set to co-host the CMA Awards on Nov. 13 at 8PM ET on ABC alongside Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire.
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