Dolly Parton made a posthumous appearance at the Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville on Wednesday, where a video recorded before her death showed the beloved performer thanking fans.
Parton died of cancer on August 25. It is not known when she recorded the acceptance message that was played during the ceremony.
“Hey, it’s Dolly, and I am so honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association,” she says at the start of the video.
“Roots music, or what is now called Americana music, is what I grew up playing back in the Smoky Mountains.”
In the pre-recorded clip, the country music legend wore a shirt embellished in gold and styled her hair in a voluminous wavy updo.
Dolly Parton appeared in a video at Wednesday’s Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville, thanking supporters in a message recorded before her death
Sporting a pink manicure and seated before a fresh arrangement of hydrangeas, Parton delivered her remarks with her trademark warmth.
“It’s that same music that drew me back to East Tennessee back in 1997 to write and record my album Hungry Again,” the singer explains.
“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 discovered her love of music early in life, regularly singing on local radio and appearing on East Tennessee television as a child. She released her first single, Puppy Love, when she was 13.
The Queen of Country enjoyed an illustrious music career that spanned an incredible six decades and was best known for hits Jolene and 9 to 5.
‘New fans 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,’ Parton continues in the video.
‘I want to thank everyone at the AMA for recognizing me with this award. It’s a great honor, truly, and just know that I will always love you.’
Her singer-songwriter friend Emmylou Harris delivered the opening remarks, calling Parton ‘one of our all-time greatest songwriters.’
‘But she shined just as brightly on stage,’ Harris, 79, said of the 9 To 5 star. ‘She lit up the TV screen and then she, she lit up the movie screen.’
Harris added that Parton’s ‘stunningly beautiful, pure mountain voice could make us cry and then crack us up with a well-aimed, sometimes body joke.
‘There was nothing Dolly couldn’t do, and so she did it.’
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Brandi Carlile and I’m With Her performed Coat of Many Colors after the audience watched the surprise video.
Her singer-songwriter friend Emmylou Harris delivered the opening remarks, calling Parton ‘one of our all-time greatest songwriters’
Singers Linda Ronstadt, from left, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris pose in New York on Feb. 11, 1999
Parton’s death shocked the world and came after months of health woes that saw her pull out of a string of public appearances, fueling fan fears for her wellbeing.
Those close to the singer said she had both become increasingly reclusive and secretive about her own ill health in recent months.
Her death was announced in a video recorded by her nephew Bryan Seaver and later posted to social media. It’s something the singer asked him years ago.
Her passing took place after being admitted to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems, according to TMZ.
Parton’s representatives soon revealed she died following a ‘brief battle with cancer’ in a statement to People.
‘Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched,’ the statement read.
‘After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.’
Her representatives also highlighted the extraordinary reach of Parton’s ‘unmatched generosity,’ noting she touched the lives of countless people she would never meet and was always ready to ‘offer a helping hand.’
‘Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.’
Despite her cancer battle, Parton remained optimistic and leaned on her deep Christian faith for strength in the last few months.
‘From the time that Dolly Parton was born, she was surrounded by faith, by God, by Jesus. Her grandfather was a preacher. Even in her Broadway show, she shows how much faith means to her,’ a source told People.
‘And so it’s natural for people of faith to believe that God is in control. It doesn’t matter what doctors may say, people may say. It’s not over until God says it’s over. I think she lived every day working and as long as God hadn’t called her home, she was here and she had more work to do.’