Dolly Parton is the queen of country music, so you’d expect her to be standing center stage during Opry 100: A Live Celebration, which took place on Wednesday, March 19. But, in the wake of her husband, Carl Dean’s, death, the country icon simply couldn’t make it. That didn’t stop the artists who did, however, from honoring her contributions to country music and the world.
During the televised event, dozens of Opry members—including Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, Carrie Underwood, Carly Pearce, Randy Travis, and Scotty McCreery—joined forces to belt out “Will The Circle Be Unbroken,” a hymn that Dolly’s sang many times with other Opry members.
Reba then directly acknowledged Dolly’s absence from the show. “It’s been a great night of celebration, but of course, it’s just not the same without you,” the 69-year-old singer said on stage. “Dolly, everybody here at the Opry and around the world wants to send you our thoughts and prayers. And you gotta know, we will always love you.”
Reba’s comment led directly into a stunning rendition of Dolly’s iconic “I Will Always Love You,” alongside Carrie Underwood and Lady A, not to mention a wildly talented choir of roughly 50 Grand Ole Opry members.
Before the show closed with the tribute, Dolly spoke to the Opry via a pre-recorded video. “Well hello, I am Dolly Parton and I am a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry,” the 79-year-old singer 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.”
Rebecca Norris is a full-time freelance writer living in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Over the past 10+ years, she’s heavily covered a range of lifestyle topics, including travel, home, beauty, style, wellness, and celebrity news. She is a graduate of George Mason University, where she earned a B.A. in Media: Production, Consumption, and Critique, along with a minor in Electronic Journalism. When she’s not writing, she can be found strolling with her Jack-Chi, Cash, sipping iced matcha lattes, indulging in delicious cuisine, perusing farmer’s markets and antique sales, collecting colored glass, getting lost within the pages of a book, and exploring new bucket-list cities.