Viewers are treated to Episode 7 of the ABC-TV variety series "Dolly," broadcast date of November 22, 1987.
"A Tennessee Mountain Thanksgiving."
Featuring many members of Dolly Parton's family.
Episode Synopsis: Dolly performs "My Tennessee Mountain Home" on the front porch of the home where she grew up, interspersed with footage of the Smoky Mountains. Dolly is in downtown Sevierville, Tennessee, to be greeted by her high school graduating class and the local mayor. The Gatlinburg-Pittman-Seymour High School and Sevierville High School bands perform "9 to 5." Dolly talks to a few of her classmates before performing "Mountain Magic." Dolly gives a small tour of her theme park Dollywood, highlighting the rides, crafts, and entertainment. She then performs "Rocky Top," followed by "In the Pines" with her brothers, Randy and Floyd. Dolly walks through the fields surrounding her Tennessee mountain home and talks about growing up there. She then joins her parents, Lee and Avie Lee Parton, on the front porch and they reminisce about their memories of living there. Dolly performs "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)." Dolly gives a tour of Craftsman's Valley at Dollywood and performs "Poor Folks Town." Dolly introduces her uncle, John Henry Owens III. Her aunt Dorothy Jo Owens performs "Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man" with Dolly providing backing vocals and various other family members also performing. Dolly performs "On Top of Old Smoky" with her sisters, Stella and Frieda, in front of the Dr. Robert F. Thomas Chapel. Inside the chapel, Dolly and her extended family perform "In the Sweet By-and-By." Dolly's grandfather, Jake Owens, leads the group in a verse of "Amazing Grace" and "At the Cross." Dolly then performs "The Better Part of Life" with her siblings. Dolly closes the episode by performing "I Will Always Love You".
"Dolly" is an American variety show starring Dolly Parton that aired on ABC from September 27, 1987, to May 7, 1988. Guest stars included Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard, Tyne Daly, Bruce Willis, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Petty, Juice Newton, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Tom Selleck, the Neville Brothers, Dudley Moore, and Oprah Winfrey. Tyne Daly's appearance on the show, in which she sang a duet with Parton, directly led to Daly being cast in the lead role in the 1989 Broadway production of "Gypsy."
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Dolly Parton: "Dolly" 1987-1988 ABC variet...
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean (January 19, 1946 – August 25, 2026) was an American singer-songwriter, actress and businesswoman. Dubbed the "Queen of Country," Parton was one of the most honored performers of country music in history, earning eleven Grammy Awards and three Emmy Awards, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, six Golden Globes and a Tony Award. She was also known for her cultural influence and philanthropy via Dollywood and the Dollywood Foundation. With more than 100 million records sold, Parton is among the best-selling music artists of all time.
Born into poverty in rural Tennessee, Parton wrote her first song at age six, performed regularly on TV by age ten, made her first recording a year later, and became a professional songwriter at sixteen. After writing songs for others, she released her debut album, "Hello, I'm Dolly" (1967), starting a nearly 60-year career. She released 49 studio albums and wrote more than 3,000 songs, including "I Will Always Love You" (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper and an international success for Whitney Houston that sold 24 million copies worldwide), "Jolene", "Coat of Many Colors," and "9 to 5".
Onscreen, Parton starred in the films "9 to 5" (1980) and "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (1982), both earning her nominations for Golden Globe, plus "Rhinestone" (1984), "Steel Magnolias" (1989), "Straight Talk" (1992), and "Joyful Noise" (2012). On television, she played Aunt Dolly in "Hannah Montana" (2006–2010), hosted "Saturday Night Live" (1989), and guest-starred on "Reba" (2005) and "Grace and Frankie" (2022). She produced and starred in the Netflix film "Christmas on the Square" (2021), winning a Primetime Emmy Award. On Broadway, she wrote the music and lyrics for the musical "9 to 5" (2009), for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score. Her life will be depicted in "Dolly: A True Original Musical" (2026).
Parton was hospitalized at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee, on August 21, 2026, and died after a "brief battle" with cancer on August 25, at age 80. Her death was announced the same day by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, who had served as her head of security for more than two decades. Parton had asked him several years prior to make the announcement of her death, which he described as "an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness."
