Ashley McBryde Keeps Dolly Parton’s Story Alive With Moving Performance Of “Coat Of Many Colors”
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It’s been almost two months since country music icon Dolly Parton passed away at the age of 80.
Want to see the rest of the night? It’s still streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
The artist left behind a legacy that includes countless hit songs, charitable efforts like the Imagination Library, and even the economy-building amusement park Dollywood in her hometown.
Dolly Parton also left behind her own story, and it’s a story wrapped up in songs like “Coat of Many Colors.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 21, the late Dolly Parton was honored with a special televised tribute, CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton.
There, country artist Ashley McBryde beautifully sang “Coat of Many Colors,” and she concluded her performance of this powerful song with a reverent placing of her hand over her heart. She was one of more than twenty artists on the bill, a night that closed with the full cast singing “I Will Always Love You” and also featured Carly Pearce and Kristin Chenoweth’s “9 to 5”.
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Ashley McBryde Honors Dolly Parton With “Coat Of Many Colors” Performance
“Coat of Many Colors” was released in 1971, being the title track for her eighth solo studio album.
The song, which combines the telling of a story from her own upbringing with the Biblical account of Joseph and his multicolored coat from Genesis 37, is one of her most sensitive and personal works.
Performed by Ashley McBryde at the CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton, she sang “Coat of Many Colors” with the image of the real coat of many colors that Dolly’s mother made for her projected on the screen in the background.
Of course, this song has gone on to be the subject of a children’s book by Dolly, as well as a 2015 made-for-TV film about Dolly Parton’s childhood.
Still, as a song, “Coat of Many Colors” remains a heartbreaking story of looking past poverty and instead seeing love, with Dolly’s song stating:
“But they didn’t understand it / And I tried to make them see / That one is only poor / Only if they choose to be / Now I know we had no money / But I was rich as I could be / In my coat of many colors / My mama made for me.”
Watch her moving performance, here:
Watch Dolly Parton’s first performance of “Coat of Many Colors,” as seen on The Porter Wagoner Show in 1971, here:
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