Dolly Parton Wins Posthumous Dove Award For The Last Song She Ever Co-Wrote
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The 57th Annual Dove Awards honored the late Dolly Parton in a special way, celebrating the country music icon’s lasting impact on Christian and Gospel music.
The annual ceremony took place at Bridgestone Arena on October 6 and featured a star-studded lineup of performances under this year’s theme, “Together For One.” Brandon Lake and Lainey Wilson, Tye Tribbett, Hope Darst, and Elevation Worship were among the artists taking the stage for the celebration.
While most of the performances took place at Bridgestone Arena, Elevation Worship brought the celebration to Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium for a special performance.
The evening also included a tribute to Parton, with Natalie Grant and Amy Grant joining forces to honor the legendary singer and songwriter. The pair performed “How Great Thou Art” and “I Will Always Love You,” celebrating Parton’s profound influence on Christian and Gospel music and the faith-filled message she has shared throughout her remarkable career.
The ceremony aired on TBN and streamed on the TBN+ app on Friday, October 9.
Dolly Parton Won A Dove Award Posthumously
In July, the Gospel Music Association (GMA) announced the nominees for the Dove Awards.
Dolly Parton and The Grascals, a bluegrass band, were nominated for Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year for their collaboration “Broken Angels.” Dolly wrote the song alongside Jamie Johnson, the guitarist, fiddle player, and vocalist in The Grascals.
They were up against the following nominees:
- “Above The Clouds” by Eighteen Mile
- “Camel Train” by Becky Buller (feat. Ricky Skaggs, Sharon White, and Cheryl White)
- “I Am The One” by Jeff Tolbert and Primitive Road
- “A God Thing” by Chosen Road
Most of the night’s awards were presented during a pre-telecast ceremony that the Gospel Music Association streamed on Friday afternoon, October 9. 8-time Dove Award winner Brandon Heath was on stage at the pre-telecast event to announce that Dolly Parton and the Grascals won the award, making it the first award Dolly has won since her August 25th passing.
The band walked up to accept the award and played a touching voicemail from Dolly herself, making the moment incredibly emotional.
Jamie Johnson was in tears as he accepted the award on behalf of Dolly and the Grascals.
He reminisced about the band’s 20-year history with Dolly, who handpicked the group to be her opening act and backing band in 2004.
Johnson spoke about his own battle with addiction, the inspiration behind “Broken Angels,” and shared that Dolly lost a brother to the disease.
“Dolly, oh my gosh. I can’t believe we’re even talking about her in the past tense,” Johnson said as he cried. “She was our first boss. She took us in 2004, then she fired us in 2005. But she said, ‘If you’re gonna be the Grascals, go be the Grascals.'”
He added, “She found her way back to us at the very end. This is the last song she co-wrote because she had a brother that passed away. So I’d like to dedicate this to her brother as well, who passed away from this disease.”
Johnson shared that he reached out to Dolly via email to see if she would be willing to co-write the song about recovery with him. The next day, Dolly called him and left a voicemail, which Johnson played for the crowd.
In the voicemail, Dolly said:
“Well hello, Jamie Johnson. Who says I don’t make calls? It’s Dolly. I was wondering what your deadline is. I really like that song, ‘Broken Angels,’ and I think I’m gonna be able to do some good with it…”
Jamie stopped the voicemail there, then looked up and said, “And you did, Dolly. And we did too.”
Watch the acceptance speech below.
The Grascals performed their award-winning song, with Sonya Isaacs stepping in to sing Dolly’s part. Watch the emotional performance below.
