Dolly Parton Posthumously Accepts Lifetime Achievement Award in Newly Released Video Message, Recorded Before Her Death
Dolly Parton Posthumously Accepts Lifetime Achievement Award in Newly Released Video Message, Recorded Before Her Death
Charna Flam, Chris BarillaThu, September 17, 2026 at 2:52 AM UTC
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Dolly PartonCredit: Jon Morgan/CBS via Getty -
Dolly Parton was honored with the Americana Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously at the 2026 Americana Honors & Awards
Emmylou Harris celebrated Parton’s legacy, highlighting Parton’s transition from country star to global icon, as well as Parton’s philanthropic work
Parton’s video message reflected on the impact Americana music had on her long-lasting career
A video message from the late Dolly Parton was shared at the 2026 Americana Honors & Awards.
Parton was posthumously awarded the Americana Lifetime Achievement Award on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Parton died after a brief battle with cancerat the age of 80 on Aug. 25.
During the ceremony honoring recipients Parton and Robert Plant, Parton’s friend Emmylou Harris delivered opening remarks about Parton’s legacy, and a video of Parton accepting the award played, concluding with a performance by Brandi Carlile and I’m with Her, who sang Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors.”
Parton’s message, recorded before her death, showcased her famed charm as she addressed the crowd: “Well, hey, it’s Dolly. I’m honored to be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association.”
“I mean, roots music, or what is now called Americana music, is what I grew up playing back in the Smoky Mountains,” Parton continued. “It’s that same music that drew me back to East Tennessee in 1997 to write and record my album, Hungry Again. 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.”
“Now, 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 said. “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.”
Before Parton’s message played for the crowd, Harris spoke about Parton, Parton’s legacy, and Parton’s reaction to learning she would be receiving the Lifetime Achievement honor.
“In 1967, Dolly got a good start on her big dream when she landed a gig as the girl singer with Porter Wagoner. Their duets were a hit on the show and on the charts, but Dolly was nobody’s sidekick. She wanted more and she deserved more, and she set out to get it always, always on her own terms,” Harris, 79, said. “And we all know what happened when Dolly set her sights on something.”
As Harris continued, she celebrated Parton’s ability to easily transition from country star to pop star and ultimately global icon. “She was one of our all-time greatest songwriters, but she shined just as brightly on stage,” Harris shared. “She lit up the TV screen and then she, she lit up the movie screen.”
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Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton perform on February 9, 1999Credit: Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
“Her stunningly beautiful, pure mountain voice could make us cry and then crack us up with a well-aimed, sometimes body joke,” Harris said. “There was nothing Dolly couldn’t do, and so she did it.”
Harris also paid tribute to Parton’s work outside the music industry, from creating Dollywood, the Imagination Library, as well as the My People Fund to funding research that helped lead to a COVID vaccine.
rs Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris on March 13,1987Credit: BRUCE BISPING/Star Tribune via Getty
“There’s another famous Dolly saying: ‘If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one,’ ” Harris said. “Through her songs and her own example, she showed so many musicians, artists and everyday folks exactly how to do that.”
“Not by giving them the map that she made, but by encouraging them to draw their own,” Harris continued. “So whatever road you’re on, I believe that Dolly’s walking it with every one of us tonight and always. She’s sprinkling those rhinestones along the path and reminding us as we walk to be on the lookout for ways to dream more, learn more, care more, and be more for ourselves and for each other.”
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Harris concluded by introducing Parton’s video, saying the late singer recorded this video “with the same warmth, joy, and sparkle she so generously shared with us throughout her life.”
Emmylou Harris at the 2026 Americana Lifetime Achievement AwardCredit: NPR Music/YouTube
Before her death, Parton described her friendship with Harris, sharing how they had an impromptu jam session with Linda Ronstadt that ultimately led to their 1987 album, Trio. Parton explained at the Country Music Hall of Fame in March 2026 that they decided to make the album on the spot.
“I know that for me, this will always stand as one of the greatest musical things that I’ve done in my entire life,” Parton said of the project. “I’ve never been prouder of anything else.”
Additionally, Parton notably penned Harris’ chart-topping version of “To Daddy.” While Parton included her own recording of the track on her 1995 compilation The Essential Dolly Parton, Vol. 1, she first wrote the song in 1975 and gifted it to her friend.
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