Country Music Association To Air Two-Hour Live Television Tribute To Dolly Parton

The Country Music Association has produced a two-hour live special that will honor the life and legacy of worldwide country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton. "CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton" will air live on Oct. 21, at 9 p.m. on both ABC and Disney+.

As stated in a recent press release to Holler, "The special will be a joyful, emotional celebration of the artist, songwriter, entertainer, humanitarian and entrepreneur whose music and generosity carried her from the mountains of East Tennessee into the hearts of generations around the world."

Following her death on Aug. 25, the live television special is set to honor the impact Dolly had on the world, and the everlasting influence she had on country music.

After her passing, it seems as though Dolly's impact is alive now more than ever, as the live event is sure to get tears rolling and fans from all over to stop in awe and appreciation of the star. The 120-minute tribute will run according to what made Dolly the person and artist she was, and how her efforts continue today.

Parton herself is the epitome of one dream following another, one effort of hard work leading to one more than rewarding outcome. Through her massive success as a country music singer, Parton was able to spend her career fulfilling the dreams she had of truly helping others and making the world around her a better place than how she found it.

Which is why it seems only logical that a donation from proceeds made from the tribute will go to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, of the nonprofit organization The Dollywood Foundation. Through her efforts here, each registered child receives a book every month from birth to age five.

The tribute, filmed at the Belmont University Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, continues a growing partnership between Dolly and the Christian-based university, where they had previously championed the worldwide premiere of Dolly: A True Original Musical. The university seems more than happy to pay tribute to Parton in any way possible, as they cite many of Dolly's lived-out virtues in alignment with the university's mission.

Aside from her lasting impact on the communities around her through her philanthropy, we're sure that the tribute will pay homage to Dolly's hits that shaped a generation, and inspired for generations to come. From birth to death, this tribute is set to be an encyclopedia for all things Dolly - which includes her music that will continue to live on.

It is highly respectable the CMAs will be running the tribute in sole admiration of the star, especially less than a month out from the CMA Awards on Nov. 18. At the association's official award show, an energy of its own will be produced as we're sure the biggest night for country music will feature some sort of tribute to Parton, and today's biggest country stars will have the opportunity to pay their own respects. The CMAs two-hour tribute a month prior to this, though, will allow CMA officials to go into depth with her life and why her legacy matters as much as it does.