Brad Paisley is one of the performers for I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton, the Dolly Parton tribute show taking place on Wednesday, October 21. Paisley will perform “When I Get Where I’m Going” with Sierra Hull. In 2005, Parton joined Paisley on “When I Get Where I’m Going” as part of his Time Well Wasted album.
“Dolly is a singular force in our town and in our format of music, and in any format,” Paisley tells the Country Music Association. “We don’t get to claim her entirely anymore. She’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She is in the acting pantheon of icons as well. But she’s from Tennessee, and she is a country singer at the core, and that all would be enough to do a special like this, and to honor her.
“But then, put that aside,” he continues. “And her philanthropy, and her spirit of fearlessness in taking on issues she cared about, and standing up for people, and being inspiring in a sort of spiritual sense as well, and her beliefs are enough to honor her as well. So when you put those together, it equals one of the greatest artists and human beings we’ve ever seen.”
What Brad Paisley Says About Dolly Parton
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Paisley is in awe of all that Parton was able to do, even if he still isn’t sure how she accomplished all of it.
“I think Dolly was a unifying force almost always, in some way,” Paisley says. “I don’t know how she did it entirely, but she just unified. She truly brought people together. When she would tackle an issue, you wanted to join her; you didn’t want to push her away. When you saw what she was doing towards something, you wanted to help. And so, I think that’s the magic. And she did it with a smile. That was part of the charm. It was a ‘Bless his heart’ mentality, a ‘bless your heart’ type thing. She would never attack; she would always sort of mend things. We’ve never seen anyone like her.”
Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton’ TV Special
I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton will air tonight at 9:00 PM ET on ABC and Disney+. The two-hour show will stream the next day on Hulu. See a list of performers below.
Ashley McBryde
Béla Fleck
Brad Paisley
Carly Pearce
Carrie Underwood
Darius Rucker
Ella Langley
Lady A
Lukas Nelson
Kelsea Ballerini
Kristen Bell
Kristin Chenoweth
Lainey Wilson
Little Big Town
Molly Tuttle
Reba McEntire
Ricky Skaggs
Vince Gill
Sierra Hull
Zac Brown will perform with Amy Grant, and Kimberly Williams-Paisley will join as a special guest.
Photo Credit: CMA /Nathan Zucker