Once again, Dolly proved that she’s the best person ever by making a million dollar donation to the Monroe Carell Jr Children’s hospital – part of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Dolly has been a long time supporter of the hospital, and this latest donation is to support pediatric infectious disease research. This money has the potential to accelerate the progress in researching, and treating life-threatening diseases that affect children.

Dolly says “I love all children. No child should ever have to suffer, and I’m willing to do my part to try and keep as many of them as I can as healthy and safe as possible.”

Talking about the donation, Mark Denison, MD, professor of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases says, “We are deeply honored by Dolly’s contribution to our research mission. For over 40 years our division has been a national and international leader in studies for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of life-threatening infections, and this gift will accelerate our work and support new ideas.”

Of course many remember Dolly’s previous $1 million donation to Vanderbilt in April 2020 in honor of her longtime friend, Naji Abumrad, MD, professor of Surgery, to increase scientific knowledge and advance the battle against COVID-19 by supporting research teams working urgently to perfect treatments and cures.

Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of VUMC and Dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine says “Dolly’s previous support to infectious disease research, and also our pediatric cancer program, has already saved countless lives. This new gift will bolster our defenses against future threats to the safety of this region and society as a whole. It speaks volumes about her passion for people, and we couldn’t be more thankful.”

For decades now Dolly and her Dollywood Foundation has been trying to make the world a better place through literacy programs, raising money for the American Red Cross, her contributions to the medical industry, and also responding to crisis when they happen like the Great Smoky Mountain wildfires in 2016 and so much more.

Once again…we don’t deserve Dolly Parton, she’s too good for us.

Headline Photo Credit: Ian Gavan/Getty Images
Additional Photo Courtesy of Dolly Parton

The 16-track collection’s title comes from the opening line of one of the first songs that Bill wrote, “City Lights,” which was a hit for Ray Price in 1958.

Most of Bill’s recordings throughout his 7 decade long career has been with the MCA/Nashville record label (which is a part of Universal Music Group). This collection is in conjunction with the digital release of 7 of Anderson’s albums from the 1960s.

Bill says, “Needless to say I am thrilled over my new association with UMG. Not only do they have 23 years’ worth of my back catalog ready to introduce to the digital world, but I am reuniting with Dolly Parton on this project.”

As Far As I Can See: The Best Of two different recording of Bill and Dolly…Bill shares, “Dolly sang some demos for me (and with me) back in the early sixties when she was new in town. One was a duet called, ‘If It’s All The Same To You,’ which had gone missing for years. UMG has recovered it and included it along with my and Dolly’s new duet in this package. That’s called connecting the dots across more than fifty years. How cool is that?”

As Far As I Can See: The Best Of track list;

1. “City Lights”
2. “Walk Out Backwards”
3. “Three A.M.”
4. “Still” (Single Version)
5. “The Tip Of My Fingers”
6. “I Love You Drops”
7. “I Get The Fever”
8. “Po’ Folks”
9. “Wild Week-End”
10. “Happy State Of Mind”
11. “My Life (Throw It Away If I Want To)”
12. “Sometimes” (with Mary Lou Turner)
13. “If You Can Live With It (I Can Live Without It)”
14. “The Corner Of My Life”
15. “If It’s All The Same To You” (Demo with Dolly Parton)
16. “Someday It’ll All Make Sense” (with Dolly Parton)

As Far As I Can See: The Best Of from Bill Anderson is available now.

Photo Courtesy of Bill Anderson

Dolly also released an album of music inspired by the novel’s storyline

Now the novel, that inspired an album has also spawned a movie!

Dolly shared, “Run, Rose, Run is going to the big screen! I can’t wait to make this dream come true with Hello Sunshine, Sony Pictures, and some of my favorite people, James Patterson and Reese Witherspoon!”

The deal will see Dolly also starring in the movie that’s set to be produced by Reese’s company Hello Sunshine, along with James Patterson Entertainment and Sony.

Parton says, “I am thrilled to be bringing Run, Rose, Run to Sony Pictures. I’m looking forward to working with Sony and being in the movie as well. It’s a good time to be excited, working with some of my favorite people.”

Run, Rose, Run is the story of a young woman who leaves her home with the dream of making it big in Nashville while a dark secret from her past threatens everything she’s tried so hard to achieve.

According to IMDB.com, Reba’s character’s name will be “Sunny Brick.”

Along with her singing career, Reba’s acting resume is just as storied.

She starred in her own series, aptly called Reba, which aired in original episodes from 2001 to 2007, and can now be found in syndication. Reba has starred or guest starred in many series – including most recently as “June” in Big Bang Theory spinoff Young Sheldon.

Reba has also appeared in several movies, including Charlotte’s Web, One Night at McCool’s, North, Tremors and many more.

Of course one of Reba McEntire’s more frequent acting jobs happens in her music videos.

As a part of her triple album release Revived, Remixed, Revisited Reba co-starred in the video for “Does He Love You” with another country music icon known for acting as well…Dolly Parton.

Photo Courtesy of Reba McEntire

She was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Tuesday night, talking about her Christmas album, her new book (Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life In Lyrics), even her marriage.

She then gave a beautiful performance of “Bury Me Beneath The Willow,” which Dolly said her mom used to sing to her as a child. It was so beautiful, in fact, that Colbert teared up.

“Like a lot of Americans, I’m under a lot of stress right now, Dolly,” Colbert said after the performance. “You got under my trip wire right there. That was pretty beautiful.”

Check out the full appearance below.

• Coffee with Cam: Noon (Instagram)
• CMHOF Words & Music at Home w/Walker Hayes: 2 p.m. (Instagram)
• Romeo Entertainment Group Presents The Couch Concert Series w/Niko Moon: 3 p.m. (Instagram)
• Rachel Wammack: 4 p.m. (Facebook & Instagram)
• Smithfield Social Tour feat. Smithfield and Temecula Road: 4:30 p.m. (Instagram)
• Rae From the Heart w/Raelynn: 5 p.m. (Instagram)
• I Hope Your Happy Now Happy Hour w/Carly Pearce and Lee Brice: 5 p.m. (Instagram)
• Hang With Jon Wolfe In Your Living Room: 5 p.m. (Instagram) and 6 p.m. (Facebook)
• So I Go Lounging w/Amanda Shires: 5:30 p.m. (Youtube)(Daily)
• Wine w/Cass (Cassadee Pope): 7:30 p.m. (Virtual M&G 8:20 p.m.) (Instagram)
• Closet Choas w/Sara Evans: 7:30 p.m. (Instagram)
• Whiskey Jam Presents Risky Jam Feat. Ryan Hurd, David Nail, Channing Wilson & More: 9 p.m. (Instagram)

• The Boot – Noon Tunes w/William Michael Morgan: Noon (Facebook & Instagram)
• Romeo Entertainment Group Presents The Couch Concert Series w/Michael Ray: 3 p.m. (Instagram)
• VEVO At Home w/Matt Stell: 3 p.m. (Instagram)
• Pickathon Presents A Concert A Day Feat. Ex Hex: 3 p.m. (Facebook, Amazon Music on Twitch, YouTube (part of the Stay Home #WithMe initiative)
• Rachel Wammack: 4 p.m. (Instagram)
• So I Go Lounging w/Amanda Shires: 5:30 p.m. (Youtube)(Daily)
• Goodnight With Dolly: 6 p.m. (YouTube)
• Hang With Jon Wolfe In Your Living Room: 6 p.m. (Instagram), 7:15 p.m. (Facebook)
• Tyler Booth: 6:30 p.m. (Facebook)
• Ave B TV w/Maddie & Tae, Laura Veltz, & Raelynn (Hosted by Avenue Beat): 7 p.m. (Instagram)
• The Boot – Live and Socially Distant w/Secret Emchy Society and Gabe Lee: 7 p.m. (Secret Emchy Society) and 8 p.m. (Gabe Lee)(Facebook)
• Whiskey Jam Presents Risky Jam Feat. Brad Paisley, CJ Solar, and more: 9 p.m. (Instagram)