Ella Langley Wows Crowd During Dolly Parton Tribute With Performance of “Jolene”

Full account

Ella Langley performed Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” during I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton, a two-hour tribute staged at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville. Langley, known for “Choosin’ Texas”, was among a large group of artists interpreting songs associated with Parton. The special was shown on ABC and Disney+, with streaming on Hulu scheduled for the following day.

The tribute followed Parton’s death on 25 August, as reported by all three accounts. For Langley, “Jolene” was already part of her response to the news. The first report says she performed it in her home state of Alabama a few days after Parton died, telling the audience that she felt the occasion called for a tribute. She also posted a message thanking Parton for making space for women to assert themselves as artists and for encouraging others to be themselves.

Langley’s performance sat within a programme spanning several generations of country music. The reported line-up included Ashley McBryde, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill and Zac Brown, among others. Students from Belmont’s Dolly U programme, which explores Parton’s career and legacy, also took part.

Other performers drew on their own connections to Parton’s music. Paisley, who recorded “When I Get Where I’m Going” with her, performed the song with Sierra Hull. Its themes of death, faith and reunion gave it particular resonance at a memorial concert. Brown’s rendition of “Butterfly” incorporated Parton’s recorded voice, bringing her singing into the performance.

The evening also reflected an aspect of Parton’s work beyond the stage. The third report says the Country Music Association and Belmont University directed a portion of the event’s proceeds to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, her children’s reading initiative. Across the performances, artists approached the tribute through familiar songs, personal collaborations and Parton’s wider legacy.

The reports offer different windows onto the same event. The first concentrates on Langley’s “Jolene” and the tribute she had paid to Parton earlier; the second follows Paisley’s musical connection with her; and the third focuses on Brown’s performance and the Imagination Library contribution. None provides a detailed account of the crowd’s response to Langley’s appearance, despite the headline’s claim that she wowed the audience.

Where outlets differ

The first report centres Langley and lists a broad range of performers; the second centres Paisley and Sierra Hull; the third centres Zac Brown and the event’s charitable element.

The second report says Parton died after a brief battle with cancer. The other two reports mention her death without giving a cause.

The third report names Amy Grant among those appearing in connection with the tribute, while the first report’s performer list does not include her.

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