Even the Emmys will always love Dolly Parton.
And Reba McEntire, who offered a wistful tribute to her friend fellow country music icon during the in memoriam segment of the Sept. 14 salute to TV.
While folk-pop singer Noah Kahan served as the musical anchor as the Emmys paid tribute to deceased celebrities including Sam Neill, Eric Dane, Tim Curry and Hal Williams with a string-and-acoustic-guitar rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” McEntire stepped out with something special.
Her performance of Parton’s 1983 song, “Appalachian Memories,” highlighted the bond the pair shared with their rural roots. Parton hailed from the small town of Sevierville, Tennessee, while McEntire grew up on a cattle ranch in McAlester, Oklahoma.
Backed by an orchestra, McEntire, clad in a white gown adored with sparkles, looked teary-eyed through the emotional performance, while old photos of Parton rolled behind her on the screens flanking the stage.
“I’ll keep lookin’ to the Father, keep our heads above the water, Appalachian memories keep me strong,” McEntire sang in her signature twang.
“I love you, Dolly,” she said at song’s end. “So much.”
Parton died Aug. 25 after a brief battle with cancer. She was 80.
The segment was introduced by Sally Field, who starred with Parton in “Steel Magnolias.”
“If there are truly angels on earth, then we just lost one,” Field said, calling her friend “a real giant, not just as an artist, but a human.”
What TV shows did Dolly Parton star in?
While Parton was primarily revered for her contributions to music and film (“9 to 5,” “Steel Magnolias”), she was a frequent small-screen presence for decades.
In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s she appeared in more than 200 episodes of “The Porter Wagoner Show,” steered by her mentor, Wagoner, before hosting her own variety show, “Dolly,” in 1976-77. A decade later, Parton returned to the format with an added exclamation point as she hosted “Dolly!” from 1987-88.
Parton’s vivacious personality and comedic timing also made her a sought-after guest appearing as herself. Among her pop-ups throughout the decades were stints on “Designing Women,” “The Simpsons” and “Hannah Montana,” which starred her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus.
Some of Parton’s most memorable TV events came during the holiday season. Whether starring alongside Lee Majors in the 1986 drama “A Smoky Mountain Christmas,” executive producing the TV film based on her life with 2015’s “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors” or using her Tennessee theme park in the storyline of the 2019 Hallmark Channel offering “Christmas at Dollywood” – in which she co-starred – Parton used her standing to spread good vibes and holiday warmth.
The 78th Emmy Awards aired live on NBC and Peacock from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.