Dolly Parton Teams With Tennessee Athletics for Exclusive Edition of Her 'Rockstar' Album

The University of Tennessee Athletics Department announces a partnership with global superstar Dolly Parton for an exclusive Vols Edition of Parton’s much-anticipated Rockstar album including a live version of Parton’s “Rocky Top”. The 2-CD set is available for preorder here.

Additionally, in a deal facilitated by IMG, leading gameday apparel company LivyLu launched a cobranded merchandise collection pairing two of East Tennessee’s most beloved franchises—Dolly Parton and the UT Vols. The apparel collection will be available via regional retail locations and online platforms, with select items available on Shop.UTSports.com and UTVolShop.com.

“My East Tennessee roots run deep, and I am so proud to be partnering with the Vols on a line of merchandise,” says Parton. “I’ve performed ‘Rocky Top’ so many times live in my concerts through the years, and I know how much that song means to Vols fans. I am thrilled to have the chance to include my version of the song on a special edition of my new Rockstar album as part of this partnership.”

“Dolly Parton is one of the most influential and best-selling artists of all-time and we are proud to partner with such an icon,” said Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White. “Her new album “Rockstar” debuts in November and includes a custom Vols version, including Dolly’s exclusive live rendition of Rocky Top. This venture, along with becoming the first collegiate team to partner with her on an exclusive merchandise line with our Tennessee Dolly Parton Collection just further demonstrates the power of our iconic brand.”

Parton has a long association with the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. In 2009 Parton delivered the commencement speech to the graduating class, where she was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane and musical letters. In both 2011 and 2014 Parton brought her world tours to the campus arena.

About Dolly Parton:

Dolly Parton is the most honored and revered female country singer-songwriter of all time and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Achieving 27 RIAA-certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards, she has had 26 songs reach #1 on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist.

Parton is the first artist to have topped the Billboard's Adult Contemporary, Christian AC Songs, Hot Country Songs, Christian Airplay, Rock Digital Songs, Country Airplay and Dance/Mix Show Airplay radio charts. Parton became the first country artist honored as Grammy MusiCares Person of the Year given out by NARAS.

She has 48 career Top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 career-charted singles over the past 50+ years.  On October 17th she is releasing her second coffee table book in a trilogy called “Behind The Seams:  My Life in Rhinestones” and on November 17th her highly anticipated 30-song rock album, “Rockstar.”

In 2014 the RIAA recognized her impact on recorded music with a plaque commemorating more than 100 million units sold worldwide. She has garnered eleven Grammy Awards and 51 nominations, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, 10 Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year; five Academy of Country Music Awards, also including a nod for Entertainer of the Year; four People's Choice Awards; and three American Music Awards. In 1999, Parton was inducted as a member of the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame.

In 2020, she released the Christmas album “A Holly Dolly Christmas” which went #1 on the Billboard Country and Holiday charts, as well released the bestselling coffee table book “Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.”  

In 2021, she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie for the film “Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square” and in December 2022, she released on NBC an all-new original holiday movie called “Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas” with her starring as well as producing; it was the most watched film of that year and the two years prior.

To date, Parton has donated over 213 million books to children around the world with her Imagination Library. Her children's book, Coat of Many Colors, was dedicated to the Library of Congress to honor the Imagination Library's 100 millionth book donation. In March of 2022, Parton released the book Run Rose Run which she co-authored with James Patterson which sat at # 1 on the New York Times Bestseller's List for 5 weeks, a record for this decade.

 She also released an accompanying album of the same name with original songs inspired by the book which reached #1 on three charts simultaneously --- Country, Americana/Folk and Bluegrass Albums.  From her “Coat of Many Colors” while working “9 to 5,” no dream is too big and no mountain too high for the country girl who turned the world into her stage.             

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