The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will explore the life and career of Country Music Hall of Fame member Dolly Parton in a new exhibition, Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker. The exhibit will focus on turning points throughout Parton’s more than 60-year career where she overcame obstacles and ignored naysayers to become one of the most beloved and widely recognized celebrities across the world. The exhibit will be open from May 20 until Sept. 2026.
“Being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame was one of the greatest moments of my life, and being able to have a personal exhibit for the fans that put me there is a very big deal to me,” said Dolly Parton. “This seeker is very proud and honored, and I hope you enjoy my journey. I will always love you.”
“After accomplishing enough for three lifetimes, Dolly Parton continues to astound and amaze us with her boundless talent, her vivacious wit and her tremendous generosity,” said Kyle Young, chief executive officer of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “Like all great artists, Parton has demonstrated consistently that she can transform adversity and setbacks into works of stunning beauty and insight into the human condition.”
Access to the Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker exhibit is included with museum admission. A limited number of timed tickets for the exhibit are available each day. Advance reservations are encouraged and ticket availability can be found on the museum’s website.
The exhibit will include clothing, awards, handwritten lyrics, instruments, photographs, exclusive interview footage and more. Examples of items to be displayed include:
- Parton’s first draft of handwritten lyrics to her classic song and #1 country hit “Jolene.”
- A custom-built Gibson five-string banjo with a white metallic finish, rhinestone embellishments and butterfly motifs used by Parton at performances in 1992 and on her “Halos & Horns Tour” in 2002.
- A Sony portable cassette tape recorder Parton used when she wrote the songs “I Will Always Love You,” “Jolene” and “The Seeker.”
- A cowgirl outfit Parton wore in scenes in the 1980 Hollywood film “9 to 5.”
- Hand-painted and beaded boots, designed by Bambi Breakstone, which Parton wore at the photoshoot for her 2002 album, Halos & Horns.
- The Kennedy Center Honors medallion Parton was presented with in 2006 to honor her lifetime of contributions to American culture.
- A Tony Chase-designed lace dress, embellished with pearl beading, Parton wore when she performed the R&B classic “I’m a Hog for You Baby” as a duet with the Muppets character Miss Piggy on an episode of Parton’s ABC-TV variety series “Dolly!” in 1987.
- A Lucy Adams-designed dress, with lace sleeves and skirt and a butterfly-shaped rhinestone design, which Parton wore at appearances on “The Porter Wagoner Show” and the cover of the 1974 album Porter ’n’ Dolly.
- The Gibson L-30 archtop acoustic guitar, built around 1935 — given to Parton as a gift from her brother Floyd Parton — which she played in the 1991 music video for “Silver and Gold,” from her album Eagle When She Flies.
- The dress, with balloon sleeves, chiffon skirt, bugle beading and rhinestone accents Parton wore at a 1978 photoshoot by celebrity photographer Harry Langdon Jr. The likeness of her on a Dolly Parton-themed pinball machine, made by Bally in 1979, was based on one of Langdon’s photos of her in this dress.
- A Steve Summers-designed metallic dress, with mesh fabric, spikes and beaded fringe, was worn by Parton in photos promoting her singles “World on Fire” and “We are the Champions/We Will Rock You,” from her 2023 album, Rockstar.
- The Andreas-designed, rhinestone-covered platform mules Parton wore at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 10, 2019. The ceremony included a tribute to Parton, in which Miley Cyrus, Little Big Town, Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves and Katy Perry performed a medley of her songs. Parton joined them onstage to sing “Jolene” with Cyrus.
- Designed for Parton by Lucy Adams, a pantsuit with bell sleeves, bell bottoms and rhinestone-and-bead embellished floral shapes, worn by Parton when she toured with her Traveling Family Band in 1975, and on the cover of Dolly, her 1975 album also known as The Seeker/We Used To.
Dolly Parton was born the fourth of 12 children 15 miles east of Sevierville in a remote cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with no plumbing, electricity or access roads. Embracing her father’s enterprising work ethic and her mother’s love of traditional Scots-Irish folk music, she pursued her dream of becoming an entertainer despite limited opportunities. By age 10, Parton performed regularly on radio and television shows in Knoxville, Tennessee; recorded teen-pop tunes in Louisiana at age 13; and signed with Mercury Records in Nashville at age 16 — moving there to pursue her career the day after finishing high school.
Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker will explore many times during Parton’s life where her persistence established a pattern to not let critics or business-as-usual policies discourage the pursuit of her dreams. Some of the themes include:
- At age 13, Parton made her Grand Ole Opry debut, but only after she and her uncle Bill Owens persuaded singer Jimmy C. Newman to give her one of his time slots after an Opry manager refused to schedule her, citing her youth.
- After establishing herself in Nashville, Parton resisted advice from record executives who warned that her flamboyant fashions would overshadow her talent — determined to present herself as boldly as she dreamed as a young girl with a vivid imagination and a desire to stand apart and experience life beyond the Smoky Mountains.
- When Parton collaborated with L.A. pop producer Gary Klein for her 1977 album Here You Come Again, many in the Nashville community accused her of abandoning country music in search of pop success. The album became Parton’s first million-selling album, earning her first Grammy Award and led to her film debut as Doralee Rhodes, in Jane Fonda’s upcoming film “9 to 5,” when Fonda heard Parton’s hit “Two Doors Down” from the album.
- To encourage an interest in reading in children five and under in Servier County and to honor her father, who never learned to read but insisted on his children becoming readers, she founded Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 1995 — shocking skeptics when 1,700 books reached mailboxes from the first month on. She launched the Dollywood Foundation in 1998, with the Imagination Library as its flagship program, which is now active in all 50 states, as well as in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Exhibition companion book
An illustrated and in-depth exhibit companion book will supplement the gallery presentation, featuring historical photographs and artifacts from the exhibit. Like the exhibit, the book focuses on Parton overcoming obstacles and critics throughout her life and career. It also includes stories behind four of Parton’s most well-known songs, in her own words: “9 to 5,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene.” The book is available for presale here and will also be sold in the museum’s store beginning on May 20.
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