Emmys honour Dolly Parton with Reba McEntire performance

Reba McEntire sang “Appalachian Memories” at the Emmy Awards to honour Dolly Parton.

Sally Field introduced the tribute. Field starred with Parton in the 1989 film “Steel Magnolias.” The introduction placed a former co-star at the centre of the farewell, according to Variety.

McEntire performed with an orchestra. Her performance was preceded by a clip of Parton singing the same song at the 1983 Emmys ceremony. The archive footage ran first. Then McEntire began.

The song choice reached back to Parton’s own awards history. She wrote and recorded “Appalachian Memories” in 1983. It appeared on “Burlap & Satin,” her 25th solo studio album. She then performed it at the Emmys that same year.

Field was at the ceremony as a nominee as well as a presenter. She was shortlisted for lead actress in a limited/anthology series or movie, a category for a story told in one short run, for Netflix’s “Remarkably Bright Creatures.” McEntire, a longtime friend of Parton, carried the musical tribute, according to Deadline.

Parton died in Nashville on Aug. 25 at age 80. She had faced a brief battle with cancer. Her death came less than a month before the ceremony.

Her recording career spanned decades and formats. She won 11 Grammy Awards. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 and subsequently released “Rockstar,” her final album.

In 1995, she founded The Imagination Library. The programme sends free books to children under age 5. It was built to encourage reading from the earliest years. It has since gifted more than 300 million books.

What gave the moment its weight was continuity. The same singer, the same song, and the same ceremony, separated by more than 40 years. Field spoke first. The past played on screen. Then McEntire sang.