Album cover. Butterfly (digital album) (2025)
|
The Dollywood Collection: Celebrating 40 Years of Music & Memories is a compilation album by Dolly Parton. It was released digitally on May 2, 2025, by Butterfly Records. The album's release coincides with Dollywood's fortieth operating season. It is comprised of songs Dolly wrote and performed for the park and related Dollywood attractions over the years.
|
Track listing
- The Sky Is Not the Limit (Country Bluegrass Version) (Dolly Parton) 2:20
- Love Is Like a Butterfly (Orchestrated Version) (Dolly Parton) 5:53
- Always Choose to Be Nice (Brian Hull, Tom McBryde) 1:47
- Sail Away (Dolly Parton) 3:23
- The Ride (Dolly Parton) 5:18
- Pirates Paradise (Dolly Parton) 3:15
- Celebrate the Dreamer in You (Dolly Parton) 2:47
- The Magic of Being Together (Dolly Parton) 2:34
- Red, White, and Bluegrass (Dolly Parton) 3:18
- Color Me America (Dolly Parton) 3:11
Content
"Color Me America" was written by Dolly on September 12, 2001, following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11. She premiered the song live in December 2001. Dolly originally stated that she would only perform the song live and not release it commercially because she didn't want to be seen as trying to profit off the tragedy of 9/11. She later added the song as the finale of the Dolly Parton's Stampede dinner attraction in June 2003 before finally releasing a studio version on For God and Country in November 2003, along with a promotional video. The For God & Country album version is included on The Dollywood Collection, although the post-song narration has been omitted.
"Red, White, and Bluegrass" borrows its title from an event that took place at Dollywood for a few seasons beginning in June 2002. One weekend of the Summer Fun Series was called Red, White, and Bluegrass Blast, which may have been the inspiration for the song. The title was also to be used for a planned benefit concert for the 9/11 terrorist attack victims, planned for New Year's Eve 2001, but later delayed to May 2002 due to a bomb threat. Dolly recorded the song for her 2003 album, For God and Country, in November 2003. The For God & Country album version is included on The Dollywood Collection, although the post-song narration has been omitted.
Dolly wrote "Celebrate the Dreamer in You" to commemorate Dollywood's 25th season in 2010. Several mixes of the song have been used or released since then. Its first "official" release was in April 2010 when the complete original studio version was used in Dollywood's "Memories Photo Album" video that the park played at Dolly's media appearance on season pass holders' preview day. This version features a short intro and backing vocals not present on later versions of the song. This version has never been released for download or purchase. Dolly performed the song during the taping of the Hallmark Channel television special Dolly Celebrates 25 Years of Dollywood in June 2010. Following the special's broadcast in July 2010, Hallmark Channel offered a free download of this live performance of the song from their website and Facebook page. When the audiobook was released for Dolly's 2012 inspirational book Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You, a new studio version of the song was included. This version omits the song's intro and some of the backing vocals. The song was released as a digital single in December 2024. This release is the third studio version and fourth overall version of the song. The instrumental is different and it features no background vocals at all. The 2012 version is included on The Dollywood Collection.
Dolly recorded "Always Choose to Be Nice" for the Imagination Playhouse production of Ladybug Girl in 2011. The show opened during Kids Fest in June 2011. The song was later included on the track listing for the 2015 version of Dolly's children's album, I Believe in You. This version of the album was never sold commercially and was only available at Imagination Library conferences in 2015. Its inclusion on The Dollywood Collection marks its first commercial release.
"Sail Away" and "Pirates Paradise" are from the Dolly Parton's Pirates Voyage dinner attraction. The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina location opened in June 2011, while the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee location opened in June 2019. Dolly performed "Pirates Paradise" at the opening of the Myrtle Beach location and it plays as guests exit after the show, while "Sail Away" is featured in the show with a video of Dolly dressed as a mermaid against a CGI backdrop. Both songs received their first commercial release on The Dollywood Collection.
"The Sky Is Not the Limit (Country Bluegrass Version)" was written in 2012 for the opening of the Wild Eagle rollercoaster at Dollywood. That March the park posted three versions of the song on their Facebook page (ballad, country/bluegrass, and full orchestration), asking users to pick which they liked best for the ride's official theme song. The full orchestration version won and is played periodically through speakers in the ride's queue. Dolly performed the song at the coaster's grand opening on March 23 with the Knoxville Children's Choir and Dollywood singers. The country/bluegrass version is included on The Dollywood Collection, marking the song's first official release.
"The Magic of Being Together" was written for Dollywood's production of A Christmas Carol that premiered in 2013. The song was later included in the 2016 NBC TV movie, Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love. No soundtrack was released at the time, so its release on The Dollywood Collection marks its first commercial release.
Dolly Parton's Stampede premiered "The Ride" in July 2022. The song was featured in a new segment added to celebrate the attraction's 35th anniversary. While the song plays, the riders enter on the back of "wild horses" before flying into the air over the arena. The song's release on The Dollywood Collection marks its first commercial release.
"Love Is Like a Butterfly (Orchestrated Version)" was premiered in May 2024 for a new segment of Dolly Parton's Stampede dinner attraction titled Butterfly Dreams. The segment features the show's equine stars adorned with whimsical butterfly wings in spectacular choreographed formations and performers soaring high above the arena floor. This new take on Dolly's 1974 number one single makes its commercial debut on The Dollywood Collection.
"Red, White, and Bluegrass" borrows its title from an event that took place at Dollywood for a few seasons beginning in June 2002. One weekend of the Summer Fun Series was called Red, White, and Bluegrass Blast, which may have been the inspiration for the song. The title was also to be used for a planned benefit concert for the 9/11 terrorist attack victims, planned for New Year's Eve 2001, but later delayed to May 2002 due to a bomb threat. Dolly recorded the song for her 2003 album, For God and Country, in November 2003. The For God & Country album version is included on The Dollywood Collection, although the post-song narration has been omitted.
Dolly wrote "Celebrate the Dreamer in You" to commemorate Dollywood's 25th season in 2010. Several mixes of the song have been used or released since then. Its first "official" release was in April 2010 when the complete original studio version was used in Dollywood's "Memories Photo Album" video that the park played at Dolly's media appearance on season pass holders' preview day. This version features a short intro and backing vocals not present on later versions of the song. This version has never been released for download or purchase. Dolly performed the song during the taping of the Hallmark Channel television special Dolly Celebrates 25 Years of Dollywood in June 2010. Following the special's broadcast in July 2010, Hallmark Channel offered a free download of this live performance of the song from their website and Facebook page. When the audiobook was released for Dolly's 2012 inspirational book Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You, a new studio version of the song was included. This version omits the song's intro and some of the backing vocals. The song was released as a digital single in December 2024. This release is the third studio version and fourth overall version of the song. The instrumental is different and it features no background vocals at all. The 2012 version is included on The Dollywood Collection.
Dolly recorded "Always Choose to Be Nice" for the Imagination Playhouse production of Ladybug Girl in 2011. The show opened during Kids Fest in June 2011. The song was later included on the track listing for the 2015 version of Dolly's children's album, I Believe in You. This version of the album was never sold commercially and was only available at Imagination Library conferences in 2015. Its inclusion on The Dollywood Collection marks its first commercial release.
"Sail Away" and "Pirates Paradise" are from the Dolly Parton's Pirates Voyage dinner attraction. The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina location opened in June 2011, while the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee location opened in June 2019. Dolly performed "Pirates Paradise" at the opening of the Myrtle Beach location and it plays as guests exit after the show, while "Sail Away" is featured in the show with a video of Dolly dressed as a mermaid against a CGI backdrop. Both songs received their first commercial release on The Dollywood Collection.
"The Sky Is Not the Limit (Country Bluegrass Version)" was written in 2012 for the opening of the Wild Eagle rollercoaster at Dollywood. That March the park posted three versions of the song on their Facebook page (ballad, country/bluegrass, and full orchestration), asking users to pick which they liked best for the ride's official theme song. The full orchestration version won and is played periodically through speakers in the ride's queue. Dolly performed the song at the coaster's grand opening on March 23 with the Knoxville Children's Choir and Dollywood singers. The country/bluegrass version is included on The Dollywood Collection, marking the song's first official release.
"The Magic of Being Together" was written for Dollywood's production of A Christmas Carol that premiered in 2013. The song was later included in the 2016 NBC TV movie, Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love. No soundtrack was released at the time, so its release on The Dollywood Collection marks its first commercial release.
Dolly Parton's Stampede premiered "The Ride" in July 2022. The song was featured in a new segment added to celebrate the attraction's 35th anniversary. While the song plays, the riders enter on the back of "wild horses" before flying into the air over the arena. The song's release on The Dollywood Collection marks its first commercial release.
"Love Is Like a Butterfly (Orchestrated Version)" was premiered in May 2024 for a new segment of Dolly Parton's Stampede dinner attraction titled Butterfly Dreams. The segment features the show's equine stars adorned with whimsical butterfly wings in spectacular choreographed formations and performers soaring high above the arena floor. This new take on Dolly's 1974 number one single makes its commercial debut on The Dollywood Collection.