On Dolly Parton Playing The Thanksgiving Halftime Show

Country music seems systemically locked out of being represented on the halftime show of the Super Bowl for the foreseeable future, despite country being the most popular genre of music in 2023. But it will be represented in the 2nd-most important halftime show of the NFL season. During the annual Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game and the Red Kettle kickoff for the Salvation Army, they have chosen Dolly Parton to be the entertainment.
Dolly Parton may be a living country legend, but the reason she landed this gig is she just released her new rock album called Rockstar, fulfilling a promise to those who voted for her to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Parton first tried to refuse the accolade, feeling her rock star bonafides were not enough. But when Dolly found out she was probably going to be inducted anyway, she acquiesced, and made one of the most anticipated albums in music all year. The 30-track monster sees Dolly Parton collaborate with Paul McCartney, Sting, Peter Frampton, Stevie Nicks, and a host of other legends from across the musical landscape.
Though it will be fun to see Dolly Parton on the 50 yard line on Turkey Day, this particular halftime performance opportunity has been notoriously disappointing in the past. With not much time to do anything more than a medley of hits, it rarely produces a “moment” like a longer performance can. We’ll have to see what kind of magic Dolly has in store, and if she relies on her country standards, or chooses instead to have a rock star performance.
Parton’s participation was facilitated in part by her appearance as a host of the ACM Awards on May 11th, which was held at the Dallas Cowboys practice facility called The Star. This is where Dolly and Charlotte Jones of the Cowboys launched the plan. These halftime kettle kickoff performances have been going on since 1997, and regularly feature country stars. Reba McEntire was the first to perform.
An issue to be concerned about with Dolly Parton is if she will sing live or lip sync. Though some will be shocked to hear this is even a concern since Dolly’s voice is still strong at age 77, her propensity for perfection means she’s been caught singing to a backing track in the past, including some accusing her of doing so at the ACM Awards, and many others making the accusation when she performed at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK in 2014.
Often these NFL performances are mimed, but we’ll just have to see how Dolly Parton handles it. Parton says she has turned down the opportunity to perform the Super Bowl halftime show numerous times previously. But amidst her nearly universal popularity and a new album, Dolly is one of the few American figures left who can bring everyone together, making her a great pick for Thanksgiving entertainment.
November 21, 2023 @ 10:58 am
Trig, You gonna review the Rockstar album?
She has gone all out on that.
November 21, 2023 @ 2:24 pm
If he has any respect for his ears he won’t
November 21, 2023 @ 5:43 pm
I might review it. 30 tracks is a lot to take in. Bad enough there are more releases than ever. When many of those releases are like 3 or 3 albums themselves, it compounds the problem exponentially.
November 21, 2023 @ 11:03 am
Interesting note is she released a special limited 2CD cowboys edition of the Rockstar album. I usually find the halftime shows for Thanksgiving to be quite boring but I’ll watch this.
November 21, 2023 @ 11:40 am
My buddy went to Dallas this week and brought me an official NFL Dolly/Cowboys/Thanksgiving Day t-shirt. Can’t wait. It’s likely she will prerecord her vocals. There’s so much noise it’s a must for most performers. Hopefully she will perform atca Super Bowl soon.
November 21, 2023 @ 12:24 pm
I heard those sold out almost immediately. Will probably become a collector’s item.
November 21, 2023 @ 12:36 pm
Are you planning on reviewing Wyatt Flores’s EP? Pretty impressive for an up and comer.
November 21, 2023 @ 4:23 pm
Wyatt’s EP is nothing short of fantastic. Not sure almost 4M monthly listeners qualifies him as an up and comer any more though. Kid has blasted into the stratosphere and his band is top notch. In other news, the Red Clay Strays have caught fire as well and I couldn’t be happier. Just saw that “Wondering Why” debuted on the charts at number 31 over a year after its release thanks to Tik tok. Great to see some of the artists we’ve been talking about on SCM for awhile are really getting some traction.
November 21, 2023 @ 5:47 pm
Yeah, these guys have folks pushing this stuff on Tik-Tok like publicists push music to the press. Not a bad strategy.
November 21, 2023 @ 5:46 pm
There is going to be another Wyatt Flores EP in a couple of months, and this will then feed into a full LP at some point in 2024. When this happens, I usually don’t review the individual EPs, because then I am reviewing the same songs twice when the big LP comes out. I probably will feature Wyatt in some capacity though here soon.
November 21, 2023 @ 12:43 pm
Last Saturday, Dolly performed “Rocky Top” at the Georgia-Tennessee game. The vocals were at best a wash, drowned out by the blaring soundtrack and the frenzied crowd. At times, it sounded like the mic was turned off. No doubt she’ll be singing to pre recorded track Thursday.
https://youtu.be/QFy-8C_8MY4?si=V9hZpxUtk9pdX3TA
November 21, 2023 @ 5:48 pm
Yeah, I tried to watch that too see if she was lip-syncing, but I couldn’t determine anything from the video I saw.
November 21, 2023 @ 12:58 pm
The Rock Hall induction was ridiculous. The Rockstar album is ridiculous. We don’t need Dolly covering classic rock radio staples. It does nothing for her legacy except I guess, check a box off. I’m OK with a halftime performance, but won’t be watching any of it.
I like the Appalachian songwriting, musician Dolly, not the trying to be everything to all people at any cost Dolly, if that makes sense. In other words, her body of Country music stands on its own merits. Nothing needs to be added. All This other stuff is nonsense.
November 22, 2023 @ 10:03 am
My thoughts exactly, Kevin.
November 22, 2023 @ 8:28 pm
You folks are entitled to have your say, but Dolly Parton doesn’t live her life and create her legacy to meet your approval.
The Rockstar album is not ridiculous at all. She got some of the biggest names in rock history to be part of the project. From all the buzz, it appears that this will be one of the biggest albums of her career, and obviously, there are a lof of people who do want to hear it. That’s pretty amazing for an artist who’s in their late ’70s–especially so, for a female artist.
November 23, 2023 @ 11:29 am
Yup. Dolly’s popularity outside of country music comes from her willingness to accept any cause.
November 21, 2023 @ 1:01 pm
Sorry for the off-topic comment Trig, but I couldn’t find an answer anywhere.
Parker McCollum just released “Never Enough: The Deep Cuts” EP. The songs seem to all be his singles from the album (so no, not deep cuts), and the arrangement also appears to be the same?
What’s going on here? Why do artists release things like this?
Semi-related – wouldn’t a show of newly popular Texas artists like McCollum and Cody Johnson be a better pick for a Thanksgiving halftime show at Cowboy Stadium? Feels like the right sized moment for them.
November 21, 2023 @ 2:44 pm
These halftime shows are about getting non-football fans to tune in. Dolly will appeal to a wider audience than CoJo or Parker whose fan bases probably already like football.
November 21, 2023 @ 3:23 pm
McCollum and Johnson are nobodies compared to the NFL’s reach.
November 21, 2023 @ 5:52 pm
No clue what that Parker McCollum EP is about. Major labels love to release EPs of stuff that eventually will end up on an LP. But I’ve never seen that in reverse. I’m sure there’s some marketing angle involved there like it gets promoted as a “new release” via streaming services even though it’s old material. The Kane Brown camp has done this a few times to game the system.
November 22, 2023 @ 6:57 am
Thanks for responding. I thought there would at least be a bonus track or an alternate version of an existing song on the album.
Maybe the labels think that folks won’t sit through a 55-minute album so they try to offer just the highlights in a 25 min. playlist?
As you said, very odd to have it done in reverse.
November 22, 2023 @ 1:44 pm
I think Kip Moore does something similar. I bet it just that marketing angle, but man does it clutter up their discography.
November 21, 2023 @ 3:04 pm
My dad’s favorite artist is Dolly he loved her since she step on the Porter Wagoner show and sing “dumb blonde” in 1967.
November 21, 2023 @ 5:17 pm
Wholeheartedly disagree on the still having a strong voice part. She sounds old and worn out on the couple of tracks I gave a spin. Like how my great grandma sounded shortly before she passed. Its embarrassing that the NFL can’t find better acts for this stuff.
November 21, 2023 @ 6:25 pm
Dolly as well as the Rolling Stones can do whatever they want. They’ve earned it at this point. And that last Stones album was surprisingly good, all things considered.
November 22, 2023 @ 1:52 am
Who cares if she is lip syncing? She clearly recorded the songs and she clearly can sing. I’d rather her lip sync than try to sound good under uncontrollable circumstances. #teamdolly
November 22, 2023 @ 10:19 am
I would prefer old-fashioned college marching bands performing on the field at halftime. We are overly-bombarded with pop-rock-country (so-called) music as it as, and it would be nice for a change. I would also prefer for stadiums to have live organists play during lulls, instead of canned overly-loud rock music blasting your eardrums. I would much prefer to watch a high school football game than any pro football game.
And why doesn’t Dallas just showcase their own “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders”? Heck, there is even a stupid show on TV showcasing young women trying out to be in that group. It’s a pity you never actually see them perform on TV at football games, as the networks usually just air inane “halftime” shows with ever-growing number of analysts (emphasis on “anal”) trying to get their two cents in.
It sure seems like Dolly doesn’t have her heart in performing at halftime. Somebody must have thrown a lot of money at her to do that gig.
November 22, 2023 @ 2:04 pm
Dallas cowboy cheerleader strip show please… that’s a halftime worth watching
November 22, 2023 @ 6:54 pm
Dolly’s performance will be great; as a lifelong DC metro resident it’s the Commanders’ performance I dread.
November 23, 2023 @ 3:13 pm
Redskins*
November 23, 2023 @ 4:24 pm
Totally Uncomfortable and Hard to watch, she is long past done.she could barely walk around and focus in, sad 77 yr old Dolly Britney Parton
November 23, 2023 @ 4:42 pm
When Dolly leaned on the set scenery it reminded me of (old) me, in the dark, touching walls and furniture so I don’t trip or walk into a closed door. I thought she looked and sounded good though. My takeaway is “Why?” btw That was an ungood arrangement of Jolene, ime.
November 23, 2023 @ 10:35 pm
Dolly did great.
Happy for her.
November 23, 2023 @ 11:59 pm
Holding on to the stage to stay upright, missing her marks on prerecorded vocals, all while cinched up in a faux-skin body suit meant to make her look like a 20-something cheerleader, Dolly looked like a prop….
November 24, 2023 @ 9:02 am
I thought Dolly’s half time performance was pretty good, but don’t know if I was subconsciously comparing it to whatever the hell that Jack Harlow show was during the lions game. My jaw was on the floor with how bad and sparse that was. Plus he had some weird guy that looked stoned as shit dancing (I guess?) behind him that disappeared right away. I don’t want to make too much fun of that ‘hype guy’ in case it was some mentally impaired fan that was brought out. Dolly looked great and sounded great though. Pretty sure it was lip synced as when she talked between the songs, the audio didn’t sound as clean.
November 24, 2023 @ 9:35 am
Dolly did great. All this enlightenment in the place, comes off as,’ y’all are full of ISH.’ She is one of the last of our legends. Should have saved her for Super Bowl vs the junk we get now.
November 24, 2023 @ 10:23 am
After hearing Dolly’s version of Freebird I believe Ronnie Van Zant is probably rolling over in his grave .
December 3, 2023 @ 8:29 am
Where can I get a “Dolly Parton fame tits t-shirt”?