Dolly Parton has been posthumously honored with the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for 2026 — and she recorded a thank you message prior to her death at age 80 last month.
“I am so honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association. I mean, Roots Music — or what is now called Americana Music — is what I grew up playing back in the Smoky Mountains,” the country music icon says in the clip. “It’s that same music that drew me back to East Tennessee back in 1997 to write and record my album ‘Hungry Again.’
“That project really opened the door to a series of bluegrass and acoustic albums that changed the course of my career in so many ways. Now, new fans discover these albums; new Americana music communities embrace them; and now, looking back at it all, I see this era of my career as a musical renaissance of sorts,” she added. “I want to thank everybody at the AMA for recognizing me with this award. It’s a great honor, truly, and just know that I will always love you.”
Parton died on Aug. 25 following a brief battle with cancer.
Throughout her illustrious career, she was also the recipient of 11 Grammys (including another Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy, 10 Country Music Association Awards, 13 Academy of Country Music Awards and even a 2025 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy Awards.
“Dolly opened doors not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible. Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent,” her nephew shared when announcing her death. “By her example, we believed that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she opened made and changed history.”
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