Dolly Parton Gets Lifetime Grammy Award

There are so many awards that you won't see on the televised portion of the Grammy Awards Sunday, February 13.   One of those HUGE honors is the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.   With 7 Grammy Awards and 45 Grammy Nominations to date, there is no one more deserving than this year's Country Music recipient, Dolly Parton!

Presented prior to the CBS telecast, Dolly Parton joins the ranks of only 20 Country Music legends that have received this prestigious honor.  This short list of royalty includes Kitty Wells, Roy Acuff, Merle Haggard, Brenda Lee, Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Hank Williams Sr., Bob Wills, The Everly Brothers, Patsy Cline, The Kingston Trio, Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, Gene Autry, Eddy Arnold, Elvis Presley, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Doc Watson.

In case you're wondering what this means, here is the definition of the award direct from the Grammy organization-

The Lifetime Achievement Award, established in 1962, is presented by vote of The Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.

At the age of 65, Dolly still continues to record, tour and run a multi-million dollar media empire and theme park.  Since placing her first single on the Country Music charts in 1967 with "Dumb Blonde," Dolly has appeared over 100 times on the Billboard Country Music Charts.  In addition to winning the CMA's Entertainer of the Year Award in 1978, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.  With so many songs, television shows, movies and successful projects to her credit, it's no surprise that she now joins this elite list of the best of the best!

Congratulations to one of my favorite Country Music legends of all-time!  By the way, I hear Dolly is working on a new album for 2011.  You can bet I look forward to that blog!