Dolly Parton posthumously accepted a lifetime achievement award by way of a video recorded before her death.
The Queen of Country, who died last month at age 80, was awarded the honor Wednesday night during the Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville, Tenn.
“Well, hey, it’s Dolly, and I am so honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association,” Parton says in the video.
She went on to reminisce about some of her early years in music, explaining that she “grew up playing” Americana music “back in the Smoky Mountains.” Parton specifically mentioned her 1998 album, “Hungry Again,” asserting that it “really opened the door to a series of bluegrass and acoustic albums that changed the course of my career in so many ways.
“Now, looking back at it all, I see this era of my career as a musical renaissance of sorts,” she continued. “And I want to thank everybody at the AMA for recognizing me with this award.”
She concluded: “It’s a great honor, truly, and just know that I will always love you.”
It was announced back in August that Parton would receive the award, which allowed her to record the video shared during the ceremony. Before the message was played, Emmylou Harris paid tribute to the country icon, taking a moment of the night to reflect on Parton’s sweeping legacy.
“In 1967, Dolly got a good start on her big dream when she landed a gig as the girl singer with Porter Wagoner,” she began.
“Their duets were a hit on the show and on the charts, but Dolly was nobody’s sidekick,” Harris continued. “She wanted more and she deserved more, and she set out to get it … And we all know what happened when Dolly set her sights on something.”
Harris also explained that in “true Dolly fashion, when she learned she would be receiving this honor, she didn’t wait for the spotlight to find her: She stepped right into it, recording this message with the same warmth, joy and sparkle she so generously shared with us throughout her life.”
Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver announced her death in a video shared on Instagram on Aug. 25. She died at the the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center “surrounded by loved ones” following a brief battle with cancer.