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Dolly Parton<\/a>‘s music has always carried a strong sense of home, but few songs are as personal to her Appalachian roots as \u201cAppalachian Memories.\u201d<\/p>\n Originally released on Dolly’s 1983 album Burlap & Satin<\/em>, the song tells a deeply personal story from her father’s perspective. Reba McEntire<\/a> brought the song back into the spotlight Monday night (Sept. 14) with a performance at the 2026 Primetime Emmys<\/em><\/strong> honoring her longtime friend, just weeks after her death.<\/p>\n But \u201cAppalachian Memories\u201d has a history that goes much further back \u2014 and it wasn’t even the song’s original title.<\/p>\n Dolly wrote \u201cAppalachian Memories\u201d from her father Robert Lee Parton<\/strong>‘s perspective, drawing on his experience leaving Appalachia briefly to find work.<\/p>\n According to Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a>, the song reflects the homesickness of being away from the Smoky Mountains. The range stretches through Tennessee and North Carolina, including the area where Dolly and her family grew up in East Tennessee.<\/p>\n Read More:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Dolly Parton\u2019s First Posthumous Release Takes Her Back to Her Mountain Roots [Listen]<\/a><\/p>\n It’s a love letter to the place Dolly and her family called home<\/a>, rooted in the pull of family, memory, and the mountains. The song became one of Dolly’s most personal reflections on where she came from, a connection she returned to throughout her music and career.<\/p>\n Dolly originally wrote the song as \u201cSmoky Mountain Memories,\u201d a title that spoke directly to the place at the center of the story.<\/p>\n The song was later renamed \u201cAppalachian Memories\u201d after Dolly recorded it for Jane Fonda<\/strong>‘s television movie The Dollmaker<\/em>. Fonda, Dolly’s 9 to 5<\/em> co-star, starred in the 1984 film, which was set in Appalachia.<\/p>\n Read More:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Author Says She\u2019s Got a 15-Song Dolly Parton Album That Nobody Has Heard Yet [Watch]<\/a><\/p>\n Even after the title changed, Dolly never seemed to let go of \u201cSmoky Mountain Memories.\u201d<\/p>\n She returned to the original title and variations of the lyrics<\/a> in later performances, including during her Pure & Simple Tour<\/em> and at the 2016 Smoky Mountains Rise<\/em> telethon.<\/p>\n The history of the heartfelt song made Reba McEntire’s Emmy performance especially meaningful.<\/p>\n Read More:<\/em>\u00a0<\/b>Brad Paisley & Dolly Parton’s ‘When I Get Where I’m Going’ Lyrics<\/a><\/p>\n McEntire performed \u201cAppalachian Memories\u201d with a live symphony during the 2026 Primetime Emmys<\/em><\/a>, bringing Dolly’s song about home and the Smoky Mountains to a national television audience.<\/p>\n For a song that began with Dolly’s father’s story and stayed so closely tied to the place that shaped her, hearing it performed in tribute<\/a> to Dolly just weeks after her death gave \u201cAppalachian Memories\u201d another chapter in its history.<\/p>\n Dolly Parton has an extensive catalog of music from her decades in the genre. And while there are several big hits like “Jolene” and “9 to 5,” it’s the songs about her faith that she might have loved the most.<\/p>\n Parton was open about her love for Jesus, and she often sang about it, weaving in beautiful imagery of what Heaven would be like one day. <\/p>\n She kept her faith on her sleeve until the day she passed, finally getting to where she was going.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Jess Rose<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe Story Behind ‘Appalachian Memories’<\/h3>\n
‘Appalachian Memories’ Wasn’t Always Its Name<\/h3>\n
Reba McEntire Brings the Song Back<\/h3>\n
Listen to Dolly Parton’s ‘Appalachian Memories’<\/h3>\n
9 Times Dolly Parton Sang About Heaven and Her Faith<\/h2>\n