Precious Memories is the thirty-sixth solo studio album by Dolly Parton. It was released on April 17, 1999, by Blue Eye Records. The album is sold exclusively at Dollywood and was released at the opening of the park's fourteenth season (1999–2000) with all proceeds going to the Dollywood Foundation.[1]
Background
Parton performed many songs from the album on a TNN special, Dolly Parton's Precious Memories, that aired on April 1, 1999, as a part of TNN's 20th Century Hitmakers Week.[2] The special also included performances by Alison Krauss and Union Station and the Cox Family. Parton's siblings Randy Parton and Rachel Dennison also appeared on the show.
Parton spoke in an interview about how close her roots in religion, family and music are, saying:
Gospel was an important part of life in the Smoky Mountains where I grew up...and religion was a part of everyday life. There's something unique about family harmony singing, "blood harmonies," we call 'em, and not surprisingly, many of our greatest groups are families who started out singing in church together. There was even a group called the Parton Family Traveling Band.