Dolly Parton was already having a pretty massive 2021, what with her contribution to the funding of the coronavirus vaccine, her inclusion on the Time 100 and People of the Year honors, raising $700,000 for Tennessee flood relief and dropping a new fragrance. But on Friday (Dec. 17) the folks at Guinness World Records revealed that the 75-year-old country icon has also added three new records to her groaning shelf of achievements.
According to the record-keeping folks, Parton now holds the high-water mark for most decades on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart by a female artist (seven) and most No. 1 hits on that chart by a female artist (25) as well as breaking her own existing record for the most hits on the that chart by a female artist with a mind-blowing 109 hits.
The three new records join Dolly’s previous record for the most decades with a top 20 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart (six), which she earned in 2018. “Well, I feel like a bird that wants to fly away,” Parton said in a Guinness video announcing the three new achievements when asked how it feels to add a fourth record while breaking a previous one?
“Actually, getting the first one was an amazing thing to me and I thought just to be in the Guinness Book of World Records one time would be great. And now that I’ve got all this going it’s an amazing feeling. I’m very honored, very proud and I’ve had a lot of people helping to get me here, so thanks to all of you and all of them for helping me have all this!”
Parton also had high praise for the song that helped her achieve her latest record, the Reba McEntire duet “Does He Love You,” their first-ever collaboration. “Reba and I’ve been friends for years and I don’t know why we’ve never done it,” she said. “We’ve worked together so much and we’ve always said, ‘We gotta do something together.’ But usually we were talking about doing a movie or something like that… that’s one of the things I’m proudest of. I think it turned out really well.”
In October, McEntire told Billboard that the remake of her 1993 No. 1 with Dolly was a “dream come true“; the song debuted at No. 47 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart dated Oct. 16.
Check out the announcement below.
Congratulations to country music icon @DollyParton who's achieved three new records! pic.twitter.com/YvsXJo5SY3 — Guinness World Records (@GWR) December 16, 2021
