Reba McEntire gave an emotional tribute to her late friend Dolly Parton during the 2026 Emmys, but the most touching details were overshadowed by the song.
McEntire was wearing Parton’s personal jewelry. The white, sparkly, sequined gown was intentional, too.
The redheaded star borrowed the blingy dangle earrings Parton wore in the “Does He Love You” video, as well as a butterfly ring from her private collection (via The Dolly Archive). Butterflies showed up often in Parton’s branding — she loved them.
“I wanted to wear something sparkly, just like Dolly would have done,” McEntire told Vogue after the Emmys. “When Dolly did her first TV special, Live in London, in 1983, she wore a white fringed gown, and that’s where she first sang ‘Appalachian Memories.’ So my white gown is a little nod to that moment.”
“It was an honor to have a little piece of her on stage with me,” she added of the jewelry pieces. “I picked a pair of rhinestone earrings and a butterfly ring. There’s nothing that says Dolly more than rhinestones and butterflies!”
The two had been friends since 1977, when they met backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Parton was one of McEntire’s idols at the time, so this was a big moment for her. She remembers it quite well.
“She had on the most beautiful black chiffon pantsuit with rhinestone butterflies on them — and her beautiful hair! I thought, ‘My gosh, that’s probably what an angel looks just like right there'” she recalled in an interview for MasterClass several years back.
The song McEntire sang at the Emmys, “Appalachian Memories,” was quite personal to her friend. Released in 1983 on Parton’s Burlap & Satin album, the lyrics detail her father’s deep Appalachian roots and a longing to get back there when he’s away. Parton was proud of her family’s roots, though she grew up very poor. She was one of 12 siblings living in a one-bedroom cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, but there was a lot of love under that roof.
“It’s always been one of my favorite Dolly songs,” McEntire also dished to Vogue. “She wrote it about her family, and I think it’s just so beautiful and perfect to honor who she was and where she came from. She always carried her upbringing with her, and I admired that. There will never be another Dolly Parton.”
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