Country music gathered in Nashville to sing Dolly Parton’s songs on October 21, 2026. Across ABC and Disney+, the two-hour celebration drew 4.74 million viewers, according to ratings released by ABC on October 26.
There was another number worth remembering: $1 million. Following the special, the Country Music Association announced a combined donation from CMA, Belmont University, The Walt Disney Company and the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The evening honored her music while supporting the work she began to help children discover books.
A finale that brought the cast together
CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton aired live from Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. The program combined performances, archival footage and personal stories to remember the late singer, songwriter and humanitarian.
Carrie Underwood closed the broadcast with “I Will Always Love You.” Near the end, fellow performers joined Underwood onstage. CMA lists the selection as a performance with the full cast—a shared farewell built around one of Dolly Parton’s most familiar songs.
Carrie Underwood’s finale, shared by CMA on its official YouTube channel.
Reba McEntire sang “He’s Alive” with the Belmont Singers. Elsewhere in the program, Ella Langley performed “Jolene,” Ashley McBryde sang “Coat of Many Colors,” and Brad Paisley teamed with Sierra Hull for “When I Get Where I’m Going.”
Zac Brown brought Dolly Parton’s recorded voice into the tribute for “Butterfly,” singing alongside her prerecorded vocals. Between that duet, the gospel performance and the familiar hits, the program reflected several sides of her songbook.
Reba McEntire’s performance of “He’s Alive,” shared by CMA on its official YouTube channel.
What the audience figures mean
ABC reported that the special led its 9–11 p.m. time slot in total viewers. It also delivered the network’s strongest Wednesday performance in that two-hour window during 2026 among entertainment programs.
Those qualifications matter. The 4.74 million figure covers ABC and Disney+ together, using Nielsen’s National Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel ratings for October 21. It is not an ABC-only audience or a count of everyone who watched later on streaming.
The tribute continued with children’s books
Dolly Parton launched the Imagination Library in her home county in East Tennessee in 1995, inspired by her father’s inability to read and write. The program provides enrolled children with a free, age-appropriate book each month from birth to age five.
The combined $1 million gift supports that continuing mission. The full television special is available on Disney+ and Hulu; beyond the broadcast, the donation carries the celebration into a different part of Dolly Parton’s legacy: books arriving at children’s homes.