Emmys: Dolly Parton Tribute Features Moving Cover by Reba McEntire and a Nod to the Late Icon’s “Bawdy” Sense of Humor

A true angel, a supportive co-star and a “blisteringly” hilarious woman, whose sense of humor “would send any rude guy looking for a place to hide” — that’s how actress Sally Field sweetly remembered late icon Dolly Parton during a touching tribute at the Emmys.

“If there are truly angels on Earth, then we just lost one – Dolly Parton,” Field said during a tribute segment to Parton, who died Aug. 25 in Nashville. “It was my great good fortune to have worked with Dolly in a film called Steel Magnolias. And over the years, I never stopped loving her, though we lived very far apart.”

“I adored her from day one. How could you not?” Field continued. “She was genuine and humble, supportive and blisteringly funny, with a bawdy sense of humor that would send any rude guy looking for a place to hide.”

Field noted that she didn’t initially realize what a “real giant” Parton was beyond her talent as a musician and actress.

“She was a humanitarian whose contributions have made a profound difference in the lives of so many in her home state of Tennessee and across our country,” Field said. “God bless you, Dolly Parton, my friend. I am not the only one on earth that will love you forever and ever.”

Country singer Reba McEntire then took over the stage, performing a rendition of Parton’s 1983 song “Appalachian Memories.” Parton performed the track at the 1983 Emmys, and in an archival clip from the ceremony, screened before McEntire’s performance, she explained how the track was inspired by her treasured upbringing in the Smoky Mountains.

“I’ve written a song that touches me very deep and I’m sure that in your own way, you certainly will relate to this,” Parton said in the footage. “This song is very important to me and I hope you like it. And if you don’t like it, I would rather not hear about it later, OK?”

McEntire and Parton were close pals, and following news of Parton’s death, at the age of 80 following a battle with cancer, McEntire took to Instagram to share her grief. “Your love, your music and you gave so much with your huge, huge heart,” McEntire wrote. “There will never ever be another you.”