Dolly Parton Receives Tex Ritter Award at 2016 ACM Awards

Dolly Parton was honored with the Tex Ritter Award Sunday night for her work on NBC's made-for-TV movie Coat of Many Colors.

Coat of Many Colors, for which Parton has already won the Movieguide Award for Most Inspiring TV Program of 2015, is the first in a series of TV movies Parton will be producing for NBC, all based on her life, stories and songs.

The Tex Ritter Award, according to the Academy of Country Music, honors a movie "released and / or receiving major exposure during the preceding calendar year, featuring or utilizing country music.” The award shares its name with Tex Ritter, a film and music star from the 1930s through the 1970s.

"Thank you so much," Parton said in her acceptance speech. "I don't think I'm all that but I appreciate the standing ovation. This is such a great honor and I really want to thank the Academy of Country Music for this award."

"I knew Tex Ritter," Parton continued. "I loved him, so that makes this award twice as special to me. Of course, the song represents a special time in my life, and the fact that so many people loved it just really touched my heart."

"And how about that Jennifer Nettles?" Parton added. "We knew she could sing, but who knew she  could act?"

Coat of Many Colors was a massive success for NBC, earning the network its most-watched movie on broadcast television since May 2012, and with thirteen million tuning in for the debut, its best total-viewership (excluding sports and live musicals) since the 2009 finale of ER.

Coat of Many Colors -- named after a single Parton released in 1971 -- is based on the singer's childhood. Parton has referred to "Coat of Many Colors" as "my favorite song that I've ever written."

The movie stars Nettles and Ricky Schroder in the roles of Parton's mother and father, and Alyvia Alyn Lind as a young Parton.

Parton's next made-for-TV movie for NBC will be based on her song No. 1 hit, "Jolene." She is also preparing for her largest North American tour in 25 years. The tour, which will take her through more than 60 cities in the United States and Canada, kicks off in June. Exact dates and locations will be announced at a later date. Fans are also anticipating the release date and track listing for her upcoming double album, Pure & Simple With Dolly's Biggest Hits.

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