When country music gathered on TV to honor Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire’s song was one of the night’s big moments. Most people at home were caught up in her voice. Far fewer noticed what she was wearing, or why it was white.
Here’s who these two women are, in case you’re newer to country. Reba is the Oklahoma country star behind “Fancy,” and she’s also starred in her own TV sitcoms. Dolly was the Tennessee legend who gave the world “Jolene” and “9 to 5.” She passed away on Aug 25, 2026.
They go back a long way. Reba first met Dolly at Reba’s Grand Ole Opry debut in 1977, and she remembered thinking Dolly “looked just like an angel.”
Keep that word in mind.
The show was called “CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton,” and it aired live on ABC and Disney+ on Wednesday, Oct 21. Reba told the audience what the evening was about: “Tonight is a celebration of Dolly’s heart, her kindness, her generosity, her faith, her humor.”
Then she sang “He’s Alive.” Don Francisco wrote the song, and Dolly recorded it for her 1989 album “White Limozeen.” Reba came out in a white gown with long fringed sleeves. She brought out the Belmont University Choir for the last chorus. Watch for the moment the choir walks out to join her, because that’s the part that tells the whole story.
Reba sings “He’s Alive” at the Dolly Parton tribute
None of it was an accident.
Reba was copying Dolly’s own performance of the very same song at the 1989 CMA Awards. Dolly wore a white dress with draped sleeves that night. When she raised her arms, the fabric hung down like two white wings, and a choir came walking out to sing with her. She did it again at the 1990 Dove Awards, once more with a choir and a white outfit.
Dolly explained what that dress meant to her in a chat with Reba before she passed away. “The dress that stands out in my mind is the white dress that I wore back when…I did the CMAs when I did the song ‘He’s Alive.'”
She even remembered the singers by name. “That song was so powerful and I did it that night with the Christ Church Choir.”
And then she got to the heart of it. “When the choir came in I raised my arms, that one particular dress, it almost had wings on it, and I just felt like I had been lifted up in spirit.”
Reba knew exactly which dress she meant. “I remember the outfit you’re talking about. You did look like an angel walking out.”
There’s that word again.
Dolly said the memory never really left her. “Every time I see that dress…every time I see a picture of it, I just kind of relive that moment.” CMT caught up with Dolly about that same performance, and it’s worth hearing her tell it in her own voice.
Dolly Parton looks back on her “He’s Alive” performance
Reba’s TV family is remembering Dolly too. On her NBC sitcom “Happy’s Place” tonight at 8/7c, look for Dolly’s photo on the family’s ofrenda, a memorial altar.
Back in that old chat, Reba also had a funny way of summing up what Dolly’s 1989 performance did to a room. “If everybody didn’t start believing after that song, don’t know what we can do with them.”