NASHVILLE, TN (VIP-NEWS) — Dolly Parton has signed with APA for exclusive North American representation. The entertainer is a longtime client of former The Agency Group exec Steve Martin, who joined APA as executive VP of worldwide music in December.
Parton will embark on her Blue Smoke World Tour starting Feb. 7 in New Zealand, with stops also scheduled across Australia, the United States and Europe. Her 42nd studio album, "Blue Smoke," will be released in May on Sony Masterworks.
The seven-time Grammy winner remains the most acclaimed female country artist of all time, with a record 25 No. 1 songs on the Billboard country charts. Her 41 career Top 10 country albums are a record for any artist, male or female, and she has sold 100 million records around the world.
In addition to starring in films including "9 to 5" and "Steel Magnolias," the Country Music Hall of Famer received Oscar nominations for penning "9 to 5’s" title track as well as "Travelin` Thru" from 2005’s Transamerica. The "Jolene" songwriter became the first artist to earn a No. 1 record twice with the same song: "I Will Always Love You," first recorded in 1974 and revived in 1982 for the Parton starrer "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." The song, of course, topped the charts for the third consecutive decade thanks to Whitney Houston’s quadruple-platinum 1992 cover.
As a businesswoman, Parton’s Dollywood theme park is Tennessee’s top tourist attraction, and together with Dollywood Splash Country, draws more than 4.5 million annual visitors. Through Velvet Apple Music (BMI) she has long owned the copyrights and publishing for her own songs as well as her Blue Eye Records label. Her banner Sandollar Productions, launched with her former manager Sandy Gallin, produced the `90s remakes of "Father of the Bride" and "Sabrina" as well as the Oscar-winning documentary feature "Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt" and the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Her philanthropic work through her Dollywood Foundation benefits children in part through funding the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which mails a book to nearly 700,000 pre-K kids across the United States and Canada every month.
Parton continues to be repped by Danny Nozell of Nashville-based CTK Management.
