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Introduction

Over the past two years, Dolly Parton has touched our hearts with two emotional TV movies. The first, “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors,” premiered in December 2015 and revealed a profoundly moving chapter from Dolly’s childhood when she lived in a small cabin with her seven siblings.

During this time, Dolly’s mother was pregnant with another child—a baby that the entire family eagerly anticipated, especially young Dolly. In a candid interview on “Home & Family,” Dolly shared why she felt particularly connected to this unborn brother, who sadly never survived.

“A significant portion of the movie centered on losing one of my little brothers,” Dolly explained. “In our family, children came one after another, so Mama would assign each new baby to one of the older children, saying, ‘This baby will be yours’—meaning we’d take extra responsibility, getting up to rock them and such. The baby Mama was carrying was going to be mine. I was nine years old at the time, and when we lost that baby, I was absolutely devastated.”

While pregnant, Dolly’s mother had been crafting a baby blanket from colorful fabric scraps for her soon-to-arrive son, whom they planned to name Larry. Following Larry’s passing, both Dolly and her mother were grief-stricken. To comfort her heartbroken daughter, Dolly’s mother transformed the baby blanket into what would become the iconic “coat of many colors.”

Years later, Dolly channeled her emotions about her brother’s death into a poignant song called “Angel Hill”—named after the family’s burial place for Larry. She felt the TV movie provided the perfect opportunity to introduce this deeply personal composition, featuring vocals from Alyvia Alyn Lind, the talented young actress portraying young Dolly.

During the “Home & Family” appearance, when asked if they would perform “Angel Hill” together, Dolly and Alyvia happily agreed. The production team brought out stools for them, and it was utterly adorable watching tiny Alyvia struggle to climb onto hers. Throughout their moving duet, Dolly and Alyvia exchanged sweet glances, with Alyvia joining Dolly for the chorus while Dolly sang the verses solo.

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