Dolly Parton's "Imagination"

Pictured L-R: The Dollywood Company President Craig Ross, Dollywood Foundation President David Dotson, Dolly Parton, CTK Management’s Danny Nozell, Webster PR’s Kirt Webster, Dollywood Dir. Public Relations Pete Owens, Dolly Parton Productions President Ted Miller.

Imagine with Dolly Parton...

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which began as a small community outreach in Parton’s native Sevier County, Tennessee, has evolved to become the largest literacy program in the world. In December, the “little literacy program that could” marks another impressive milestone—one million books gifted to children around the world each month.

To celebrate the unprecedented success, Evey Johns, a two-year-old from Conway, Arkansas who just enrolled in the Imagination Library, has been randomly selected to receive a $30,000 college scholarship. The announcement was made by Parton during her Pure & Simple concert tour stop in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on Nov. 15. Proceeds from the concert benefit the Imagination Library.

“I thought long and hard about the best way to honor our achievement of reaching a million children a month,” Parton said. “The Imagination Library is all about inspiring dreams, so what better way to pay tribute to this moment than by helping one special child pursue her college degree. I’m thrilled that today I can let the world know that precious little Evey Johns from Conway, Arkansas will receive a $30,000 scholarship for the college of her choice.”

The scholarship will be held in a special account and distributed to Johns when she enrolls in college. Over the next 16 years, the amount of scholarship should grow to nearly approximately $50,000. Johns is enrolled in the Imagination Library in Conway thanks to the local affiliate in her area, Arkansas Preschool Plus.

“The thought of our daughter Evey going to college has been just that—a thought,” explained Evey’s mother, Connie. “Now, due to the enormous kindness and generosity of the Dollywood Foundation, that thought has now become a reality. Our family now has the means to develop a solid plan for our daughter’s future education. Thank you all so much for this unbelievable opportunity for our daughter.”

In 2016, the Imagination Library and its local partners will gift nearly 11.5 million books to children from birth to age five in participating communities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. To date, the Imagination Library, which is administered through the Dollywood Foundation, has provided more than 85 million books to children around the world.

Arkansas Preschool Plus is just one of the many local affiliates the Dollywood Foundation works with to provide books to children. To provide the Imagination Library, a community must make the program accessible to all preschool children in their area, and the community pays for the books, promotes the program and registers the children. The Dollywood Foundation manages the delivery of books to children’s homes.

Arkansas Preschool Plus enrolls 960 children in Conway, Faulkner and Perry Counties. Currently, nearly 15,000 children are enrolled in Arkansas. The Imagination Library currently is working with elected officials, foundations and corporations in Arkansas in an effort to make the program available to all children from birth to age five in the state.

About Dolly Parton's Imagination Library:
Founded in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting organization that has, to date, mailed more than 85 million books to children in Australia, Belize, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States. Each month, the program currently mails more than one million specially selected, high-quality, age-appropriate books to registered children from birth until they start Kindergarten in participating communities. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading in children, preparing them for school and inspiring them to dream. Recent studies suggest participation in the Imagination Library is positively and significantly associated with higher measures of early language and math development. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

80's Flashback! Stray Cats

Meow! Stray Cats

Stray Cats "Live At Rockpalast" 

DVD and DVD / 2CD set available on July 7th 

The icons of neo-rockabilly, captured at their best in two amazing 

'81 and '83 Rockpalast concerts...

Young, raw, and wild!

Remember the 1980's? Remember "Stray Cats Strut?" - Yeah, I do too.

Every era has its heroes and every scene has its legends. The 80's had the Stray Cats and today they are the indisputable icons of neo-rockabilly. 

When the US trio stormed the top of the charts in their adopted country of England, punk still reigned supreme in the United Kingdom. But Brian Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker brought that certain something that the mo-hawked men also had: a feeling for danger and rebellion. Impressive footage of this time includes two performances in Germany: one in 1981 in Cologne and one in 1983 at the Loreley that were recorded by WDR. These are genuine recordings that make the trio's sound still accessible today. Both concerts are released here for the first time in the best possible quality and with a superb sound on DVD and CD. The Stray Cats will come to life at home just as they were at their best: young, raw and wild!

Brian Setzer, today a "statesman" of rockabilly and a many times platinum seller, works passionately as he struck the strings on the stage of the Cologne Satory Halls. He was a "rebel without a cause," similar to the young James Dean. But this guitarist has a desire: he wants to bring Rock n' Roll back to life. He wants to play his guitar as Eddie Cochran did. No question that he has succeeded; he is still loved for this today and this is why he is the first guitarist after the legendary Chet Atkins to have his own signature Gretsch model.

The Stray Cats aren't only made up of Setzer with his phenomenal guitar playing and his powerful vocals. Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom are responsible for their special sound, too: Phantom's simple drumming became an example for rockabilly drummers worldwide and his wild screams in the songs belong to Stray Cats exactly as Brian Setzer's licks and Lee Rocker's clattering bass do. He treated his instrument like a lover or like monkeybars on which he did gymnastics. The bad boy attitude was internalized by the "street cats."

Both concerts also underline how rapidly Stray Cats' career progressed. Between both recordings were full worlds. In 1981 they were young rockers and by 1983 they had become full-fledged rock stars and known as tender teddy boys in part of the scene. The band rocked the mixed audience and were even honored by their discoverer Dave Edmunds. Next to Stray Cats were acts such as U2, Joe Cocker and Steve Miller.

The influence Stray Cats had on music and fashion is in hindsight undeniable. Where would psychobilly legends such as Meteors or Demented are Go!, who were founded as a counter movement to rockabilly, be today? Would the sound of the 50s still be so popular today if the Stray Cats had not brought it back to life in the 80s?

Classics like as "Stray Cat Strut," "Runaway Boys," "Rumble in Brighton," and "Rock This Town" will live forever through these two concert recordings.

Pre-order at Amazon: http://amzn.to/1A3WMkc