Who else could be Mrs. Claus in 2020 other than Dolly Parton? The country legend channeled her inner Mrs. Kringle for the “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” special.
Hosted by Jimmy Fallon, the NBC special brought a little holiday magic to viewers’ homes. Musical guests included Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, and Meghan Trainor. But Parton wasn’t about to let any other musician out Christmas her. For part of the special, she donned a red Santa outfit, which included a fur collar and a cut-out along the chest.
Parton appeared virtually during the event from her home in Tennessee. But that didn’t stop her from reuniting with Fallon for a live rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
Previously, the two sang the song together on Parton’s Christmas album “A Holly Dolly Christmas.”
Dolly Parton Celebrates Christmas
Parton has been in quite the festive mood this season. Since October, Parton has had Christmas on her mind. She released “A Holly Dolly Christmas,” which debuted on top of the charts. That album featured Parton collaborating with Billy Ray Cyrus, Michael Bublé, and also Fallon.
Parton previously discussed how she convinced the talk show host to appear on her album.
“I don’t know him outside the dressing rooms or on the panel. But I loved watching Jimmy perform with all the different artists on his show,” adds Dolly. “I’ve always thought he had a really good voice. A few years back, I was on his show during the holiday season. And he wanted me to sing “All I Want for Christmas” on his show. I did not know it well enough to sing it.”
While she didn’t sing the song at the time, she kept the idea of doing a cover of Mariah Carey’s holiday song for her album. She decided to call Fallon to ask him to be a part of the song.
“Well, and the fact that Mariah is so great a singer,” says Parton. “I don’t want to be crucified for trying to mess up her great song. Anyway, I couldn’t do it. So this year, when I got ready to do my album, I called him up and said, ‘Jimmy, I really think you have a great voice, and I learned that song that you loved. So I’m going to put it on my album.’”