Dolly Parton has achieved a new career milestone. The Country Music Hall of Fame member just earned her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Christian Airplay chart, with her “There Was Jesus” duet with Zach Williams.
“Having a No. 1 record at any time is a great thing, but having a No. 1 faith-based record during these crazy times is even greater,” Dolly told Billboard. “I feel humbled and blessed to be part of this wonderful song with Zach Williams. It does my heart good to know that we have touched the lives of so many people.”
This might be Dolly’s first chart-topping single on the Christian Airplay chart, but she’s quite used to having No.1 hits. With her latest achievement, the 74-year-old is now the first artist to have had a No. 1 song on the Adult Contemporary, Christian AC Songs, Christian Airplay, Country Airplay and Dance/Mix Show Airplay.
“I don’t even know hardly what to say about all the No. 1s in all the different fields of music,” Dolly said of the honor. “Thank you God, thank you fans and thank you everyone who has worked so hard to make this possible.”
Dolly also spoke out about the accomplishment on social media.
Well praise the Lord and thank you Jesus I guess is what I say first. I am so happy that this has touched the lives of so many people. So proud to be a part of it, so proud of @zachwilliams, & we hope that you continue to be blessed by this wonderful song. https://t.co/9GcgQccDYe pic.twitter.com/f9ZlQxc1VK
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) September 8, 2020
“Well praise the Lord and thank you Jesus I guess is what I say first,” Dolly said. “I am so happy that this has touched the lives of so many people. So proud to be a part of it, so proud of [Zach Williams], & we hope that you continue to be blessed by this wonderful song.”
Dolly was thrilled that Zach even asked her to sing with him on “There Was Jesus,” which she says came at the perfect time.
“I grew up in the church,” Dolly told K-Love. “This particular song, it was just like a Godsend. When I first heard it, I thought, ‘What a well-written song’ … Such wonderful writing. I just loved all the lines on the song. I just felt it. I felt like Jesus was in the room. I’d been actually thinking about doing more faith-based music, and I’d been kind of waiting, and writing some things on my own. But when this came, I felt like it was really a gift from God.”