In an amazing and eyebrow-raising introduction to the ACM Awards tonight (May 11), Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks seemed like longtime friends on stage as they opened the show. Well, maybe even more than friends.
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Beginning the show solo, the “Friends in Low Places” singer talked about the great country artists of all time, from Hank Williams and Waylon Jennings to Buck Owens. But then he landed on the person who might be the greatest of all time. The “king” of country music might be a “female,” said Brooks.
That’s when everyone know he had his co-host in mind. That’s right, Dolly Parton. Brooks called her “the GOAT,” which is a popular acronym these days for Greatest Of All Time. With that, Parton came onto the stage with an actual goat—the animal.
“Did somebody say Goat?” Parton joked, wheeling the animal out in a little red wagon.
That’s when the two, Brooks and Parton, began to joke as if they were backstage or at their favorite bar. Parton joked that she heard she was Brooks’ “hall pass,” meaning the one person he could spend, um, adult time with despite the fact he’s married. Then she joked she was Brooks’ wife’s, acclaimed songwriter Trisha Yearwood, hall pass, too.
Parton kept the jokes rolling, saying that “GOAT” stood for Garth Organized A Threesome. Yeesh! What an opening
Check back with American Songwriter throughout the night for more from the ACM Awards, from award winners to performers and much more.
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images
