Tennessee royalty.
On Saturday, the Georgia Bulldogs traveled to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers, and the big rivalry game brought out some big names to Neyland Stadium.
At the end of the first quarter, former Tennessee quarterback and Hall of Famer, Peyton Manning, walked country music legend Dolly Parton onto the field to perform a rendition of the unofficial UT anthem “Rocky Top.”
Dolly has been a Tennessee fan her whole life, growing up just 45 miles from Knoxville in Pittman Center, Tennessee, so her appearance is no surprise.
Tennessee football has a deep connection within country music. “Rocky Top,” originally performed by The Osborne Brothers, has long been a tradition at Tennessee, and Rocky Top has come to be used as a nickname for the school itself.
In recent years multiple songs featuring the Vols have seen commercial success, including Megan Moroney‘s breakout “Tennessee Orange,” Conner Smith‘s “I Hate Alabama” and “Orange and White,” and Morgan Wallen’s “Tennessee Fan.”
On Friday, Dolly released Rockstar, a full length rock album that she cut as a celebration of her being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The album featured covers of several rock classics, including Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” and The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
One of the greatest Rocky Top renditions of all time.@DollyParton pic.twitter.com/JA9uhZ1v4H
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) November 18, 2023