Their first duet was 1983's insanely catchy "Islands in the Stream", written by the Bee Gees, which became a monster hit, going to #1 not only on the country chart, but on the pop chart as well. They apparently enjoyed the experience so much they promptly reunited to produce an entire album full of Christmas duets. That album, Once Upon a Christmas, came out in late October 1984, followed by the promotional special Kenny & Dolly: A Christmas To Remember.
The special does something rather unique in terms of variety music specials. Most of the ones I've seen either put the performer on stage in front of an audience as they and their special guests perform various numbers, and/or the special has an overriding narrative connecting the numbers, which may or may not be performed in front of audiences. Christmas to Remember, however, is presented as a series of musical vignettes, with each new number having little to no connection to what came before or after. The special is essentially a series of music videos, which, being from 1984, is not a surprising way to format the show. Indeed, I'm surprised more specials didn't adopt this idea. That said, while this is fondly remembered, I don't think the format did itself any favors.
Some of the numbers are presented straightforwardly. Rogers sings "The Christmas Song" to his then two-year-old son while walking on his ranch. Parton sings "White Christmas", complete with the rarely heard intro verse, while walking around a decidedly not-snowy estate in Southern California. However, more numbers than not are simply head-scratching. Why exactly was "A Christmas to Remember", for example, staged in what was supposed to be a party in a ski lodge (as referenced in the lyrics), except the other "guests" are all mannequins?
The numbers seemingly get more elaborate as the special moves on, though argubably the centerpiece sequence, "Christmas Without You" comes about halfway though. We know this one is important because there's both a comic introduction (in which Rogers is waiting on Parton to finish getting ready) and a short explanation of what inspired Parton to write the song. There's also a sketch before the song begins, establishing Parton as an American USO singer stranded in England in the early days of World War II and Rogers as an American who joined the Canadian Air Force. It's a perfectly pleasant sketch befitting a perfectly pleasant song.
That's followed by "I Believe in Santa Claus", sung at a children's hospital, with Rogers and Parton dressed as the Clauses, surrounded by the patients. I have to admit, I couldn't help but feel that segment was rather exploitative of the sick kids, but they weren't the first and won't be the last to bring camera crews along when they visit.
The songs turn overtly religious toward the end, with three numbers set at a church (one that seems to have a white congregation and a choir mostly made up of minorities), including "Silent Night" and the album's title track "Once Upon a Christmas", which is a retelling of the Nativity story. Rather bizarrely, the song is accompanied by a dance number through the aisles of the sanctuary, with white-clad dancers (including a couple representing Mary and Joseph) twirl and whirl their way to the front, while thrusting what I assume is the Baby Jesus into the air. Even weirder is the closing number, "The Greatest Gift of All", which takes a straightforward concept--Parton and Rogers walking through the various darkened sets where the special was filmed, and adds weird furry squeaky-voiced characters in the background scurrying around, with no explanation.
The special is considered a classic, but I'm not sure I agree with that assessment. It's definitely watchable and entertaining, but of the new numbers, only "Christmas to Remember" is really noteworthy. The others all sort of sound alike to me.
Parton and Rogers would reunite on several more occasions to record more music together, but none of their subsequent output had the impact of "Islands in the Stream". As for this collaboration, Kenny & Dolly: A Christmas to Remember defiantly has its moments, but isn't quite the sum of its parts.
Next time: A very meta special, where the star is the villain.
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