Dolly Parton Sings “Mary, Did You Know?” For “Christmas In Rockefeller Center”

Earlier this year, Dolly Parton released her new Christmas album, A Holly Dolly Christmas. The album features collaborations with big-name celebrities such as Michael Bublé, Jimmy Fallon, and Willie Nelson.

Parton also sang several of the tracks solo, including “Mary, Did You Know?”

Unlike many other popular Christmas songs, “Mary, Did You Know?” is more contemporary. The song’s lyrics were written by Mark Lowry in 1984 and the music was written by Buddy Greene in 1991. It was originally recorded by Christian artist Michael English in 1991.

Since then, “Mary, Did You Know?” has been performed by dozens of artists, including Carrie Underwood, Pentatonix, and Voice winner Jordan Smith. Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd also recorded a well-known duet version of the song.

Parton’s recording of “Mary, Did You Know?” has only been around for a few months, but is already beloved. The official audio clip has nearly 200,000 views on YouTube.

A Holly Dolly Christmas as a whole was a huge success, as it claimed the #1 spot on both the Top Country Albums and Top Holiday Albums chart.

Since Parton was such a prevalent voice in ringing in the holiday season this year, it made perfect sense why she was invited to perform for the Christmas in Rockefeller Center special. The annual special celebrates the Christmas season with musical performances and a ceremonial lighting of the large Christmas tree in New York City’s Rockefeller Center.

Parton sang her duet with Fallon during the special, and also delivered a performance of “Mary, Did You Know?” 

Viewers who tuned in to the special expressed how much they loved Parton’s rendition of the song.

“…One of my favorites. @DollyParton makes it even better. She truly is the greatest. #RockefellerCenter,” wrote one Twitter user after watching Parton sing.

See more fan reactions to Parton’s performance below.

https://twitter.com/little_lotus9/status/1334325243985481729

https://twitter.com/AmyGabriel59/status/1334325961400135683

Now you can listen to Parton sing “Mary, Did You Know?” for Christmas in Rockefeller Center by tuning in to the video below. We could watch this performance over and over again…it’s that good.