As usual, Dolly Parton always has something up her sleeves. During Easter month in 1989, the all-rounder superstar surprised everyone when she released another gospel hit, “He’s Alive,” as part of her album, White Limozeen.
The song was originally released by Don Francisco, a Christian artist famous for his narrative style of songwriting. Since listeners easily analyze his words, it didn’t take too long before country artists showed interest in covering his works.
Among these great artists is Dolly Parton, who is known for her amazing work in country and pop music. Her live performance during the CMA Awards 1989 surprised many fans because it was just timely for the holidays, making everyone’s Easter extra exciting.
Ever since she started her career in 1957, it has been known that most of her gospel songs carry a similar message of faith and inspiration – and this cover is no different!
Meaning Behind the Song
“He’s Alive” simply depicts the perspective of the apostle Peter’s eyes when Jesus Christ was resurrected.
Don’s use of his deepest feelings to showcase Peter’s guilt over his denial of Jesus’s resurrection enabled the song to have a powerful take on forgiveness. Because of this, the song has become one of, or in fact, the best-known tune Don Francisco has ever released throughout his career.
But aside from him, artists who also released their covers of the song gained much success as well. Dolly Parton, in particular, did so great that her album “White Limozeen” ended up spending a total of 100 weeks on the US Country Albums chart, causing it to get gold certified by the RIAA.
So if you missed out on watching Dolly Parton’s amazing performance of the hit gospel song “He’s Alive,” you can watch her full performance below.