Thirty-seven years after Dolly Parton brought "He's Alive" to the CMA Awards stage, Reba McEntire returned to that powerful gospel song to honor her longtime friend. Performing during CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton on October 21, McEntire connected the celebration of Parton's music with the Christian hope expressed in one of her most memorable television performances.
At Belmont University's Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville, McEntire wore a white gown embellished with gold rhinestone fringe. Belmont student singers joined her midway through the performance, expanding the song into a choral declaration of faith. The performance earned a standing ovation.
The choice reached back to October 9, 1989, when Parton performed "He's Alive" at the CMA Awards. Her rendition built toward a soaring climax with a choir, placing an explicitly Christian account of resurrection before a national country music audience. The song also appeared on her Ricky Skaggs-produced album White Limozeen, released that year.
Written by Don Francisco, "He's Alive" retells the resurrection through Peter's experience of fear, guilt and forgiveness. Its dramatic movement gives the song its emotional force: Peter's shame over denying Jesus gives way to an encounter with the risen Christ. In the context of a tribute, that movement offers a way to hear grief alongside the promise of life.
Parton's performance has continued to find new audiences long after its original broadcast. Her official website noted in 2017 that the 1989 CMA footage was widely shared during Easter celebrations, showing how closely her interpretation had become associated with the season's message of resurrection and hope.
For McEntire, the tribute also carried nearly five decades of personal history. During the special, she recalled meeting Parton at her own Grand Ole Opry debut in 1977. Parton's unexpected appearance reduced McEntire's scheduled two songs to one, but the young singer was delighted simply to meet her idol.
That history gave "He's Alive" an added resonance: a singer who once watched Parton in awe was now carrying forward a song closely associated with her faith.
Watch Dolly Parton's 1989 CMA Awards performance of "He's Alive".
