Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on 19 January 1946 in Sevierville, Tennessee as the fourth child in a very poor family with twelve children. Later, together with her husband Carl, she took in some of her younger brothers and sisters to raise them. From a young age, Dolly loved the gospels and spirituals sung in church. Dolly also sang herself. At nine years old, she performed for the first time on a radio show, singing a country song. Four years later, Dolly stood on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, the famous country temple in Nashville. There she met Johnny Cash, who advised her not to listen to anyone and to follow her heart. Dolly did just that. On the same day she finished high school in 1964, she left for Nashville with only one goal in mind: to become a famous country singer. Dolly was then eighteen years young.
In 1965, Dolly released her first record. But the ‘bubblegum’ pop song 'Happy Happy Birthday Baby' did almost nothing. In 1966, she married Carl Thomas Dean, owner of an asphalt company, to whom she is still married today. The couple remained childless, much to Dolly's great sadness. With the permission of her record company, Dolly continued to write and sing her own country songs. With her uncle Bill Owens, she wrote two successful country songs for Skeeter Davis and Hank Williams Jr. In 1967, Dolly scored her first country hit with the song 'Dumb Blonde' – one of the few songs she did not write herself. The single reached 24th place in the American country charts.
At the end of 1967, Dolly was asked to replace Norma Jean on The Porter Wagoner Show, a weekly TV programme by country star Porter Wagoner. Within a few months, Dolly became the star of the show, singing not only her own country songs but also duets with Wagoner. After Dolly scored a US number 1 hit in 1974 with the brilliant 'Jolene', she left The Porter Wagoner Show. As a farewell, Dolly wrote the song 'I Will Always Love You', with which she first scored a worldwide hit herself, and which Whitney Houston repeated in the 1990s. Elvis Presley also wanted to record the song. But Dolly refused to add Elvis' name as a writer to the song, which would have meant sharing all royalties with him. It was the first time Dolly let her business instinct speak.
Retirement
Although Dolly Parton has now well passed the age of 65, she still wants nothing to do with retirement. Dolly continues to sing and make records. She also has plans to open a new family theme park. In addition, she devotes herself wholeheartedly to the Dollywood Foundation, a foundation that supports neglected children. Through this foundation, 2.5 million study and children's books are donated annually to poor schoolchildren. Despite her many hits and awards, Dolly has remained an ordinary woman who reacts down-to-earth to questions about her voluptuous appearance and the cosmetic surgical procedures she has had. "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!"
Dolly has 4 songs in the Top 2000 of 2020. Her highest ranking is with Jolene at number 64.
Sunday Morning Classic: Jolene
On 6 June 2021, Dolly Parton was a guest at De Platenbar with her album Jolene as Sunday Morning Classic.
In 1974, Dolly gained full control over her career and broke with Porter Wagoner, who had been such a big part of her musical life. This album was released in 1974 and stands out for the original versions of two of Dolly's most famous and best songs.
The title track is one of my favourite Dolly Parton songs, if not my absolute favourite. A number 1 for her in 1973, it was her biggest hit so far in the US and a few years later she also broke through to the international pop audience. Inspired by a true incident of a red-haired woman at the bank whom Dolly suspected was making advances on Dolly's husband Carl Dean, 'Jolene' is a true country classic and perhaps the best-known of all songs with a woman's name as the title.
What would become the most covered song in Dolly's songbook appeared for the first time: 'I Will Always Love You' was Dolly's second consecutive number 1 from the project 'When Someone Wants To Leave', an intensely delivered and very good song describing the difficult situation that arises when only one partner is still in love.
'Living On Memories Of You' is a passionate story of despair in the face of lost love. Even more downbeat is 'Lonely Comin' Down'. The bouncy ‘Highlight Of My Life’ and ‘It Must Be You’ are attractive but forgettable mid-tempo love songs. 'Randy', another love song, is more memorable. 'River Of Happiness' is not very substantial lyrically, but quite ethereal. The similar 'Early Morning Breeze' was revived from Coat Of Many Colors.
There is undoubtedly no bad song on this record. Each song tells its own story individually, but they are all connected by a few main themes, such as love and loneliness. Dolly's voice is phenomenal (as you would expect) on all songs. They match Dolly's tone and almost serve as a guide for her own very personal stories.
source Jan Liebregts and NPO photo: album cover The Grass is Blue
