DOLLY~ALL the LATEST,Including Pictures, The One and Only

Posted on Sun, May. 31, 2009


Remnants of long-gone Smokies culture
Old homes, schools, cemeteries dot the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a rich history left behind by residents paid to leave.
By Sue Kovach Shuman

Washington Post

GATLINBURG, Tenn. - In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it's easy to get lost in the past. The nation's most-visited national park has nearly 80 historic buildings scattered throughout its 800 square miles, evidence that until the 1930s, children attended school there while their parents coaxed corn from the hardscrabble soil of the southern Appalachian Mountains.
Then the federal government decided to step in and create a park to protect the area, untouched by the last ice age and straddling the Tennessee-North Carolina border.

Today, as the park prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary June 13-15, wildlife outnumbers people. And visitors, about 9 million to 10 million a year, can hike and enjoy nature. They can also walk into mountain cabins and churches and family cemeteries left behind by those not-so-long-ago residents, many of whom didn't move willingly.

Raymond Caldwell, 85, of Waynesville, N.C., lived in the Cataloochee area, in the southeast section of the park, until age 15. He says the government paid his family $4,000 to leave the 160-acre farm they'd owned for a century. When they moved, he says, "I drove a team of horses with a wagon and farm implements hanging off it. My 8-year-old brother was with me."

Caldwell says he liked living in the mountains, but it wasn't easy. "It was pretty rough terrain. We were just getting by," he says in a phone interview. He remembers grinding corn at a water-powered gristmill. His family, with eight children, grew corn and raised cattle for beef.

Visiting Caldwell House, his family's homestead, I touched torn Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue pages that still paper an upstairs bedroom. The house is frame, and a five-panel front door and wood paneling elsewhere hint that this once was a fine place.

Caldwell says his father was bitter about leaving, but some families were poor and needed the money. Even before the Great Depression, they struggled. After it hit, some were destitute. Many had worked for logging companies that owned large tracts of land, but had ravaged it, polluting streams and driving elk and other animals from their habitats.

The Depression helped give birth to the park. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps provided jobs for thousands of young men, who planted trees, cleared brush for trails, and built the park headquarters, the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, and log bridges that span streams.

In two weeks, the park - the heart of the area that the nearby Cherokee Indians called Shakaney, or "Land of Blue Smoke," for the mist that shrouds its peaks and floats over its valleys - will mark its anniversary with programs, exhibits, and musical performances. On Sept. 2, a rededication is planned at the CCC monument at Newfound Gap, 5,046 feet above sea level, where FDR dedicated it. Ground will be broken for a cultural museum to complement the natural-history one.

Entertainer Dolly Parton, the official anniversary ambassador, will be there. She has the Smokies in her bones, she says.

There's a reason: She may live in Nashville and maintain homes in Los Angeles and New York, but she grew up poor in a hollow near Locust Ridge, about seven miles from the park, in Sevierville, Tenn., where a bronze Dolly statue graces the courthouse lawn.

"I bought the old homestead [in 1987] as a retreat, for family reunions . . . a place away from prying eyes," she says by phone. "It is hard times. A lot of my relatives are having hard times. I think people are more frightened" about the economy.

Dollywood, her Smokies-theme amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., employs 2,500 people in peak season.

When Parton is in Locust Ridge, she relaxes and cooks: "I'm famous for my chicken and dumplings." She says she prefers Cracker Barrel cuisine and the home cooking you find at Dollywood. The recipe for Granny Ogle's Ham 'n' Beans, served there with corn bread, comes from her friend Judy Ogle's family. (Ogle roots are everywhere in the Smokies: I found handmade Ogle brooms and stayed in an Ogle-owned hotel.)

Parton says she visits the national park several times a year to rejuvenate. "My husband, Carl, and I love to travel in our RV. . . . We just drive through, find a spot to picnic. . . . I just love the water, the streams, just to sit on a rock." There doesn't have to be a reason to go, she says.

I'd seen the Smokies in October, when 130 species of trees created a riot of color. In springtime, flowers are blooming. During the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage, held annually at the end of April, there might be dogwood below 3,000 feet and painted trillium at 6,600 feet.

You don't have to take a pilgrimage to see flowers; a flora guide ($1 at Sugarlands Visitor Center) works fine for nonexperts.

In February's last days, greenery was abundant at lower elevations, and I counted only 17 people along the Rainbow Falls trail. At Newfound Gap, I stood alone where FDR did, remembering that pennies from schoolchildren - and the Rockefeller family's $5 million - helped buy about 6,000 tracts of land to create the park.

Places left behind by former residents are best seen without crowds. The abandoned buildings of Cades Cove are on an 11-mile loop on the park's west side. Stick your fingers into the mud-mortar chimney on John Oliver's cabin, built in 1820. The log walls do not have any nails. The mud chinking between the logs is there to keep out the cold. My guidebook showed photos of boys getting baptized in a stream near one of three churches for the 125 families who lived here.

But that was long ago. The road dips and narrows, and, past Dan Lawson's place, built in 1856, it is deeply rutted. I hoped our car wouldn't get a flat. At dusk, our only company was white-tailed deer and coyotes.

Old homes, schools, cemeteries dot the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a rich history left behind by residents paid to leave.
Come sundown, don't even try to see Cataloochee, the abandoned community where Raymond Caldwell lived as a boy. The best way in (and out) is by a 10-mile mountain-hugging road with 180-degree curves. My husband honked the horn so much, to warn other vehicles, that we woke up the elk herd that "guards" Cataloochee.
A bull with 4-foot-wide antlers stood and scared the heck out of me when I wandered up the porch at Palmer House. I remembered reading that males "sometimes perceive people as challengers and may charge." My husband was calculating the distance to the car, but the elk apparently decided we were harmless.

In an exhibit at Palmer House, a photo shows a man on the porch having his teeth pulled. In a room with a fireplace, four layers of fancy wallpaper hang in shreds. In Palmer Chapel nearby, a tattered Bible rests on a pulpit. Atop a hill is a cemetery; I thought about the sweating brows of those who carried coffins uphill.

In Beech Grove School, we sat at desks of children who are now in their 80s and looked at graffiti and the remnants of an incomprehensible equation on a scarred chalkboard. It was so quiet, I could hear an elk bellowing outside and a stream flowing.

I understood why Caldwell said that, although he left the park, it never left him.

"I try to go every chance I get," he says. "I just feel good when I go."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If You Go to the Smokies
Staying There

Inside the Park

Two of 10 park campgrounds are open all year; none has showers. Four take reservations for May 15-Oct. 31; others are first come, first served. Fees are $14-$23 per night. Call 877-444-6777; www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit.

LeConte Lodge (865-429-5704, www.lecontelodge.com), at 6,360 feet, is reached only on foot; the shortest route is 51/2 miles. Seven kerosene-lit rustic cabins and three group sleeping lodges, none with showers, can accommodate 60. In cabins, daily rate is $75 per adult, plus $35 per adult for breakfast and dinner. Open till Nov. 24.

Outside the Park

North of the park, lodging is plentiful in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg; find rooms in the south in Cherokee and Maggie Valley.

Rodeway Inn Skyland (223 E. Parkway, Gatlinburg; 800-255-8738, www.rodewayinngatlinburg.com) has priceless mountain views and doubles from $35.99 to $109.99 a night.

At Sidney James Mountain Lodge (610 Historic Nature Trail, Gatlinburg, 800-362-9394, www.sidneyjames.com), doubles are $49-$104.

Cabin rentals are numerous in the Smokies; at Mountain Rentals of Gatlinburg (888-609-4654, www.gotogatlinburg.com), prices start at $510 a week for two adults; for 16 people, from $2,250 a week. There are private campgrounds too, and bed-and-breakfasts (www.smokymountainbb.com).

Eating There

In the park, Cades Cove has a snack bar with breakfast and sandwiches.

In Gatlinburg, locals go to Mountain Lodge Restaurant (913 E. Parkway, 865-436-2547) for sourdough French toast and huge cinnamon rolls. Upscale options include the Park Grill steakhouse (1110 Parkway, 865-436-2300, www.peddlerparkgrill.com), constructed of massive spruce trees.

In Cherokee, Peter's Pancakes and Waffles (1384 Tsali Blvd., 828-497-5116) serves belly-busting breakfasts.

Things to Do
Inside the Park

Three visitor centers (Sugarlands, Oconaluftee and Cades Cove) are open daily except Christmas Day. More information: 865-436-1200, or www.nps.gov/grsm. See greatsmokies75th.org for June 13-15 anniversary weekend events and exhibits.

Outside the Park

In Gatlinburg: Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community (off U.S. Route 321, 800-565-7330, www.gatlinburgcrafts.com) is an eight-mile loop with 109 places to watch artists in workshops or eat. For information about the area: www.gatlinburg-tennessee.com; or 800-568-4748, www.gatlinburg.com.

South in Cherokee: Museum of the Cherokee Indian (589 Tsali Blvd., 828-497-3481, www.cherokeemuseum.org) offers a tour through 11,000 years of history; open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $9.

North of Gatlinburg: In Pigeon Forge (800-251-9100, www.mypigeonforge.com; www.pigeonforgechamber.com), tourist magnets line U.S. Route 321/441 for miles. This is Dolly Parton country. Dollywood (800-365-5996, www.dollywood.com), a 125-acre Smokies-theme amusement park, $53.50; $42.35 ages 4-11.

Information

For Tennessee, www.tnvacation.com; for North Carolina, www.visitnc.com.

- Sue Kovach Shuman

http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/200905...html?page=1&c=y

Dolly Parton to present new book at Dollywood
Dolly Parton is celebrating the release of her new children's book on Friday, June 12, at Dollywood. Parton has penned "I Am A Rainbow." The book deals with how children can handle various emotions in life. Parton's appearance is part of her "Kids Fest," starting next month at the theme park. She's one busy lady these days -- a University of Tennessee degree, a hit Broadway show, a musical at Dollywood ... what's next?
Posted by Terry Morrow on May 29, 2009

http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/telebuddy/ar...rton_to_2.shtml

Oh Dolly!: Parton On Her Tony Nod
Legendary Singer Shares Her Broadway Experience
NEW YORK, June 5, 2009

CBS) Dolly Parton has done it all.

The singer, composer, actress, author, TV star, philanthropist, and theme park owner has won seven Grammys. She’s been named a Country Music Award "Entertainer of the Year" and Kennedy Center Honoree. Parton has a star on Hollywood’s "Walk of Fame." She’s received the National Medal of the Arts and two Academy Award nominations.

And now she’s in a foray onto Broadway.

The venture on the Great White Way has resulted in her being nominated in the Tony Awards' Best Original Score category for the Broadway show "9 to 5 The Musical".

She appeared on The Early Show Friday to talk about the honor.

Parton said she was asked to write the score for the musical about women turning the tables on their sexist boss after she wrote the songs for the 1980 film of the same name.

"I love to write, of course, but I’d never done that before. But when they did ask me, I said, 'Well, I’ll give it a try, and if it’s not good, tell me right up front and don’t worry about it." '

But after four years working on the project on and off, the singing star did it, adding to the hits she wrote 30 years before, and making the rest of the show musical-ready.

Parton said, "It turned out pretty good, I think."

Parton told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith seeing the show for the first time was a great experience.

"It almost stopped my heart to hear my songs so big with all that great music, the orchestra and all those singers," she said. " ... It was just like, 'Did I do that?" '

The musical has also been nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Allison Janney, originally performed by Lily Tomlin in the movie), Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Marc Kudisch), and Best Choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler).

Parton said she's nervous about the 63rd Annual Tony Awards, airing Sunday night.

"I’ve written and done everything, but it would be nice to win," she said. "I’m not expecting to, but I don’t know what I’d do if I did win, but I would run out there and kiss Elton John and kick him off stage or something. ... It would be wonderful, but even if I don’t win, it’s a long way from Locust Ridge, Tenn., to Broadway, and I’m here!"

Will we see Parton herself on Broadway anytime soon?

Parton said she’s thought about writing her life story for a Broadway musical, adding there might be a part in the older years that she could play herself!

Parton said she’ll also be singing a bit at the Tonys ceremony Sunday with the other nominees.

You can see "9 to 5 The Musical" at New York’s Marquis Theatre.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/05/...ainment_5065293

Thank ye Vicki

From the HEADRACCOON:

Dolly surprises Scouts with visit
June 15, 2009

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — Country singer Dolly Parton delighted hundreds of Tennessee Girl Scouts when she made a surprise entrance at a ceremony to present them with a patch created in her honor.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports Parton appeared on stage Saturday at the Pines Theatre, where 400 Girl Scouts were receiving the new "Coat of Many Colors" patch, named for Parton and her 1971 song of the same name.

The singer, a lifetime Girl Scout who wore her own uniform, hugged and chatted with the girls.

The song tells the story of how schoolmates made fun of a coat Parton's mother made from rags. The patch requires scouts to help others, then make a collage that represents everything special about themselves.

Parton told the girls, "A person can make money, but money can't make a person."


Tennessean.com

Fans Line Up To See Dolly Parton
Country Singer Will Hold Two Autograph Sessions On Monday

POSTED: 8:54 am CDT June 15, 2009
UPDATED: 10:55 am CDT June 15, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Fans camped outside the Country Music Hall of Fame overnight for a chance to meet country music legend Dolly Parton.

Crowds started lining up around 5 p.m. on Sunday to get vouchers for one of Parton's two autograph sessions that will be held on Monday.

The first session is at 10 a.m. at the Hall of Fame.

The other is scheduled at 2 p.m. at the new Opry Originals store on Broadway.

http://www.wsmv.com/entertainment/19755506/detail.html

Dolly: “I want to be like one of those little fainting goats that get scared and then just fall over. I want to go and go and then drop dead in the middle of something I’m loving to do. And if that doesn’t happen, if I wind up sitting in a wheelchair, at least I’ll have my high heels on."
(excerpt from) http://www.spectator.co.uk/alexmassie/3564...this-time.thtml


Thanks Vicki,,This is too cute

Dolly Parton Shares Smoky Mountain Memories
Posted: August 27th, 2009 at 2:35 pm | By: Alison Bonaguro

As if Dolly Parton doesn't have enough going on. Now she has taken on the role of ambassador for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And on top of that, she's written all about growing up in the Smokies for Guideposts. She says the Smokies touch her soul, and after reading this entire story, I have to say I feel an attachment to them, too. I know she had a rough raisin' (she was one of 12 kids of a sharecropper and his wife), but read this story and let Parton's memories fill your heart like only she can.

On homemade playthings: "I remember tying June bugs to a string to make what we called 'lectric kites." And "My sisters and I played house with moss. We'd use it to cover stumps and pretend they were upholstered chairs ... ."

On really living green: "Everyone's into living green now -- for good reason -- but that was the only way we knew how to live back then in the mountains. Daddy planted beans, corn, potatoes and turnips. He hunted, so we'd have meat -- bear, turtle, rabbit, squirrel, groundhog."

On all-natural tattoos: "We painted our skin with pokeberry juice so that it looked like we were wearing bracelets or wristwatches."

On the joys of winter: "We'd bring in fresh snow and mix it with vanilla, milk and sugar to make snow cream, the closest we ever got to ice cream."

On surviving the recession, mountain-style: "Even today, in these hard economic times, I think, well, if the worst happens and I lose everything, I can always go home to the mountains, plant a vegetable garden, maybe raise a few chickens."

http://blog.cmt.com/2009-08-27/dolly-parto...ntain-memories/

I love going to Dollywood when I go to Pigeon Forge.

Dolly Boxed Set~Released Date> October 27,2009


TRACK LISTS:4 DISC's

DOLLY - FIRST-EVER CAREER-SPANNING BOX SET
4 CDs, 99 songs - including SEVEN previously unreleased songs
Features her biggest hits, rarities, and duets from Monument,
RCA Victor and Columbia
Introduction written by singer-songwriter Laura Cantrell, and new liner notes written by noted Dolly Parton historian Holly George Warren
Features never-before-seen photos and rare memorabilia!
A REAL LIVE DOLLY - EXCLUSIVE BONUS CD
First released in July 1970, and recorded earlier that year at Dolly's old high school in her hometown, Sevierville. Her performance was the highlight of the annual Dolly Day, a celebration held in Sevierville in honor of its most famous resident. It was arranged by Dolly's mentor and singing partner, Porter Wagoner, who also appears on several tracks.

Long out of print on vinyl, A REAL LIVE DOLLY is now released on CD for the first time. The original set included signature Dolly songs such as "My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy" and "Dumb Blonde," but this exclusive, limited-edition CD also contains 4 bonus tracks.
Offer is for United States customers only




DOLLY Disc 1


1. Puppy Love
2. Girl Left Alone
3. Gonna Hurry (As Slow As I Can) (Demo, Previously Unreleased)
4. It’s Sure Gonna Hurt – Dolly Parton with the Merry Melody Singers
5. The Love You Gave – Dolly Parton with the Merry Melody Singers
6. Nobody But You – Dolly Parton with the Merry Melody Singers (Previously Unreleased)
7. Busy Signal
8. Don’t Drop Out
9. I’ve Known You All My Life (Previously Unreleased)
10. Put It Off Until Tomorrow – Bill Phillips
11. Dumb Blonde
12. Something Fishy
13. I Couldn’t Wait Forever
14. I’m Not Worth The Tears
15. Last Thing On My Mind – Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
16. False Eyelashes
17. The Bridge
18. Just Because I’m A Woman
19. Holdin’ On To Nothin’ – Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
20. We’ll Get Ahead Someday – Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
21. Jeannie’s Afraid Of The Dark – Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
22. In The Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)
23. Daddy
24. Evening Shade
25. Gypsy, Joe And Me
26. My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy

DOLLY Disc 2


1. Just The Way I Am
2. Down From Dover
3. Everything Is Beautiful (In Its Own Way) (Previously Unreleased)
4. Daddy Come And Get Me
5. Just Someone That I Used To Know – Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
6. Tomorrow Is Forever – Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
7. Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man – Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
8. Comin’ For To Carry Me Home
9. The Golden Streets Of Glory
10. Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)
11. Joshua
12. Daddy’s Moonshine Still
13. The Last One To Touch Me
14. Better Move It On Home – Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
15. Coat Of Many Colors
16. Traveling Man
17. My Blue Tears
18. Here I Am
19. God’s Coloring Book (Previously Unreleased)
20. Will He Be Waiting
21. Touch Your Woman
22. Together Always – Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
23. Lost Forever In Your Kiss – Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
24. My Tennessee Mountain Home
25. Eugene Oregon (Previously Unreleased)
26. What Will Baby Be (Previously Unreleased)

DOLLY Disc 3


1. Jolene
2. Early Morning Breeze
3. I Will Always Love You
4. Please Don’t Stop Loving Me – Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
5. Love Is Like A Butterfly
6. Sacred Memories
7. The Bargain Store
8. On My Mind Again
9. Kentucky Gambler
10. The Seeker
11. We Used To
12. All I Can Do
13. Light Of A Clear Blue Morning
14. You Are
15. Applejack
16. It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right
17. Here You Come Again
18. Two Doors Down
19. Me And Little Andy
20. Heartbreaker
21. I Really Got The Feeling
22. Baby I’m Burnin’
23. You’re The Only One
24. Sweet Summer Lovin’
25. Starting Over Again

DOLLY Disc 4


1. Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You
2. 9 To 5
3. But You Know I Love You
4. Single Women
5. Heartbreak Express
6. Do I Ever Cross Your Mind
7. Potential New Boyfriend
8. Islands In The Stream – Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton
9. Save The Last Dance For Me
10. Tennessee Homesick Blues
11. God Won’t Get You
12. What A Heartache
13. Don’t Call It Love
14. Think About Love
15. Why’d You Come In Here Lookin’ Like That
16. Yellow Roses
17. Time For Me To Fly
18. He’s Alive
19. Rockin’ Years – Dolly Parton with Ricky Van Shelton
20. Eagle When She Flies
21. Silver And Gold
22. Romeo

Dolly Parton - A Real Live Dolly


1. Introduction by Cas Walker
2. You Gotta Be My Baby
3. Tall Man
4. Medley: Dumb Blonde / Something Fishy/ Put It Off Until Tomorrow
5. My Blue Ridge Moutain Boy
6. You All Come (Y’all Come)
7. Bloody Bones (A Story For Kids)
8. Don Howser Makes Presentation
9. Comedy by Speck Rhodes
10. Run That By Me One More Time
11. Jeannie’s Afraid of The Dark
12. Tomorrow is Forever
13. Two Sides To Every Story
14. How Great Thou Art

Bonus Tracks:

Just Because I’m A Woman
Coat Of Many Colors
Daddy Come and Get Me – Previously Unreleased
He’s A Go Getter - Previously Unreleased

Walmart.com
Amazon.com

**"Daddy Come and Get Me" was released either as a single or the "B" side of one,got the 45**

Album Review: Dolly Parton – Dolly
Stephen M. Deusner | October 29th, 2009 Email Share

No pun intended, but Dolly Parton cuts a striking figure in country music. Growing up destitute in the mountains of West Tennessee, she showed a strong musical talent as a child and cut her first record before she was a teenager. Since then, she has recorded frequently and adventurously, surveying a wide swath of American music that ranges from country and bluegrass to pop, soul, and gospel. Her music is as luxurious as her image, full of downhome details, spry vocal performances, and a surfeit of personality. She has songs that will make you cry, others that will make you smile, some that will (yes) get you laid, and many that will make you cringe. So, taken as a half-century whole, her long career as both a musician and an icon seems as large and as unwieldy as her–wait for it–‘60s beehive. More than even Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, or Porter Wagoner, Parton is an awkward fit for an easy, straightforward retrospective.

Dolly is not the first attempt to box Parton’s career, but it may be the best. It covers nearly half a century of successes and failures, making room for the big hits (“Jolene,” “9 to 5”) as well as previously unreleased obscurities (“Gonna Hurry (As Slow As I Can),” “Eugene Oregon”). Even at twelve years old, singing “Puppy Love,” she displays remarkable self-possession, delivering the throwaway pop ditty with surprising sass and confidence. She was Dolly even then, and she remained Dolly when she tried the pop circuit, when she was Wagoner’s effervescent sidekick, when she set off on her own, when she appeared in movies, and when she went bluegrass late in her career. She has always been ineffably Dolly: a one-woman genre.

Dolly hints at the full breadth of her range as well as her limitations. Even though she presented herself as happy-go-lucky, with a perky spirit that turned the trials of an impoverished upbringing into a goldmine of nostalgia, Parton slipped easily into sentimental kitsch, especially during her early twenties. “In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)” and “Coat of Many Colors” play into some of the sappiest clichés of country music, with nostalgic details painted on thick. “Jeannie’s Afraid of the Dark” foretells the swamp of cancer ballads that became obligatory among less ambitious acts this decade, and “What Will Baby Be” is a moralizing sap—one of the few times Parton comes across as a scold.

Perhaps these songs are simply dated—the product of bygone musical trends and values—but they suffer for their proximity to the tougher-minded material on Dolly. Ironically, Parton sounds most convincing and commanding when she’s writing and singing not about happiness, but about happiness denied. “Jolene” thrums with romantic distress, and the frailty of her vocals, coupled with the urgent minor key, only underscores the hopelessness of the situation she describes. Likewise, “I Will Always Love You” is both heartbroken and wistful, her spoken-word delivery on the verses conveying both vulnerability and steadfastness.

Dolly shows Parton to be an expert interpreter, fully inhabiting all of her songs and conveying a range of emotions. “Touch Your Woman” and “The Last One to Touch Me” understate an erotic thrill not often associated with country music of the era. And Parton is particularly devastating on “Down from Dover,” which turns her downhome reveries inside out and allows her girlish voice to sell a southern-gothic story of a deceptive lover and an unwanted pregnancy.

When Parton broke free of Wagoner’s influence in the late 1970s and established herself as a truly solo artist, she became much more adventurous both musically and professionally. She made compelling concessions to pop music with “You’re the Only One” (with its lovely George Harrison-style guitars) and the Donna Summer cover “Starting Over Again,” and appeared in movies like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, 9 to 5, and Rhinestone, for which she recorded the award-winning soundtracks. Loosing herself from the strictures of the industry, she became a synthesizer of styles and sounds. “Islands in the Stream” was written by the Bee Gees, but it’s the chemistry between Parton and Kenny Rogers that has made it a staple of karaoke nights and wedding receptions. It’s a shame that her two Trio albums with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris are only mentioned in the liner notes and not represented on the tracklist, and her ‘90s and ‘00s are compressed into just a handful of tracks, despite the fact that albums like The Grass Is Blue and Halos & Horns garnered her a considerable Americana audience.

Despite its shortcomings, Dolly ultimately feels like so much more than the sum of its parts, just as Parton’s appeal and popularity transcend any one song, album, or trend. It’s much more satisfying than it should be, due not to any curatorial control the producers exerted over the tracklist, sequencing, or packaging, but to Parton’s sassily endearing and enduring persona, which can redeem even the weakest material. She shines through unmistakably on every note here.

Stephen M. Deusner is a contributor to The9513.com, Paste Magazine, and Pitchfork. He can be reached via email.

http://www.the9513.com/album-review-dolly-parton-dolly/

Now that's a whole lotta Ms. Dolly! WOW!!!

Sho is and thiers also the Live From London DVD released..I saw that in the way back and it is awesome,GREAT show,would love to see her in concert at least once

Sho is and thiers also the Live From London DVD released..I saw that in the way back and it is awesome,GREAT show,would love to see her in concert at least once

Oh gosh, me, too!!! Such a talented woman! GOTTA LOVE DOLLY!!!