The Queen of Country!
Dolly Parton is the most famous female country singer in the world. She has sold over 100 million albums and is considered an American popular culture icon.
With 44 top-ten country albums and 110 chartered singles, no one else is even close to her success in the world of country music.
Having composed over 3000 songs, Dolly has been in the public eye since 1967 when she released her debut album, let’s look at this remarkable womans tunes, decade by decade.
During the late 60s, Dolly released four albums, Hello, I’m Dolly, Just Because I’m A Woman, In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad), and My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy.
With a mix of covers, her own compositions and cowrites, she didn’t manage any big tunes on any of these albums. The only well known cover being In The Ghetto (Elvis).
This trend changed radically during the 70s when she would release and astonishing 17 studio albums!
Too many to list here, let’s focus on he hit tunes. Coat Of Many Colors was Dolly’s first big tune. Released as the lead single from the 1971 album it earned her a Grammy, the Country Queen was born.
1974 she release Jolene, here the title track and I Will Always Love You is found. Both went to #1.
In 1977 she release two covers on the album New Harvest… First Gathering. They were My Girl and Higher and Higher.
The same year she release Here You Come Again, the lead single earning here a Grammy as well as a #1.
Before the 70s is over she release two more well known covers on the album Great Balls Of Fire. The title rack (Jerry Lee Lewis) and Help! by The Beatles.
The 80s was less intense than the 70s for Dolly who instead of 17 studio albums released 10. The biggest one being 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs, which also was a film and perhaps her best known single as a solo artist, 9 To 5.
On the same album she also squeezed in another cover in The House Of The Rising Sun.
Dolly’s biggest success came in 1983 with a duet named Islands in the Stream. Originally written by Bee Gees for Diana Ross, Dolly and Kenny had it reworked into a country style and had a world-wide #1.
This was followed up by recording covers, in 1984 she does an entire album called The Great Pretender. Here we find Save The Last Dance For Me, I Walk The Line, Downtown, I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch), and of course the title track.
This was followed by a Christmas album, mainly consisting of covers too.
1985, Dolly and Kenny has another go at a duet in Real Love. It didn’t do as well as Islands in the Stream, but still, it got to #1 in the U.S. and Canada.
In 1987 she teams up with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris to release Trio. Big tunes were To Know Him Is To Love Him, Telling Me Lies, and Those Memories Of You.
The collaboration won a Grammy for best country performance by a Duo or Group as well as nominated for Album of the Year and Best Country Song (Telling Me Lies).
At the country music awards it won Album and vocal event of the year.
The 90s saw another christmas album, a second Trio album, more covers (Walking On Sunshine, After The Gold Rush), and some christian themed recordings.
Without a doubt, the biggest 90s event for Dolly is when she let’s Whitney Houston record I Will Always Love You. Produced by David Foster it was one of the biggest tunes of the 90s, hitting #1 in over twenty countries!
Post the millennium, Dolly has simple kept on going. Releasing more albums and collaborating with more artists, for example Norah Jones on her 2004 release Creepin’ In.
Dolly Parton tunes | Related pages
9 To 5
| F# |
Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen,
| B | F# | C# |
pour myself a cup of ambition and yawning, stretching, trying to come to life.
Creepin’ In
| G | C (Csus2) | G | Dsus2 (D) |
There’s a big ol’ hole, that gone right through the sole, of this old shoe.
| G G7 | C Cm |
And the water on the ground, ain’t got no place else it’s found,
Dolly Parton on the web
