Today is Dolly Parton Day! (9/25 is a fun pun on 9 to 5). Since Dolly Parton did so much to help put books into the hands of children, it feels right for the library to celebrate her on this day! We’ll celebrate in true librarian fashion by making some recommendations for what to read, watch, and listen to. Please also check out this lovely tribute by Leslie Maxwell, who frequently teaches a first-year writing course about Dolly Parton. There’s also a screening tonight of the film 9 to 5 happening at the Ruby!
Books
Unlikely Angel : The Songs of Dolly Parton by Lydia Hamessley. The focus of this book is squarely on Parton’s achievements as a songwriter. Laura Williams, Head of the Music Library, wrote in connection to this book “there are, of course, so many sides to Dolly Parton, but I suspect people think of her as a performer before realizing what a prolific and talented composer she was.” A brief NY Times article immediately following her passing (“Dolly Parton: Hear 15 Essential Songs” by Jim Farber) noted that “Parton’s tandem role as a vocalist and writer, dating back to 1967, made her a seldom acknowledged forerunner of the 1970s singer-songwriter movement that swept to fame stars like Joni Mitchell, Carole King and James Taylor. That role was especially rare for women at the time.”
Dolly Parton’s Jolene by Lydia R. Hamessley. Not every songwriter ends up having an entire book written about one song, but Dolly Parton gets that honor! ‘Jolene’ is not only one of Dolly Parton’s most beloved songs, but also a cultural phenomenon, made and remade by many artists including Olivia Newton-John, The Congo Cowboys, Lil Nas X, and Chiquis and Becky G. It is also an inspiration for several ‘answer songs,’ notably ‘You Can Have Him Jolene’ by Chapel Hart. In this book, author Lydia R. Hamessley shows readers how one song has been able to embrace so many versions, responses, and reimaginings.
White Limozeen by Steacy Easton. White Limozeen (1989) was a commercial recovery after Dolly Parton’s first major failure two years previously with the release of Rainbow. This book is a case study in how an album is sold and a persona constructed. The album had a complex relationship to the country music genre at a time when the genre was in the middle of major sonic and cultural shifts, and it represents how country music saw itself. This question of identity was especially relevant since White Limozeen was produced by Ricky Skaggs, the bluegrass prodigy who was in the middle of his own genre-widening experiments. The album reflects dense and complex production, shredding ideas of purity, studio craft, slickness, and authenticity. In it, Dolly seems to be imagining the limits of her own personae – the country girl, the blonde burlesque, the pop legend, the gospel singer. To study this album is to investigate Dolly’s calculated role in fashioning her image into the icon she is today.
Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters edited by Randy L. Schmidt. You can read about Dolly in her own words in this collection of interviews that cover five decades. Her story has been told many times and in many ways, but never like this. Dolly on Dolly is a collection of interviews spanning five decades of her career and featuring material gathered from celebrated publications including Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, and Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. Also included are interviews which have not been previously available in print. Dolly’s feisty and irresistible brand of humor, combined with her playful, pull-up-a-chair-and-stay-awhile delivery, makes for a fascinating and inviting experience in downhome philosophy and storytelling. Much like her patchwork “Coat of Many Colors,” this book harkens back to the legendary entertainer’s roots and traces her evolution, stitching it all together one piece at a time.
Dolly Parton: Songteller, My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton ; with Robert K. Oermann. For the first time ever, legendary singer-songwriter Dolly Parton brings you behind the lyrics of 175 of her songs to reveal the personal stories and vibrant memories that have inspired sixty years of songwriting. Lushly illustrated and told in Dolly’s inimitable voice, this rich collection offers an intimate, exclusive look at the colorful life, prolific career, and rags-to-rhinestones journey of one of the most revered entertainers of our time
Selected Music and Movies
Here is a selection of some of Dolly Parton’s music and movies that you can explore through the library:
The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
I also recently discovered that Dolly Parton had an interesting Durham connection! She released some of her most critically acclaimed records with Sugar Hill Records, including the above linked Little Sparrow. You can read more about her connection to Sugar Hill and the history of this record company in a recent article “The Durham Record Label Where Dolly Parton Found a ‘Little Spot of Heaven’ “
Many are celebrating today with donations to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. If you are interested in donating somewhere closer to home, may I suggest a donation toDurham’s Book Harvest?
Special thanks to the staff at the Music Library for helping me gather titles for this post!
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