CMT Blog: Archive

Before I received a copy of Dolly Parton's new four-disc, career-spanning collection, Dolly, I thought I knew a lot about her music. After listening to it from start to finish on a road trip back to Nashville -- 99 songs in all -- I realized I had a lot of catching up to do. She's one of my favorite singers, and definitely a songwriting force to be reckoned with, but there are plenty of tunes on Dolly that I'd never heard. One of them is "Sweet Summer Lovin'," a Top 10 hit from 1979 that sounds like just like a new Keith Urban tune -- simple lyric, easy to sing with and ready to warm you up inside.

The first disc gathers early tracks and very rare recordings through the late 1960s. My favorite is "False Eyelashes," about a country singer who can't go home because she's not nearly as famous as everyone believes -- indeed, her hometown radio station is the only one spinning her single. From disc two, I've played the previously unreleased "Eugene, Oregon" about a hundred times because both her gratitude and exuberant melody are irresistible. Kicking off with "Jolene," disc three eventually captures that moment when she crossed over to the pop charts with "Here You Come Again" and "Heartbreaker." I also dig her bouncing version of "Kentucky Gambler," also a No. 1 hit for Merle Haggard. "Islands in the Stream" and "9 to 5" are on the final disc with several singles that I'd forgotten, like "Yellow Roses," "He's Alive" and "Silver and Gold."

I never realized it until now, but Parton's a little bit morbid. Next time I listen from start to finish, I'll scrutinize the lyrics and tabulate the number of dead people (and at least one dog, Little Andy). Chalk that up to just another of Dolly's surprises.