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Album cover. RCA Victor (APL1-0286) (1973)
Bubbling Over is the twelfth solo studio album by Dolly Parton. It was released on September 10, 1973, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. "Traveling Man" was the only single released and it peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. 

Track listing

Side A
  1. Bubbling Over (Dolly Parton) 2:23
  2. Traveling Man (Dolly Parton) 2:10
  3. Alabama Sundown (Dave Kirby, Danny Morrison) 2:31
  4. Afraid to Live and Afraid of Dying (Porter Wagoner) 2:02
  5. Love with Me (Dolly Parton) 2:15
Side B
  1. My Kind of Man (Dolly Parton) 2:22
  2. Sometimes an Old Memory Gets in My Eye (Bill Owens) 2:19
  3. Pleasant as May (Dolly Parton) 2:34
  4. The Beginning (Dolly Parton) 2:32
  5. Love, You're So Beautiful Tonight (Porter Wagoner) 3:08

Recording

Bubbling Over seems to be an album of leftovers from previous sessions and stray tracks Dolly had recorded at a few short sessions in 1972 and 1973. Recording sessions for the album's ten tracks took place over eight sessions. "Pleasant as May" was recorded during the January 26, 1971 session for 1971's Joshua. "Alabama Sundown" and "The Beginning" were recorded during sessions for 1972's Touch Your Woman on December 14, 1971 and January 11, 1972, respectively. A May 19, 1972 session yielded only two tracks, "Afraid to Live and Afraid of Dying" and "Love, You're So Beautiful Tonight". "My Mind of Man" was recorded during a December 12, 1972 session. Recording continued into 1973 where "Love with Me" and "Sometimes an Old Memory Gets in My Eye" were recorded during a February 1 session. "Traveling Man" was recorded during a session on April 9, 1973. The title track was the last to be recorded for the album on May 22, 1973.

Dolly had previously recorded and released "Traveling Man" on her 1971 album, Coat of Many Colors.
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​"The Beginning" would later be recorded as a duet with Porter Wagoner for their 1975 album, Say Forever You'll Be Mine.
January 26, 1971
  • ​​Pleasant as May
December 14, 1971
  • Alabama Sundown
January 11, 1972
  • The Beginning
May 19, 1972
  • Afraid to Live and Afraid of Dying
  • Love, You're So Beautiful Tonight
December 12, 1972
  • My Kind of Man
February 1, 1973
  • Love with Me
  • Sometimes an Old Memory Gets in My Eye
April 9, 1973
  • Traveling Man
May 22, 1973
  • Bubbling Over

Release and promotion

​The album was released September 10, 1973, on LP, cassette, and 8-track.

Singles

The album's only single, "Traveling Man", was released on April 30, 1973. It debuted at number 65 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated May 19. It peaked at number 20 on the chart dated July 14, its ninth week on the chart. The single charted for 11 weeks. It also peaked at number 15 on the Cashbox Country Singles chart. The single peaked at number 12 in Canada on the RPM Country Singles chart,

Critical reception

Billboard published a review in the issue dated September 22, 1973, which said, "Dolly must write a dozen or so hits a week, and since Porter Wagoner resumed his writing career, he's almost keeping pace. The two of them supply the bulk of the material for this, another in the huge collection of Dolly's album outputs, and it – as the others before it – tops the last one out. It ranges from the happy uptempo to the tearful ballad, and no one fills this range better than Dolly." The review noted "Love with Me", "Pleasant as May", and "Love, You're So Beautiful Tonight" as the best cuts on the album, with a note to record dealers praising Les Leverett's "excellent" cover art.

In the issue dated October 6, 1973, Cashbox published a review that said, "An eagerly awaited album, Dolly Parton's new release will elicit immediate effervescence upon the initial listening, but then again isn’t that what bubbling over is all about! "Traveling Man", Dolly’s last chart single is included on the album. An easy listening blend of country music at its finest this new album will prove an inevitable success for the inimitable Miss Parton."

AllMusic rated the album 3 out of 5 stars.
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Billboard review, September 22, 1973.
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Cashbox review, October 6, 1973.

Commercial performance

​The album debuted at number 50 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart dated October 27, 1973. It peaked at number 14 on the chart dated February 2, 1974, its fifteenth week on the chart. The album charted for 20 weeks.

Accolades

​​"Traveling Man" received the Country Award from BMI in 1974.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album liner notes.
  • Bob Ferguson – producer
  • Les Leverett – cover photo
  • Al Pachucki – recording enginee
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals
  • Mike Shockley – recording technician
  • Roy Shockley – recording technician