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45 single, picture sleeve. RCA (PB-13756) (1984)
Image credit: TheDroid at 45cat.com
"Downtown" is a single by Dolly Parton. It was released on March 12, 1984, by RCA Records as the second single from Dolly's twenty-sixth solo studio album, The Great Pretender. The song was written by Tony Hatch and produced by Val Garay. It was first recorded by Petula Clark and was a Billboard Hot 100 number one hit for her in 1965. Dolly's cover peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Track listing

Side A
  • Downtown (Tony Hatch) 3:19
Side B
  • The Great Pretender (Buck Ram) 3:41

Audio

Critical reception

The single was reviewed in the March 24, 1984 issue of Billboard magazine. The review said, "With the most delicate of vocals, Parton deftly recreates the sense of wonder embodied in the Petula Clark original."

Cashbox did not formally review the single, but included it in the "Feature Picks" section of their Single Reviews in the March 24, 1984 issue.
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Billboard review, March 24, 1984.

Commercial performance

"Downtown" debuted at number 69 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated April 7, 1984. It peaked at number 36 on the chart dated May 12, its sixth week on the chart. The single charted for 10 weeks. It peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also peaked at number 32 on the Cashbox Country Singles chart. The single peaked at number 20 in Canada on the RPM Country Singles chart and number eight on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from The Great Pretender liner notes.
"Downtown"
  • Jeff Colella – string synthesizers
  • Ron Elliott – electric guitar
  • Chuck Findley – horns
  • Val Garay – producer
  • Brian Glascock – percussion
  • Steve Goldstein – keyboards, horn arrangement, conductor
  • Gary Grant – horns
  • Craig Hull – electric guitar
  • Slide Hyde – horns
  • Don Menza – horns
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals
  • David Platshon – drums
  • Bill Reichenbach – horns
  • Doug Sax – mastering
  • Tom Scott – horns
  • Leland Sklar – bass
  • Waddy Wachtel – electric guitar solo
"The Great Pretender"
  • Val Garay – producer
  • Steve Goldstein – organ
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals
  • Doug Sax – mastering
  • The Waters Family – choir vocals
    • ​Maxine, Julia, Oren, and Luther Waters