Owepar Releases 4 Family Legacy Albums

Songs of the Smokie Mountains (1967)

The Parton Family Sings "In the Garden" (1968)

I Can Only Be Me (1983)

Mama Sings (2024)

Owepar Records on Friday, December 20 released four family legacy albums for streaming and digital download. Three of them are reissues by some of Dolly's relatives, while the fourth is an unreleased album by Avie Lee Parton, Dolly's mother.

Songs of the Smokie Mountains by Bill Owens and the Kinfolk is the oldest of the four albums. It was released by REM Records in 1967. The album features Bill on vocals and guitar with his sister Dorothy Jo on vocals and banjo and their father Reverend Jake on vocals and fiddle. Over the years the album had become a sought after collector's item by traditional folk music fans and Dolly fans alike. It is a welcome addition to any music collection. The album includes the original version of "I Live in Glory" that was used to create Dolly's duet with her grandfather Reverend Jake Owens for the Smoky Mountain DNA album.

The Parton Family Sings "In the Garden" by The Parton Family was originally released in May 1968 by Inspiration Records. This iteration of The Parton Family consists of Avie Lee Parton (Dolly's mother), Willadeene Parton, Stella Parton, and Cassie Parton (Dolly's sisters), although several groups of family members have performed and recorded under the name over the years. A collection of Gospel songs, the album is making its digital debut. Much like Songs of the Smokie Mountains, this album was released on a small independent label and not many copies were pressed, leading to it becoming a collector's item as well.

I Can Only Be Me by Dorothy Jo Owens was first released in 1983 by Express Records. Dorothy Jo wrote or co-wrote all 10 tracks on the album, which makes it all the more curious as to why the last two tracks, "The Nicest Guy in the World" and "How Much Loneliness Can One Woman Stand", have been omitted from this digital reissue.  One single was released from the album in 1983, “He’s Everything I Wanted You to Be”. Even with the omissions, this album is still a great testament to the legacy of Dolly's family and musical legacy.

The highlight, in my opinion, of the four releases is Mama Sings by Avie Lee Parton. This collection of songs was recorded around 1974 at Fireside Studio in Nashville. It has never been released until now. Avie Lee's solo version of "Rosewood Casket" that was used to form a duet with Dolly for the Smoky Mountain DNA album is included here. Featuring Avie Lee's personal arrangements of traditional Appalachian tunes, the album is a great look at one of the voices and music that shaped Dolly's musical tastes in her early years.