 Album cover. Dolly / Warner Music Nashville (528216-2) (2011) June 28, 2011: Dolly's forty-third solo studio album, Better Day, is released. The album peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.  Album cover. RCA Victor (LSP-4387) (1970) June 29, 1970: Dolly's first live album, A Real Live Dolly, is released. The album was recorded at Dolly's high school, Sevier County High School. It peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.  45 single, Side A. RCA Victor (47-9875) (1970) Image credit: BandBox244 at 45cat.com June 29, 1970: "Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man" is released as the first and only single from Porter Wagoner and Dolly's fifth collaborative studio album, Once More. The single peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
 45 single, Side A. Columbia (38-77083) (1993) Image credit: jaimeeduardo at 45cat.com June 21, 1993: "Full Circle" is released as the third and final single from Dolly's thirty-second solo studio album, Slow Dancing with the Moon.  45 single, Side A. RCA Victor (47-9863) (1970) Image credit: 55bluesman at 45cat.com June 22, 1970: "Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)", a Jimmie Rogers cover, is released as a single. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, becoming Dolly's first top ten single. It would later be included on the 1970 compilation album, The Best of Dolly Parton.  45 single, Side A. RCA Victor (74-0192) (1969) Image credit: gamrhein at 45cat.com June 23, 1969: "In the Ghetto" is released as the second single from Dolly's fourth solo studio album, My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy. The single peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
by Ben Childers  Image credit: Vinyl Me, Please The third record in Dolly's 'Vinyl Me, Parton' subscription is her 2014 studio album, Blue Smoke. The album is pressed on Blue Smoke Galaxy vinyl and comes in an upgraded gatefold jacket (the original 2014 pressing was in a standard LP jacket with a printed inner sleeve). The album sounds phenomenal, pressed from lacquers cut by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, and accompanied by new online exclusive liner notes by Natalie Weiner. This month's shipment contains the first bonus merch, a Dolly bandana! Overall, it is a beautiful presentation of one of Dolly's more recent essential albums. Check out the unboxing video at the end of this review! Blue Smoke holds a special place in my heart for a few reasons. After I fell in love with Dolly, this was the first new album she released. I was so excited for it that I imported the Australian release since it was released there five months ahead of the US release. When I received the album I remember being blown away that Dolly was still crafting such authentic and timely country music at 68 years old. The Blue Smoke era also marked the first time I saw Dolly live. Attending the Knoxville show was the highlight of a weeklong stay in the Smokies and a visit to Dollywood. This album will always rank among my favorite Dolly albums because it soundtracked my first adult trip to the Smokies. Blue Smoke opens with the title track and first single. This rollicking, bluegrass infused tune is a heartbreak anthem about a train called Blue Smoke. Dolly first performed the song during the 2004 Hello, I'm Dolly Tour and it was originally slated to be the title track of her 2005 studio album (which ultimately became Those Were the Days), prior to a change in artistic direction. This is followed by another fan favorite from the Dolly vaults, the long-awaited release of the title track from Dolly's 1996 TV movie, Unlikely Angel. This song chronicles finding love in an unlikely place when you're weren't looking for it. Track 3 is a cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice", with a few minor lyric alterations. It is an album highlight! Track 4 is Kenny Rogers and Dolly's final duet, "You Can't Make Old Friends". This touching and emotional track was previously released as the title track of Kenny's final album of original material in October 2013, but it fits in beautifully on Blue Smoke as well. I still get a little teary-eyed when I hear this song. Track 5 is the album's second single, "Home". Its contemporary sound shows that even though Dolly was 68 years old at the time if its release, she could still keep up with the times. It's a crime that it wasn't a massive hit on Country radio. Side one of the record closes with a cover of the traditional ballad "Banks of the Ohio" with additional lyrics by Dolly. Dolly's additional lyrics transform the song from a first person narrative into a recounting by a news reporter of what she has learned from interviewing the guilty party in jail. The bluegrass instrumental work on this track is outstanding and among the best on the album. It's reminiscent of tracks from Dolly's 2001 album, Little Sparrow. Side two begins with a cover of Bon Jovi's "Lay Your Hands on Me". Dolly has reworked some of the lyrics to turn it into a high energy gospel song. It's another album highlight and showcases Dolly's ever-surprising versatility. She was joined by Bon Jovi's lead guitarist and one of the song's writers, Richie Sambora, for her Glastonbury performance of the song. Track 8 is the soft and tender "Miss You–Miss Me". The premise of this song is a plea from the child of bitterly divorced parents to put aside their differences and come together for her sake. This is followed by the haunting "If I Had Wings", which served as the basis for a TV movie for Netflix's Heartstrings series. Track 10 is the comical kiss-off song, "Love du Jour", featuring Dolly attempting to speak French. Track 11 is a duet with Willie Nelson on "From Here to the Moon and Back", which was previously included on his To All the Girls... album in October 2013. Dolly had originally recorded the song with Kris Kristofferson and Jeremy Jordan for the 2012 film, Joyful Noise. The album closes with "Try", an inspirational song Dolly wrote as the theme song for her Imagination Library children's literacy program. Overall, Blue Smoke stands among Dolly's best bodies of work. Produced by Kent Wells and executive produced by Dolly, the album is cohesive while also showing her versatility and allowing her personality to shine through. It makes a great addition to any record collection and certainly deserves to be highlighted in the 'Vinyl Me, Parton' series. Next month will see the 'Vinyl Me, Parton' reissue of Dolly's 1968 studio album, Just Because I'm a Woman. If you haven't already, sign-up for 'Vinyl Me, Parton' today!  Ben Childers is the administrator of The Dolly Parton Discography. A native of Tupelo, Mississippi, he grew up taking family vacations to the Smokies and Dollywood. His love for Dolly and her music reached a fanatical level in April 2013. After spending countless hours researching and cataloging Dolly's musical output, he decided to open a website dedicated to her discography.
 Album cover. Decca (DL 74792) (1966) Image credit: greenshields at discogs.com June 13, 1966: Bill Phillips released his debut album, Put It Off Until Tomorrow. The album’s title track features uncredited harmony vocals from Dolly and was written by Dolly and her uncle, Bill Owens. It was this song's success which persuaded Fred Foster to let Dolly record country music instead of the bubblegum pop material she had been recording, which had been unsuccessful. The album peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.  Album cover. Sugar Hill (SUG-CD-4018) (2009) June 13, 2009: Maura O’Connell released her Naked with Friends album. It features harmony vocals from Dolly on a track tiled "The Bright Blue Rose".  Album cover. Go Time (2017) June 13, 2017: Debbie Cochran released her Born Again Wildflower album featuring Dolly on the title track.
 45 single, Side A. Monument (45-948) (1966) Image credit: boyjohn at 45cat.com June 6, 1966: "The Little Things" is released as a single. It would be Dolly's final pop-leaning single for Monument before the release of her breakout single, "Dumb Blonde".  Album cover. Monument (SLP 18136) (1970) June, 8, 1970: The compilation album, As Long as I Love, is released. It is comprised of recordings Dolly made before she left Monument for RCA in late 1967.  Album cover. Nonesuch (480444-2) (2008) June 10, 2008: Emmylou Harris released her All I Intended to Be album. The album features Dolly and Vince Gill on "Gold". The album peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
 Album cover. Decca (DL 74897) (1967) Image credit: greenshields at discogs.com May 29, 1967: Bill Philips released his second studio album, Bill Phillips' Style. The album included the first recorded version of the Dolly and Bill Owens composition, "The Company You Keep" (Dolly's version would be included on her debut album in September 1967), in addition to another Parton–Owens composition, "Friends Tell Friends", which features harmony vocals by Dolly. The album peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.  Album cover. Columbia (CK 44384) (1989) May 30, 1989: Dolly released her twenty-ninth solo studio album, White Limozeen. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.  Cassette tape single cover. Hollywood (HR-64745-4) (1992) Image credit: d_k_ray at discogs.com June 1, 1992: "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" is released as the second single from the Straight Talk soundtrack album.
 Album cover. Rounder (11661-0580-2) (2006) May 23, 2006: Rhonda Vincent released her All American Bluegrass Girl album featuring Dolly on "Heartbreaker's Alibi". The album peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and number one on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart.  Single cover. Dolly / Warner Music Nashville (digital single) (2011) May 23, 2011: Dolly released "Together You and I" as the first single from her forty-third solo studio album, Better Day. The single peaked at number 67 on the UK Singles chart. She had previously recorded the song as a duet with Porter Wagoner on their Porter 'n' Dolly album in 1974.  45 single, Side A. RCA Victor (47-9994) (1971) Image credit: spidey2 at 45cat.com May 24, 1971: "The Right Combination" is released as the first single from Porter Wagoner and Dolly's seventh collaboration album, The Right Combination • Burning the Midnight Oil. The single peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
 Album cover. Columbia (CK 57584) (1994) May 17, 1994: Julio Iglesias released his Crazy album featuring a duet with Dolly on "When You Tell Me That You Love Me". The album peaked at number 30 on the Billboard 200. Single cover. Debbie Cochran (digital single) (2017) May 17, 2017: Debbie Cochran released "Born Again Wildflower", featuring Dolly, as a single from her album of the same name.  45 single, Side A. RCA Victor (74-0172) (1969) Image credit: Louval at 45cat.com May 19, 1969: "Always, Always" is released as the second single from Porter and Dolly's album of the same name. The single peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
by Ben Childers  Image credit: Vinyl Me, Please The second record in Dolly's 'Vinyl Me, Parton' subscription is Dolly's Grammy-nominated 2001 album, Little Sparrow. The album is pressed on beautiful Lavender Galaxy vinyl, housed in a double gatefold jacket. The album jacket is printed on sturdy matte finished cardboard. The matte finish is a nice touch and is reminiscent of the packaging of the US digipack CD pressing from 2001. With mastering handled by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, the album has never sounded better. Rounding out this first-time vinyl release is new online liner notes written by Nashville-based writer, Brittany McKenna. Check out the unboxing video at the end of this review! Little Sparrow makes a great follow-up to last month's My Tennessee Mountain Home. Where My Tennessee Mountain Home almost solely focuses on Dolly's childhood, Little Sparrow touches on all aspects of her life and career. The second album in Dolly's critically acclaimed bluegrass trilogy, Little Sparrow sees Dolly putting her own bluegrass touch on gospel and rock, mixed in with bluegrass and folk music. The album's melding of these genres creates what Dolly has termed "mountain music." Little Sparrow is among my favorites in Dolly's discography. This is an album that I come back to often during walks at the Natchez Trace or on a drive toward Cades Cove in the Smokies. It's the perfect album to listen to in nature. I actually don't remember the first time I heard the album, but the bluegrass trilogy has been among my favorites since I was first discovering Dolly's music. The album opens with the title track, "Little Sparrow". This is an original Dolly composition which she wrote to sound like an old-timey mountain song. She said she drew inspiration for the song from "Fair and Tender Maidens" and "Silver Dagger" (which she recorded on The Grass Is Blue in 1999) and based it on "that theme of the mistreated, broken love affair." Track 2 is Dolly's Grammy-winning cover of Collective Soul's "Shine". Dolly was inspired to cover this song after hearing the song on the radio with her husband, Carl. She said she had always thought when hearing the guitars that it would make a great song "with just a mandolin or some simple sound with that." Side A closes out with a cover of the Louvin Brothers classic, "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby", which was written by Autry Inman. Dolly had previously recorded this song as a duet with Porter Wagoner for their 1969 album, Always, Always. Side B begins with an updated version of "My Blue Tears, a song Dolly originally wrote and recorded for her 1971 album, Coat of Many Colors, and would later provide harmony vocals, along with Emmylou Harris, on Linda Ronstadt's cover for her 1982 album, Get Closer. One of Dolly's best compositions, this new version is an album highlight. A cover of Steve Young's "Seven Bridges Road" follows. It had been previously covered by Eddy Arnold, Joan Boaz, and the Eagles, among others. Dolly said in her track-by-track of the album in 2001 that she chose to record the song because she had always loved it, but had never heard the harmony sung by girls. The Isaacs provide harmony on this version and it is a definite album highlight. "Bluer Pastures" was almost the album's title track. The song tells the story of someone who left home and their partner to find better things, but in the end comes back home disappointed, hoping their partner will still be waiting. Side B closes with "A Tender Lie", a song so filled with emotion that Dolly said she cried the first time she heard it. "I Get a Kick Out of You" opens Side C. Written by Cole Porter, the song was originally performed in the 1934 Broadway musical, Anything Goes. Dolly said she was inspired to cover the song after hearing her husband play a Frank Sinatra recording of it. "Mountain Angel" follows and is one of my favorite Dolly songs of all time (and one of Dolly's favorites on the album). About a young girl who never recovers from a broken heart, it is one of the best story songs Dolly has ever written. If there is ever a season two of Dolly's Heartstrings series on Netflix, I hope this song is included. "Marry Me" ends Side C and is a fun, up-tempo song in an old-fashioned barn dance style. Side D begins with an updated version of Dolly's 1970 song, "Down from Dover". In this new version there is an additional verse which was omitted from the original on The Fairest of Them All. Dolly explained in the 2001 track-by-track that the original song was so long that Porter asked her to remove some of the verses and that she was happy to finally be able to present the song in its entirety. The next track is "The Beautiful Lie", an Amazing Rhythm Aces cover. The penultimate track is a hauntingly beautiful cover of the gospel standard "In the Sweet By-and By", featuring verse sung in Irish by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh of Irish group Altan. The album closes with a short instrumental reprise of "Little Sparrow" with some vocalizing my Dolly. Little Sparrow was produced by Steve Buckingham and is dedicated to Dolly's father, Robert Lee Parton, who passed away two months before the album's release. It is a beautiful album and one of my favorites. The undeniable heart of the bluegrass trilogy, it is an absolutely essential Dolly album. Next month will see the 'Vinyl Me, Parton' reissue of Dolly's 2014 studio album, Blue Smoke. If you haven't already, sign-up for Vinyl Me, Parton today! Click here to read Dolly's complete 2001 track-by-track of the album on the Internet Archive.  Ben Childers is the administrator of The Dolly Parton Discography. A native of Tupelo, Mississippi, he grew up taking family vacations to the Smokies and Dollywood. His love for Dolly and her music reached a fanatical level in April 2013. After spending countless hours researching and cataloging Dolly's musical output, he decided to open a website dedicated to her discography.
 Album cover. Butterfly / Big Machine Label Group, LLC (2023) Dolly's new album, Rockstar, will be released on November 17, 2023. The album includes nine original songs and 21 covers of classic rock songs, featuring guest appearances from some of the biggest rock legends and today's hottest artists! The album will be available on 2xCD, 4xLP, digital download, and streaming. There are currently seven announced variants of the LP release with various covers and vinyl colors. Links to pre-order all release variants will be listed at the end of this post! Across the album's 30 tracks are appearances from Sting, Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Debbie Harry, Miley Cyrus, P!nk, Lizzo, and many more! The biggest collaboration on the album may be the reunion of surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on a cover of "Let It Be". Notably missing is the original song "Rockin'" which Dolly performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony last fall. Dolly's official store is also offering box sets for the CD, clear vinyl, and clear red vinyl variants which include a t-shirt and a sticker housed in an exclusive road case box. The lead single, "World on Fire", will be released Thursday, May 11, and will be performed live for the first time at the ACM Awards the same day! “I’m a rockstar now!” Track listing:
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AdministratorBen Childers is the administrator of The Dolly Parton Discography. A native of Tupelo, Mississippi, he grew up taking family vacations to the Smokies and Dollywood. His love for Dolly and her music reached a fanatical level in April 2013. After spending countless hours researching and cataloging Dolly's musical output, he decided to open a website dedicated to her discography. 
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