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Album cover. RCA Victor (APL1-0033) (1973)
My Tennessee Mountain Home is the eleventh solo studio album by Dolly Parton. It was released on April 2, 1973, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson. It is Dolly's first album to be comprised entirely of solo compositions. It peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The title track was the only single released and it peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Track listing

Side A
  1. The Letter (Dolly Parton) 2:00
  2. I Remember (Dolly Parton) 3:40
  3. Old Black Kettle (Dolly Parton) 2:30
  4. Daddy's Working Boots (Dolly Parton) 2:50
  5. Dr. Rober F. Thomas (Dolly Parton) 2:34
  6. In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad) (Dolly Parton) 3:25
Side B
  1. My Tennessee Mountain Home (Dolly Parton) 3:06
  2. The Wrong Direction Home (Dolly Parton) 2:25
  3. Back Home (Dolly Parton) 2:41
  4. The Better Part of Life (Dolly Parton) 3:12
  5. Down on Music Row (Dolly Parton) 2:55
2007 CD reissue bonus track
    12.   Sacred Memories* (Dolly Parton) 2:42

* Originally released on the 1974 album Love Is Like a Butterfly.

Recording

​Recording sessions for the album began at RCA Studio B on September 1, 1972. Three additional sessions followed on September 5, October 2 and 3.
September 1, 1972
  • My Tennessee Mountain Home
  • Wrong Direction Home
  • Daddy's Working Boots
September 5, 1972
  • Old Black Kettle
  • Down on Music Row
  • The Letter
October 2, 1972
  • Dr. Robert F. Thomas
  • In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)
October 3, 1972
  • Back Home
  • I Remember
  • The Better Part of Life

Content

​Largely a concept album about her childhood in rural East Tennessee, the album begins with a recitation of the first letter Dolly wrote to her parents shortly after moving from her hometown of Sevierville to Nashville in 1964. Most of the songs are fond reminiscences of her youth and family, though in one song, "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)", she candidly admits that though she is grateful for the lessons the poverty of her childhood taught her, she is in no hurry to repeat the experience. The final cut on the album, "Down on Music Row", recounts her first days on Nashville's Music Row, trying to get a record deal, and thanking those who helped her along the way, making specific mention of Chet Atkins and the album's producer, Bob Ferguson.

"In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)" was previously recorded and released on Dolly's 1969 album of the same name.

Dolly re-recorded "Wrong Direction Home" with Margo O'Donnell and Maura O'Connell for O'Donnell's 1998 album, ​The Highway of My Life: Shade of the Family Tree.

Release and promotion

​The album was released April 2, 1973, on LP, cassette, and 8-track.

Singles

​The album's single and title track, "My Tennessee Mountain Home", was released on December 4, 1972. It debuted at number 57 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated January 6, 1973. It peaked at number 15 on the chart dated March 10, its tenth week on the chart. The single charted for 13 weeks. It also peaked at number 12 on the Cashbox Country Singles chart. The single peaked at number 10 in Canada on the RPM Country Singles chart.

Critical reception

In a positive review of the album, Billboard said, "This is an autobiography, from start to finish. Telling musically what has happened in Dolly's life, her relationships with her family and friends, her career, etc. A little out of the ordinary and her devotees will love it. It even has liner notes by her parents, and a picture of her early home." They named "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)", "My Tennessee Mountain Home", and "Down on Music Row" as the best cuts on the album.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic have the album 3 out of 5 stars. He felt that it is "one of the rootsiest records" of Dolly's career. He praised the album's sound, calling it "a direct and moving slice of mountain music that isn't dressed up in cosmopolitan production."
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Billboard review, April 14, 1973.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 39 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart dated April 21, 1973. It peaked at number 19 on the chart dated June 2, its seventh week on the chart. The album charted for 10 weeks.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the original album liner notes and the 2007 CD reissue.

Original album

  • Joe Babcock – background vocals
  • Jimmy Capps – guitar
  • Jerry Carrigan – drums
  • Jimmy Colvard – guitar
  • Pete Drake – dobro, steel guitar
  • Bobby Dyson – bass
  • Dolores Edgin – background vocals
  • Bob Ferguson – producer
  • Johnny Gimble – fiddle
  • Mary Hoephinger – harp
  • Dave Kirby – rhythm guitar
  • Mack Magaha – fiddle
  • Charlie McCoy – harmonica
  • Carol Montgomery– background vocals
  • Ron Oates – piano
  • Louis Owens – cover photo
  • ​June Page – background vocals
  • Avie Lee Parton – liner notes
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals, guitar
  • Lee Parton – liner notes
  • Tom Pick – recording engineer
  • Bill Preston – back cover photo
  • James Riddle – harmonica
  • Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
  • Roy Shockley – recording technician
  • Jerry Stembridge (Chip Young) – rhythm guitar
  • Bobby Thompson – rhythm guitar
  • Buck Trent – electric banjo
  • Don Warden – dobro
  • ​Hurshel Wiginton – background vocals​

2007 CD reissue bonus track

  • Joe Babcock – background vocals
  • Jimmy Capps – guitar
  • Jerry Carrigan – drums
  • Jimmy Colvard – guitar
  • Pete Drake – steel guitar
  • Bobby Dyson – bass
  • Dolores Edgin – background vocals
  • Bob Ferguson – producer
  • Johnny Gimble – fiddle
  • Mary Hoephinger – harp
  • Dave Kirby – rhythm guitar
  • Mach Magaha – fiddle
  • Charlie McCoy – harmonica
  • ​June Page – background vocals
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals, guitar
  • Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
  • Jerry Stembridge (Chip Young) – rhythm guitar
  • ​Bobby Thompson – rhythm guitar
  • Buck Trent – electric banjo
  • Don Warden – dobro
  • ​Hurshel Wiginton – background vocals