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45 single, Side A. Monument (45-948) (1966)
Image credit: boyjohn at 45cat.com
"The Little Things" is a single by Dolly Parton. It was released on June 6, 1966, by Monument Records. Both sides of the single were written by Dolly with her uncle Bill Owens and produced by Fred Foster. The single was released the same week Bill Phillips' recording of "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" (featuring uncredited vocals by Dolly) reached its peak position on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Due to the success of Phillips' recording, Dolly was finally allowed to pursue country music, making "The Little Things" her final pop single for Monument. It would eventually be included as the closing track on her debut album, Hello, I'm Dolly, in 1967. ​The single's B-side, "I'll Put It Off Until Tomorrow", is an "answer song" to Phillips' single, performed from the point of view of the one who is leaving.

Track listing

Side A
  • The Little Things (Dolly Parton, Bill Owens) 2:23
Side B
  • I’ll Put It Off Until Tomorrow (Dolly Parton, Bill Owens) 2:25

Background

When "The Little Things" was released in June 1966 it had been eight months since Dolly's most successful release for the label, "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby", made its one week appearance on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart. Bill Phillips' recording of the Parton-Owens composition "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" on Decca Records had been steadily climbing the charts since its release in January 1966. It reached its peak position on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart the same week "The Little Things" was released in June 1966. The success of Phillips' single, which featured uncredited vocals from Dolly, would be the deciding factoring in Monument Record's decision to promote Dolly as a country artist instead of pop. Coincidentally, the B-side of Dolly's "The Little Things" single is an "answer song" to Phillips' single, performed from the point of view of the one who is leaving the relationship.

Recording

Both sides of the single were recorded in April 1966 at Fred Foster Sound Studios in Nashville Tennessee.

A slowed down version of this 1966 recording of "The Little Things" would be included on the 1982 compilation album, The Winning Hand, with new instrumental overdubs.

Audio

Critical reception

Cashbox reviewed the single in their June 18, 1966 issue. Giving "The Little Things" a B+ (very good) rating, the review described the track as "a real heart-tugging effort" and a "country flavored blueser." "I'll Put It Off Until Tomorrow" was given a B (good) rating and described as "another woeser, done up equally well."

While Billboard did not formally review the single, they publication included it in their Chart Spotlights section of singles predicted to reach the Hot 100 chart.
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Cashbox review, June 18, 1966.
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Billboard review, June 18, 1966.

Personnel

Credit are adapted from the single labels.
  • Fred Foster – producer
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals