Song:Here You Come Again
Album:Ultimate Dolly Parton
Once you get past her gimmicky appearance, Dolly Parton is one of the all time great country artists not only as a singer but as a songwriter. But she also crossed over to the mainstream pop charts and then into film. Here You Come Again was her first top five pop hit in 1978. Mostly I will talk about how she got to that point. She was born Jan. 19, 1946 in Seveierville, TN as one of 12 children growing up in her own words "dirt poor". She started performing as a child on radio and TV in Knoxville. She met Johnny Cash at the Grand Ole Opry and he encouraged her to follow her dreams. So she moved to Nashville after graduating from high school in 1964. Dolly had first recorded for Mercury Records in 1962 but was dropped after one flop single. Along with her uncle Bill Owens, she signed a publishing deal with Fred Foster. And he signed her to a recording deal at his Monument label. Foster initially tried to sell her as a pop singer. But after one of her songs Put It Off Until Tomorrow was a top ten country hit for Bill Phillips, Foster let Dolly try country music. Dumb Blonde and Something Fishy both charted in 1967. This got the attention of country music superstar Porter Wagoner who was looking for a replacement for his previous duet partner Norma Jean for his TV show. That was Dolly's big breakthrough and she signed with RCA Records. Their duets did well but Dolly's solo recordings didn't catch on and that frustrated Wagoner. She finally had her first top five country hit in 1970 with Mule Skinner Blues followed by Coat Of Many Colors and her classic Jolene. She left Wagoner in 1974. Elvis Presley wanted to record Dolly's song I Will Always Love You but Dolly refused to sign over half the publishing rights which was standard when Elvis covered a song. This turned out to be a great decision when Whitney Houston had a monster hit with the song in 1992. In 1976, she had her own TV variety show and hired manager Sandy Gallin to help get her a higher profile outside of country music. Dolly's first attempt at a pop album 1977's New Harvest First Gathering didn't do all that well. She produced it herself. So for her next album, she turned to producer Gary Klein who just had a big hit with Glen Campbell's Southern Nights. Here You Come Again became her first million selling album and the single topped the country charts and reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by the legendary team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. She would go on top top the Billboard Hot 100 with the them to her film 9 To 5 and her duet with Kenny Rogers Islands In The Stream. But the pop approach eventually alienated her country fans and RCA dropped her in 1985. Her recordings for Columbia and then Sugar Hill restored the country fanbase and her most recent CD Backwoods Barbie on her own label crossed over to pop without compromise. This budget comp is a good intro to her music. Dolly Parton has a new CD Better Day scheduled for 2011 release. She seems to be going stronger than ever. Here's Dolly Parton performing Here You Come Again on the Midnight Special 1979.
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