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Dolly
Based on interviews with the flamboyant country singer, her friends, and her fellow artists, this biography traces her career from her arrival on the Nashville scene to her recent shift into popular music
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 3, 2022
God only knows what I’ll do with all the information I’ve acquired from this book. I was disappointed to find out that the biography was boring and repetitive, lacking the captivating elements that should have kept me interested in Dolly’s life. Most of the facts in the book are quotes about other people in regards to Dolly (which are extremely flattering in the majority), details about her awards and albums, and repetitive cites from Parton about her self love and positivity.
I like Dolly, but I did not like this biography. One can learn more about her by listening to her music, which speaks by itself.
I like Dolly, but I did not like this biography. One can learn more about her by listening to her music, which speaks by itself.
June 23, 2016
There is a lot of interesting information on Dolly and her earlier work. There was a lot about the mechanics of her music, which was a little more than I needed. I was more interested in the person than the specifics of the evolution of her music. My main issue is that the book feels like an endless stream of quotes strung into a book. At times it got tiring to read.
February 9, 2020
This is a snapshot of Dolly just as she hit the pop culture zeitgeist in 1978, after "Here You Come Again" crossed over to the mainstream and 'Heartbreaker' (the album) was released. This is most definitely not a glossy sepia-toned hagiography for Dolly stans. It's the perfect companion to the 'Dolly Parton's America' podcast, which also asks difficult questions but with an unquestioned respect for Dolly, her career, and her life.
She's given a ton of interviews over the years, but this book documents a time when she was right on the precipice of superstardom when all the career moves before her—all the things we know now, '9 to 5' and film roles, the idea that she hadn't abandoned country but brought it with her—were nothing more than ambitious plans and intentions.
There's significant time spent near the end with quotes from some in the country music community questioning the change in her demeanor, identifying the moment she employed an LA-based management company to guide her professionally as when things started to change: she suddenly didn't have time for Fan Fair and meet n' greets after shows; she replaced her (admittedly inferior but emotionally-supportive) band with players who always hit the right notes and didn't blur the line demarcating their roles in the organization.
The writer (who subsequently became a legend in her own right) was impressively aware and astute to include, early in the book, the entirety of her experience with Dolly's grandfather, "the preacherman" from the song, as she chased down family/friends from her hometown. He refused to speak about Dolly directly—his wife and Dolly's remaining family across the board refused to speak to Nash in general, basing their choice on their trust lost to another writer who mishandled their quotes in a book a year or two earlier—but what he did share revealed a lot about her upbringing and familial experience.
Most fascinating are subtle hints, vague quotes from people who knew Dolly then, about her sanity. Descriptions reminded me of the ways Michael Jackson was described in the post-Thriller pre-molestation accusations era. She had an optimism that seemed outside of reality, a refusal to acknowledge anything difficult or uncomfortable or painful... in the present tense (meaning, notwithstanding her songwriting).
I read the original, hardcover version; I know it's been updated at least once. EDIT: It turns out I own the 2002 updated edition as well. An additional final chapter rushes through the years 1978 through 2002 with an extended reflection on Dolly's creatively inconsistent creative output through the 90s and highlights a resurgent interest in less pop material such as the 'Hungry Again' album fro 1998 and the bluegrass recordings after. Otherwise, typeface and everything is exactly the same.
She's given a ton of interviews over the years, but this book documents a time when she was right on the precipice of superstardom when all the career moves before her—all the things we know now, '9 to 5' and film roles, the idea that she hadn't abandoned country but brought it with her—were nothing more than ambitious plans and intentions.
There's significant time spent near the end with quotes from some in the country music community questioning the change in her demeanor, identifying the moment she employed an LA-based management company to guide her professionally as when things started to change: she suddenly didn't have time for Fan Fair and meet n' greets after shows; she replaced her (admittedly inferior but emotionally-supportive) band with players who always hit the right notes and didn't blur the line demarcating their roles in the organization.
The writer (who subsequently became a legend in her own right) was impressively aware and astute to include, early in the book, the entirety of her experience with Dolly's grandfather, "the preacherman" from the song, as she chased down family/friends from her hometown. He refused to speak about Dolly directly—his wife and Dolly's remaining family across the board refused to speak to Nash in general, basing their choice on their trust lost to another writer who mishandled their quotes in a book a year or two earlier—but what he did share revealed a lot about her upbringing and familial experience.
Most fascinating are subtle hints, vague quotes from people who knew Dolly then, about her sanity. Descriptions reminded me of the ways Michael Jackson was described in the post-Thriller pre-molestation accusations era. She had an optimism that seemed outside of reality, a refusal to acknowledge anything difficult or uncomfortable or painful... in the present tense (meaning, notwithstanding her songwriting).
I read the original, hardcover version; I know it's been updated at least once. EDIT: It turns out I own the 2002 updated edition as well. An additional final chapter rushes through the years 1978 through 2002 with an extended reflection on Dolly's creatively inconsistent creative output through the 90s and highlights a resurgent interest in less pop material such as the 'Hungry Again' album fro 1998 and the bluegrass recordings after. Otherwise, typeface and everything is exactly the same.
June 5, 2022
⁹Alanna Nash is a well-known music writer, having been a staff writer for Entertainment Weekly and having bylines in many publications throughout the years. When this book was written, in the late 1970s, it was one of the first real books about Dolly Parton. Though it now serves as a historical document, Dolly: The Biography is a snapshot of Parton's career as she was just on the cusp of becoming a superstar. She had just left Porter Wagoner and had signed with a big deal agent, leading to a long association with LA representative, Sandy Gallin.
The first third of this book is fascinating to those of us who had no idea who Dolly Parton was before the 1980s. Nash interviewed Parton's true inner circle, including her grandfather Owens, the real "old time preacher man" spoken of in the song of the same name. She also attempts to talk to Parton's parents, but settles with having an in-depth interview with Dolly's sister, Stella, and Cas Walker, who played a huge role in Parton's childhood performances. (Do yourself a favor: search Walker's name on YouTube. You'll see some of Parton's very, very early work, but you'll also see a true character in Walker, who would go on his local television show and tell people, for example, not to try to cash checks at his grocery store unless they were friends of the manager. Hilarious!)
Unfortunately, the sections of the book that focus on Parton's shift to pop music in the late 70s seem to drag on and on and on. Everyone had an opinion about Parton's switch into pop music with recordings like Here You Come Again and Two Doors Down. All of those who said she would ruin her career, chief among them Wagoner, Marty Robbins, and various of her former band mates, are all dead now, and guess what? Parton's gamble paid off big time. She is now, of course, a beloved entertainer, writer, businesswoman, and philanthropist, all the things that she eerily predicted in the late 1970s. What's more, she set the blueprint for country artists after her to transcend and improve the art form. Barbara Mandrell, Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers, and even modern stars like Tim McGraw, owe a lot to her. She was the first to go from country music to a successful career in acting on TV and in the movies. Parton was bigger than country music, and, as Nash shows us, she knew it all along.
The first third of this book is fascinating to those of us who had no idea who Dolly Parton was before the 1980s. Nash interviewed Parton's true inner circle, including her grandfather Owens, the real "old time preacher man" spoken of in the song of the same name. She also attempts to talk to Parton's parents, but settles with having an in-depth interview with Dolly's sister, Stella, and Cas Walker, who played a huge role in Parton's childhood performances. (Do yourself a favor: search Walker's name on YouTube. You'll see some of Parton's very, very early work, but you'll also see a true character in Walker, who would go on his local television show and tell people, for example, not to try to cash checks at his grocery store unless they were friends of the manager. Hilarious!)
Unfortunately, the sections of the book that focus on Parton's shift to pop music in the late 70s seem to drag on and on and on. Everyone had an opinion about Parton's switch into pop music with recordings like Here You Come Again and Two Doors Down. All of those who said she would ruin her career, chief among them Wagoner, Marty Robbins, and various of her former band mates, are all dead now, and guess what? Parton's gamble paid off big time. She is now, of course, a beloved entertainer, writer, businesswoman, and philanthropist, all the things that she eerily predicted in the late 1970s. What's more, she set the blueprint for country artists after her to transcend and improve the art form. Barbara Mandrell, Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers, and even modern stars like Tim McGraw, owe a lot to her. She was the first to go from country music to a successful career in acting on TV and in the movies. Parton was bigger than country music, and, as Nash shows us, she knew it all along.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews