Back on 20th March 2010 when this blog was less than three months old I wrote this post...
My 6 year old daughter has seen me doing this and asked what I'm doing. When I explained about the blog she said she wanted a go, so here it is, a guest post by E.T.....
'I like this song because i like dolly parton .I like the rhythm
and i like the music i also like the way she sings.'
9 To 5 (Surecut Kids Re- Edit)
Eliza shouted up the stairs to me on Tuesday night that Dolly Parton had died, and followed it with, 'Dolly Parton, my queen...'
Dolly Parton has been everywhere in the two days since she died and rightly so. Not only did she write some songs that are universal, she was a hugely compassionate and right minded person- her work donating trying to get kids to stay in school, her Imagination Library, paying for scholarships, supporting and paying for research into pediatric diseases and Covid vaccines, for AIDS charities and Black neighbourhoods in Nashville are all examples of what you'd hope the rich would be doing with their money- doing some good. As many people have said in the last two days, she's the best of America. The contrast with some of its public figures could not be greater.
I don't listen to her songs that often but this one always, always sounds good...
Jolene was written in May 1973 about a red headed bank clerk who'd sometimes flirt with her husband Carl. The name came from an encounter with a fan who had red hair, pale skin and green eyes who came backstage for an autograph. These are the sort of details I love, that get under the skin of where a song comes from.
In 2013 there was a phase where people discovered the joy of slowing down 45 rpm singles to 33 and posting them on the internet. Jolene sounds magnificent at 33 rpm, a heartbroken cowboy who's lost his love to another woman.
In 1993 One Dove released their own version of Jolene, a trippy comedown dub/ ambient house gone country version, Dot Allison's voice giving Dolly a Glasgow make over. I could listen to this on repeat for ages. It came out as a B-side to their Why Don't You Take Me single, the record company looking for a hit. The 12" came with two more tracks, the ice cold reggae of Skanga and an Underworld remix of the title track. Four stunners on one piece of vinyl.
In 2004 The White Stripes covered Jolene too, a raw and electrifying version of the song, Jack and Meg at the edge of their senses under Blackpool lights.
Jolene (Live Under Blackpool Lights)
Dolly Parton RIP
