After a gap of around four months, it’s time to get this blog back on track! Given the desperately sad news recently about her passing, it’s only right that I focus the first post in a while on an absolute titan of music (and a wonderful person to boot) – the incomparable Dolly Parton.
The artist
This will focus solely on Dolly. I love Kenny and grew up in a house where his music was played on an almost constant basis, but I’ll write about him more in a later post (Coward of the County will undoubtedly feature in this blog at some point).
I know that much of Dolly’s life has been documented in depth over recent weeks, though it’s still worth an appraisal here, with it being such an astonishing and life-affirming story. Born in Tennessee in 1946, Dolly was the fourth of twelve children and grew up in an impoverished home. Despite this, that home was full of music and songs. She started singing in her local church at the age of 6 and was bought her first guitar at 8. She was singing on local East Tennessee radio and television programmes not long after and, at the age of thirteen, she recorded her first single and appeared at the Grand Ole Opry. Success as a songwriter followed soon after and, at 19, she signed a deal with Monument Records. She was initially pitched as a bubblegum pop singer, though her initial songs weren’t successful and she harboured a deep-rooted desire to write and sing country songs.
In 1967, at the age of 20, the renowned musician and country music entertainer Porter Wagoner asked Dolly to join The Porter Wagoner Show, with a regular slot on his weekly program introducing Dolly to the masses. The pair released a number of singles between 1967 – 1973. Dolly also released a number of solo singles during that period and her solo career really ignited upon the release of Jolene in late 1973. The song topped the country chart in February 1974 and Dolly left Wagoner’s show later that year to concentrate on her solo career. What followed was one of the most successful careers in country music history, including songs such as I Will Always Love You (written about her professional break from Wagoner), Love Is Like A Butterfly, Here You Come Again, 9 To 5, and her signature song: Coat Of Many Colors. She also branched out into acting, most memorably starring in 9 to 5 (1980), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and Steel Magnolias (1989).
A prolific and hugely talented songwriter (it is said she wrote some 3000 songs during her lifetime), Dolly continued writing songs her entire life. The 2023 album Rockstar, her final release, was critically acclaimed and saw her moving toward rock music for the first time in her career, including duets with the likes of Sting, Ann Wilson (Heart), Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus (her goddaughter – the two clearly adored each other), Pink, Brandi Carlile, Debbie Harry, Elton John, Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Paul McCartney, and Simon Le Bon. Thankfully, her career seemed to have something of a resurgence over the past 10-20 years or so, perhaps best epitomised by her 2014 appearance in the Glastonbury legends slot; a set which drew huge critical acclaim and saw her play to an estimated 180,000 people – possibly the largest individual crowd in the history of the festival. Her brilliance has always been acknowledged though: she has received multiple Oscar, Emmy, and Golden Globe nominations, whilst she won eleven Grammy Awards (from an astonishing 54 nominations).
Yet, despite all the above, in one of the most impressive careers in music history, Dolly will be remembered equally as much for her incredible philanthropy. I could write a thousand words or more purely on this, though, in the interests of brevity, I’ll try to keep it succinct. The facts and figures themselves demonstrate what a truly empathetic and kind-hearted soul she was. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, founded in 1995, has mailed free books monthly to children from birth to the age of five. This initiative alone has put 300 million books into the hands of children who might not otherwise have had an opportunity to read. The Buddy Program, launched in 1988, aimed to curb local high school dropouts by offering financial incentives and college scholarships for local high school seniors. In 2020, she donated one million dollars to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center to fund early research that directly aided the development of a Covid-19 vaccine. She contributed millions to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital to support paediatric infections disease and cancer research. The My People Fund was established after the devastating 2016 East Tennessee wildfires, providing $1000 per month, for a six-month period, to many families who had lost their homes (resulting in Dolly distributing millions of dollars in aid). And there are many, many more examples of her huge generosity – certainly too many to mention here. Quite frankly, and without exaggeration, Dolly was one of the most amazing people to have walked our planet.
Why I’ve chosen to write about this song
It was either this or 9 to 5, though I opted for Islands in the Stream as it features another of my favourite singers, it was written by another of my favourite music acts (the Bee Gees), and there’s also a great cover version to include here! It’s now recognised as a classic song by so many and rightly so. Too many people swiftly dismiss pop music as being a lesser genre, though writing really good pop songs is nowhere near as easy as people realise (or are willing to admit). The production here, the melody, the vocal performances – they’re all fantastic. Also, as with so many songs penned by the Gibb brothers, it’s instantly recognisable, it sticks in your heads for hours after listening to it, and I don’t believe there’s a person on the planet who can sit and listen to this without joining in and belting out the chorus! For me, it’s a nigh-on perfect pop song, sang by two phenomenal vocalists.
The video
A fairly straightforward live video, which emphasises the brilliance of both performers. Play it loud and let’s test my theory – just like the challenge of attempting to eat Fruit Pastilles without chewing them, I’ll bet good money you can’t listen without joining in with Dolly and Kenny on the chorus!
The stats
Entering the UK charts at number 70 on the 12/11/83 chart, the song reached a peak position of 7 on the 7/1/84 chart, ultimately remaining in the charts for 15 weeks. The number 1 song during the week of 7/1/84 was Only You (The Flying Pickets), whilst the number one album was the first Now That’s What I Call Music compilation.
The cover version
I love Gavin & Stacey, so it simply has to be the Bryn and Nessa version of the song!
Coming off the back of the huge popularity of the show at the time, this was released in 2009 for Comic Relief, and featured Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon in character as Vanessa Jenkins and Bryn West. Retitled (Barry) Islands in the Stream, it reached the top of the UK Singles Chart in March 2009. It also featured Sir Tom Jones, who became, at that time, the oldest person (at 68) to have a UK number one – a record held until Captain Tom Moore topped the charts in 2020. Robin Gibb also appears on the song as a backing vocalist and the song hitting the top of the charts meant the Gibb Brothers had achieved number one songs in five successive decades – the first songwriters to do so. The video was filmed in Barry Island, Las Vegas and the Nevade desert, which clearly makes perfect sense!
The wrap-up
The core theme of this blog is to share my favourite songs (and stories, videos and stats) from the finest decade of them all. I’ve done that today – Islands in the Stream is a fantastic song and Dolly Parton was a phenomenal singer/songwriter. Though this blog is a little different. Given her desperately sad recent passing, this is as much a celebration of a truly extraordinary life as it is an appreciation of a specific song. Dolly was one of those incredibly rare people who no-one seemed to have a bad word for. It was nigh-on impossible not to love her. Yes, she was incredibly talented, but she was so many other things too. Incredibly smart, though she always reminded me of Columbo in how she almost always tried to dumb that down and hide it. Witty and self-deprecating – her “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap” line is one of the greatest quotes in the history of entertainment. Hugely empathetic to so many others – she was not afraid to champion minority groups and the oppressed, even at times when it was seen as incredibly risky to do so. Then there’s her philanthropy, which was just astonishing. For me, she isn’t just one of the greatest musicians and songwriters, but she’s one of the finest people to have ever walked this planet, certainly in my lifetime, and I say that without a hint of exaggeration – I truly believe it. Her legacy will live on for ever and she will be hugely missed. RIP Dolly and thanks for everything.
Best wishes.
Mick
