Good evening, night owls. The Prince of Darkness is back at the console, and tonight we pick up the Dolly Parton deep dive where we left off. Part two covered her early RCA Victor years. Tonight is the stretch where Dolly went from Porter Wagoner’s duet partner to a crossover star in her own right.
Hour one opens in 1974 with Love Is Like a Butterfly. The title track went to number one on the country chart, and it later became the theme song for a BBC sitcom across the pond. From there we go into The Bargain Store. Its title song got pulled by some stations that heard a double meaning in the lyrics Dolly never intended. Then we start on Dolly: The Seeker – We Used To from 1975, where she’s writing about faith, loss and the pull between home and the road.
Hour two finishes The Seeker and moves into All I Can Do from 1976. That album includes her version of “Boulder to Birmingham,” the Emmylou Harris song, and she makes it her own. Then Dolly makes her big move. Here You Come Again (1977) became her first million-selling album and won her a Grammy. Its title track came from the pop songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Some country purists complained. The rest of the country bought the record.
Hour three opens with New Harvest…First Gathering, the album Dolly produced herself. It’s her declaration of independence, and she takes on soul classics like “My Girl” and “Higher and Higher.” We close with Heartbreaker (1978), where Dolly finds her way onto the dance floor with “Baby I’m Burnin’.”
It’s pledge drive time at WORT.
This show doesn’t happen without you. WORT 89.9 FM is listener-sponsored community radio. There are no corporate owners and no commercial breaks, and a volunteer can spend three hours on a Dolly Parton deep dive because nobody upstairs says no. WORT runs three pledge drives a year, in winter, spring and fall, and together they bring in about a quarter of the station’s income.
If Rolling with Scissors has kept you company at 2 a.m., now is the time to give back. Head to https://www.wortfm.org/donate/ and make your pledge. While you’re there, think about signing up as a monthly donor. Monthly givers keep the station steady all year and help keep future pledge drives shorter.
Pledge in the name of Rolling with Scissors, and let them know the Prince of Darkness sent you.
PLAYLIST
Hour One
01. Dolly Parton - Love Is Like a Butterfly - Love Is Like a Butterfly - RCA Victor - 1974
02. Dolly Parton - If I Cross Your Mind - Love Is Like a Butterfly - RCA Victor - 1974
03. Dolly Parton - My Eyes Can Only See You - Love Is Like a Butterfly - RCA Victor - 1974
04. Dolly Parton - Take Me Back - Love Is Like a Butterfly - RCA Victor - 1974
05. Dolly Parton - Blackie, Kentucky - Love Is Like a Butterfly - RCA Victor - 1974
06. Dolly Parton - Gettin' Happy - Love Is Like a Butterfly - RCA Victor - 1974
07. Dolly Parton - You're the One That Taught Me How to Swing - Love Is Like a Butterfly - RCA Victor - 1974
08. Dolly Parton - Highway Headin' South - Love Is Like a Butterfly - RCA Victor - 1974
09. Dolly Parton - Once Upon a Memory - Love Is Like a Butterfly - RCA Victor - 1974
10. Dolly Parton - Sacred Memories - Love Is Like a Butterfly - RCA Victor - 1974
11. Dolly Parton - The Bargain Store - The Bargain Store - RCA Victor - 1975
12. Dolly Parton - Kentucky Gambler - The Bargain Store - RCA Victor - 1975
13. Dolly Parton - When I'm Gone - The Bargain Store - RCA Victor - 1975
14. Dolly Parton - The Only Hand You'll Need to Hold - The Bargain Store - RCA Victor - 1975
15. Dolly Parton - On My Mind Again - The Bargain Store - RCA Victor - 1975
16. Dolly Parton - I Want to Be What You Need - The Bargain Store - RCA Victor - 1975
17. Dolly Parton - Love to Remember - The Bargain Store - RCA Victor - 1975
18. Dolly Parton - You'll Always Be Special to Me - The Bargain Store - RCA Victor - 1975
19. Dolly Parton - He Would Know - The Bargain Store - RCA Victor - 1975
20. Dolly Parton - I'll Never Forget - The Bargain Store - RCA Victor - 1975
21. Dolly Parton - We Used To - Dolly: The Seeker - We Used To - RCA Victor - 1975
22. Dolly Parton - The Love I Used to Call Mine - Dolly: The Seeker - We Used To - RCA Victor - 1975
23. Dolly Parton - My Heart Started Breaking - Dolly: The Seeker - We Used To - RCA Victor - 1975
24. Dolly Parton - Most of All Why - Dolly: The Seeker - We Used To - RCA Victor - 1975
Hour Two
25. Dolly Parton - Bobby's Arms - Dolly: The Seeker - We Used To - RCA Victor - 1975
26. Dolly Parton - The Seeker - Dolly: The Seeker - We Used To - RCA Victor - 1975
27. Dolly Parton - Hold Me - Dolly: The Seeker - We Used To - RCA Victor - 1975
28. Dolly Parton - Because I Love You - Dolly: The Seeker - We Used To - RCA Victor - 1975
29. Dolly Parton - Only the Memory Remains - Dolly: The Seeker - We Used To - RCA Victor - 1975
30. Dolly Parton - I'll Remember You as Mine - Dolly: The Seeker - We Used To - RCA Victor - 1975
31. Dolly Parton - All I Can Do - All I Can Do - RCA Victor - 1976
32. Dolly Parton - When the Sun Goes Down Tomorrow - All I Can Do - RCA Victor - 1976
33. Dolly Parton - I'm a Drifter - All I Can Do - RCA Victor - 1976
34. Dolly Parton - Falling Out of Love with Me - All I Can Do - RCA Victor - 1976
35. Dolly Parton - Shattered Image - All I Can Do - RCA Victor - 1976
36. Dolly Parton - Boulder to Birmingham - All I Can Do - RCA Victor - 1976
37. Dolly Parton - Preacher Tom - All I Can Do - RCA Victor - 1976
38. Dolly Parton - Life's Like Poetry - All I Can Do - RCA Victor - 1976
39. Dolly Parton - Hey, Lucky Lady - All I Can Do - RCA Victor - 1976
40. Dolly Parton - Here You Come Again - Here You Come Again - RCA Victor - 1977
41. Dolly Parton - Baby Come Out Tonight - Here You Come Again - RCA Victor - 1977
42. Dolly Parton - It's All Wrong, but It's All Right - Here You Come Again - RCA Victor - 1977
43. Dolly Parton - Me and Little Andy - Here You Come Again - RCA Victor - 1977
44. Dolly Parton - Lovin' You - Here You Come Again - RCA Victor - 1977
45. Dolly Parton - Cowgirl & The Dandy - Here You Come Again - RCA Victor - 1977
46. Dolly Parton - Two Doors Down - Here You Come Again - RCA Victor - 1977
47. Dolly Parton - God's Coloring Book - Here You Come Again - RCA Victor - 1977
48. Dolly Parton - Sweet Music Man - Here You Come Again - RCA Victor - 1977
Hour Three
49. Dolly Parton - Light of a Clear Blue Morning - New Harvest...First Gathering - RCA Victor - 1977
50. Dolly Parton - Applejack - New Harvest...First Gathering - RCA Victor - 1977
51. Dolly Parton - My Girl (My Love) - New Harvest...First Gathering - RCA Victor - 1977
52. Dolly Parton - Holdin' On to You - New Harvest...First Gathering - RCA Victor - 1977
53. Dolly Parton - You Are - New Harvest...First Gathering - RCA Victor - 1977
54. Dolly Parton - How Does It Feel - New Harvest...First Gathering - RCA Victor - 1977
55. Dolly Parton - Where Beauty Lives In Memory - New Harvest...First Gathering - RCA Victor - 1977
56. Dolly Parton - Higher and Higher - New Harvest...First Gathering - RCA Victor - 1977
57. Dolly Parton - Getting In My Way - New Harvest...First Gathering - RCA Victor - 1977
58. Dolly Parton - There - New Harvest...First Gathering - RCA Victor - 1977
59. Dolly Parton - I Really Got the Feeling - Heartbreaker - RCA Victor - 1978
60. Dolly Parton - It's Too Late to Love Me Now - Heartbreaker - RCA Victor - 1978
61. Dolly Parton - We're Through Forever ('Til Tomorrow) - Heartbreaker - RCA Victor - 1978
62. Dolly Parton - Sure Thing - Heartbreaker - RCA Victor - 1978
63. Dolly Parton - With You Gone - Heartbreaker - RCA Victor - 1978
64. Dolly Parton - Baby I'm Burnin' - Heartbreaker - RCA Victor - 1978
65. Dolly Parton - Nickels and Dimes - Heartbreaker - RCA Victor - 1978
66. Dolly Parton - The Man - Heartbreaker - RCA Victor - 1978
67. Dolly Parton - I Wanna Fall In Love - Heartbreaker - RCA Victor - 1978