Where do I start in this review of Dolly Parton, the woman, the icon, the Barbie? Dolly Parton was my first country concert – she was touring with Porter Waggoner and Mel Tillis and selling laundry soap with towels inside! My first apartment was furnished w/those towels and washcloths – I called them “Dolly’s” towels and I’ve admired this woman for decades because she is timeless!

Dolly has been a writer her entire life and her songs have touched millions of people around the world. So have her good works, only one of which is the Dolly Foundation which, among other services, provides free books to pre-school children across America and Canada. She has had a successful acting career – “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and “9-5” and her famed “Dollywood” in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee has drawn millions of people over the years. Dolly is admired and loved – by the world. I even have a friend who had her sign his arm and immediately had it turned into a tattoo. Her fans are true blue and loving and Dolly gives back to her fans as much as a country artist can.

She greets fans personally whenever she can at Dollywood and also in her new venture in Nashville, “Trinkets and Treasures”. I will be a visitor there during my next visit – I’m excited to see her store and I’m hoping she will be there that day!

Her album, “Backwoods Barbie”, is true Dolly from cover to cover on the CD. The song “I’m Just a Backwoods Barbie” sums up Dolly to a “T”. I remember the years when people questioned her costumes and wigs and makeup – but Dolly pursued and it is her persona and it works! The song talks about being a “Barbie” – all dressed up from the backwoods and how she dreamed she could have it all. The Backwoods Barbie is not as shallow as she looks because the goods are all there and she should be given a second chance because she grew up with a country girl’s idea of “grand” and she is real.

“Better Get to Livin’” is a catchy tune she has really written from the heart. She has people coming to her and asking her how she seems so happy and successful all the time. Her advice is the song of the title – you just better just get to livin’!! Practice attitude, giving, be willing and forgiving because it is all up to you! Give up the whining, walk away from the unappreciated and be more willing to live a better way and if it gets too rough, get on your knees and pray! She has a marvelous way here of bring you out of any doldrums you might be in – just follow the advice of Dolly and her song and you will soon be on your way!

“Shinola” is a toe-tapper of a song that talks about an attitudinous handsome man who is so full of himself he is shallow and does not know love from “shinola” – haha – I love this song! She tells about how women need love and affection and he’s so into himself that he doesn’t even know what a woman wants or needs and is incapable of loving anyone but himself and she is tired of his crap and outta there! The song tells it like it is in no uncertain words and Dolly lets loose on this song.

This CD is a must have for anyone who has loved Dolly and her famed “9-5” live because it is also on the CD as a bonus track!
There is too much about her life to write about here but you can go to her official website at http://www.dollypartonmusic.net/aboutdolly.html for a complete rundown on Dolly’s life. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter (as Dolly_Parton) and there is even an iPhone App Fan Wall for her!

Calamity Annie – CMTT Music Contributor
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