Lydia R. Hamessley

I RECEIVED THIS DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

I was a teen in the 1970s, when Miss Dolly was really gaining fame. In my social circle, such as it was, country music was not the first choice of listening on the car stereo. We ran to Rick Wakeman and Electric Light Orchestra and show tunes. (Drama fag here, if you're wondering.) As I, almost alone among my friends, had much-older sisters, I'd hear things overlooked by the pop-pups. Joni Mitchell wasn't big among them, but my sister gave me her old copy of Hejira when she moved, starting a love affair with Mitchell that's lasted to this very day. Then came the day she played "I Will Always Love You" and we laughed our snobby selves silly! "She sounds like a 45 played at 78," I commented, and got an approving laugh from the older audience. But that's a beautiful song, and if one is even a little bit susceptible to sentimental love poems, it's a gripping story. It's been remade and made into a hit in every decade since its first release in 1974.

Let's us have a come-to-Jesus about the parts of Miss Dolly you've been ignoring, were foolishly dismissive of (like me), or were unaware of. The lady acts and performs and sings. But she IS a songwriter. "I Will Always Love You", written to mark the end of her early and formative loving partnership with Porter Wagoner (man charted eighty-one singles in his life, betcha most people reading this blog never heard of him!), is in the American Songbook by virtue of it ubiquity and popularity with singers and audiences alike.

Author Lydia Hamessley is a musicologist, a scholar of Southern Appalachia's musical heritage. She is a thorough academic, and that is not bad thing because her subject here isn't the media star Dolly Parton!!! but the creative dynamo songwriter behind the entertainer. Many thousands of songs have come forth from Parton's pen. Many hundreds have been recorded by herself, and many other artists. (By the way, did y'all know Miss Dolly wrote a song called "Backwoods Barbie"?!

"Don't let these false eyelashes lead you to believe
That I'm as shallow as I look,
'cause I run true and deep"

This is the same smart businesswoman whose public persona uttered the deathless aperçu, "You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!" and variations thereon, in countless interviews.)

Oh, sorry. Anyway, Author Hamessley's text is academic in purpose and execution, so I won't lie and say it flowed past my eyes like limpid creek-water down a holler. Miss Dolly wrote an autobiography for you, if that's what you're looking for; I wasn't, and I asked for this book because I wanted to know about the creative, and also the businesswoman behind the persona.

And that is precisely what I got. Say hallelujah and bring the jubilee!

So, there's more, but I left it at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud: https://tinyurl.com/3f9a3jpn… (mehr)

Author Lydia R. Hamessley's biography of Dolly Parton focuses on Parton's songwriting artistry, musical ability, and peerless vocals. While the subject of "Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton" is known for her dazzling appearance, lightning-quick wit, and her charm as an entertainer, she is also very serious about her songwriting. Parton has written over 3,000 songs, and more than 450 of them have been recorded. When beginning her research, Hamessley, a professor of music, and herself a banjo player, first approached Steve Buckingham, a longtime Parton producer and friend. Buckingham, who would later provide the forward for the book, was impressed with the author's vision and contacted Parton, who responded with enthusiastic support. The result is a fascinating, richly-detailed history, not only of a beloved entertainer, but of the music of the Tennessee mountains and the timeless culture of Appalachian America. Parton's lively mind and natural curiosity also propel her to incorporate elements of pop, rock, folk, inspirational, and the most current of musical trends into her own music making. The timeline in "Unlikely Angel" begins with Parton's birth in Locust Ridge, TN in 1946, and continues through to her early years in Nashville, winds through her surge in global stardom as a pop crossover artist, and shines a light on her return to country music, bluegrass, and traditional music, including inspirational and gospel. Today, Dolly Parton is more revered and respected than ever, and as she approaches her 75th birthday, she is still sparkling and effervescent. Her seriousness about her music remains evident in all of the elements she continues to blend together and all the projects she takes on in writing, recording and performing--not just in music, but also in television and film. From the little girl who made her own first guitar and wrote her first song about "Little Tiny Tasseltop"--a doll made from a corn cob--to the incomparable, internationally-acclaimed artist who is also beloved for her great heart and philanthropy, Dolly Parton is a true American Icon. Author Lydia R. Hamessley succeeds in her quest to spotlight the amazing artistry of the "Unlikely Angel". Highly recommended for fans of Dolly Parton, lovers of music, and for those who believe in the American Dream.

Book Copy Gratis University of Illinois Press… (mehr)