The 1970 album that Dolly Parton loves more than any other: “I felt like my feet were nailed to the floor”
Dolly Parton is one of the most celebrated musicians to ever hum out a tune, and rightly so.
There is something about the way that she writes that doesn’t just tug on your heartstrings, but pulls them out and ties them in knots. Her lyrics, paired with the emotive style with which she can deliver them, have led to the creation of some of the most iconic and moving pieces of music ever made.
A lot of the time, she was able to inject different narratives into her tracks, which listeners were able to follow and connect with. However, those emotional narratives weren’t a mandate. Parton could write about overarching themes without specifically naming anything, and all of that led to her music doing something a lot more than just being good to listen to, but it essentially connected with everybody who was listening and allowed them to feel seen.
Take a song like ‘Light of a Clear Blue Morning’ for instance. She doesn’t necessarily reference any specific moment in her life, but still manages to create this sense of being trapped, locked in a situation that she needs to get out of. This emotion is universal, as everyone has experienced it on some level before, either in a professional or a personal situation.
“‘Light of a Clear Blue Morning’ was my song of deliverance,” she said, “I felt like I was trapped in a situation and needed to be free, because God was calling me, life was calling me, to something bigger. But I felt like my feet were nailed to the floor.”
This wasn’t just the kind of music that Parton liked playing, but she listened to it as well. When she wanted a new track to obsess over, she would look out for music that reached out to something deep inside her. For Parton, one of the albums that did this most effectively was Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ 1970 offering, Tea For The Tillerman. It’s an album which sounds good, but the songs also have something much deeper embedded within them which she has never been able to get over.
“I have loved Cat Stevens from the first time I heard his voice, heard him play the guitar, and heard his wonderful, touching, deep lyrics,” she said, “I also thought he was the most beautiful and mysterious man I had ever seen. I loved how his music touched my very soul…and still does. Tea For The Tillerman is still my favourite album ever.”
Parton is such a big fan that she has covered some of his songs before and also looked to try and record a track with Stevens. She is the kind of artist that people look toward when they want feeling injected into the music they listen to, and similarly, when Parton listens to music, she wants something equally moving. For her, that all comes in the form of Yusuf/Cat Stevens.
“I have recorded his ‘Peace Train’, one of the greatest songs ever written,” she said, “I was also blessed to have him sing a duet with me on ‘Where Do The Children Play’, another one of my all-time favourites. And I was proud to get to sing with him on his Boots and Sand album. I love his music, but I also love his good heart and soul.”
