As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Dolly Parton

My favorite Dolly Parton anecdote comes from the excellent obituary at CNN.com:

 

In 1974, she even turned down Elvis Presley when he wanted to cover “I Will Always Love You,” because his manager Colonel Tom Parker wanted a stake in the publishing rights. “This is my publishing company, and obviously this is going to be one of my most important copyrights, and I can’t give you half the publishing,” she remembered saying. “Because that’s stuff that I’m leaving for my family.”

 

Personal favorites:

Jolene

To Know Him Is To Love Him [with Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris]

I Will Always Love You

World On Fire

Coat Of Many Colors

9 To 5

I Dreamed About Elvis

Stairway To Heaven [from the album Halos & Horns]

Rockstar

Here You Come Again

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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 27, 2026 at 7:42 AM

    Her #1 pet peeve, according to Letterman's Dolly Parton's Top Ten Pet Peeves: "Nobody notices I have a great ass!"

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousAugust 27, 2026 at 8:11 AM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2XcBL6kWn8&list=RDo2XcBL6kWn8&start_radio=1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike RhoadsAugust 28, 2026 at 3:41 PM

      Great choice of song, and a wonderful performance!

      Delete
    2. Mike RhoadsAugust 28, 2026 at 8:13 PM

      This appearance was also mentioned near the end of an op-ed in today's NY Times:
      https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/opinion/trump-canada-trade-war-dolly-parton.html

      Delete
  3. AnonymousAugust 30, 2026 at 7:26 AM

    Yes, and this is why I researched the performance. I had never heard it before I read about it.

    ReplyDelete

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