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June 11-13
Why this weekend? They say Miss Dolly cut this key song in her career on Saturday’s date in 1973.
About the record: RCA Victor APBO-0145, recorded June 12, 1973, at RCA Studio B in Nashville. Released the following September, it topped Billboard‘s country chart and reached No. 60 on the pop chart. First LP appearance was on Jolene, RCA Victor APL1-0473. Releaed in February 1974, it reached No. 6 on Billboard‘s country album chart.
(* My primary recording session source lists May 22, 1973, as the session date. There WAS a Parton session on June 12, so perhaps my source is wrong, or perhaps overdubs on “Jolene” were recorded on the later date.) UPDATE: Session date confirmed. See Comments section below.
This is my favorite example of Parton’s early solo work. A haunting melody and a great acoustic arrangement, along with Dolly’s singing and songwriting talent, combine to create an undisputed classic. More praise can be found in Barry Weber’s review of the record on Allmusic.com. And here’s Dolly’s thoughts on her song, as reported by National Public Radio. It’s no wonder “Jolene” is her most covered composition, and not just in the country field.
Have a great weekend. See y’all Monday.
3 comments
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June 11, 2010 at 10:30 AM
Ken Johnson
Kevin: My info also indicates that “Jolene” was recorded on June 12, 1973.
Dolly returned to the studio the following day (June 13, 1973) to record her original hit version of “I Will Always Love You.” That song is listed as being overdubbed on June 15, 1973. It was also included on the “Jolene” album.
Yep – one of Dolly’s very best fer sure.
June 11, 2010 at 4:47 PM
3chordsaday
Thanks for the confirmation, Ken. My friend Tom Roland — check out his great database RolandNote — also e-mailed to confirm. Looks like Praguefrank got this one wrong!
June 12, 2010 at 12:12 PM
Ken Johnson
Agreed – Tom Roland’s datebase is quite amazing. Lots of great info. He deserves much credit for making it available to everyone.
The Praguefrank site is a wonderful source for info that is not easily found elsewhere. All of their contributors have my undying respect and admiration for undertaking such a monumental task.
That said, their database is not completely reliable in all cases. I have found more than a few errors. Of course they are more than willing to accept corrections and additions. It will likely remain a work in progress for many years to come. I have recommended the site to many of my friends but always caution them to not accept the info as 100% accurate.