My Tennessee Mountain Home
| My Tennessee Mountain Home | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Dolly Parton | ||||
| Released | March 28, 1973 | |||
| Recorded | RCA Studios, Nashville | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 31:31 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer | Bob Ferguson | |||
| Dolly Parton chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from My Tennessee Mountain Home | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Music Box |  [2] |
| (?)[3] | |
| Robert Christgau | (B+)[4] |
| Uncut | [5] |
My Tennessee Mountain Home, released in 1973, is the 11th solo studio album by Dolly Parton, the title track of which became one of her better-known compositions. Largely a concept album about her childhood in rural East Tennessee, the album began with a recitation of the first letter Parton wrote to her parents, shortly after moving from her hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee to Nashville in 1964. Most of the songs were fond reminiscences of her youth and family, though in one song, "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)", Parton candidly admits that though she is grateful for the lessons the poverty of her childhood taught her, she is in no hurry to repeat the experience. The final cut on the album, "Down on Music Row", recounts her first days on Nashville's Music Row, scrambling to get a record deal, and thanking those who helped her along the way (making specific mention of Chet Atkins and RCA's Bob Ferguson).
Though neither the album nor the title single were huge commercial hits for Parton — neither cracked the top ten on the U.S. country singles or albums charts — they remain fondly remembered by her fans; the My Tennessee Mountain Home album is among the most critically praised albums in Parton's catalogue.
In later years, Parton has used the song "My Tennessee Mountain Home" as something of a theme song for her Dollywood theme park.
The house pictured on the album cover was the house in which the Parton family lived during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
In 2009, "Eugene, Oregon" and Parton's original recording of "What Will Baby Be?," two outtakes from the recording sessions for this album, were released on the 4-disc, career-spanning box set "Dolly." Parton would later re-record "What Will Baby Be?" for inclusion on 1992's Slow Dancing with the Moon.
In 2010, Sony Music reissued the 2007 CD My Tennessee Mountain Home in a triple-feature CD set with Coat of Many Colors and Jolene and they have never been out of print.
Track listing
All tracks written by Dolly Parton.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Letter" | 2:03 |
| 2. | "I Remember" | 3:42 |
| 3. | "Old Black Kettle" | 2:32 |
| 4. | "Daddy's Working Boots" | 2:52 |
| 5. | "Dr. Robert F. Thomas" | 2:36 |
| 6. | "In the Good Old Days (When Times were Bad)" | 3:26 |
| 7. | "My Tennessee Mountain Home" | 3:05 |
| 8. | "Wrong Direction Home" | 2:28 |
| 9. | "Back Home" | 2:44 |
| 10. | "The Better Part of Life" | 3:13 |
| 11. | "Down on Music Row" | 2:58 |
| 2007 CD Reissue | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 12. | "Sacred Memories" | 2:44 |
Personnel
- Dolly Parton – vocals, guitar
- Jimmy Colvard – guitar
- Jimmy Capps – guitar
- Dave Kirby – guitar
- Bobby Thompson – guitar
- Chip Young – guitar
- Pete Drake – pedal steel guitar
- Don Warden – dobro
- Bobby Dyson – bass
- Jerry Carrigan – drums
- Buck Trent – banjo
- Mack Magaha – fiddle
- Johnny Gimble – fiddle
- Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
- Charlie McCoy – harmonica
- Mary Hoephinger – harp
- Background vocals – The Nashville Edition
References
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Music Box review
- ↑ review
- ↑ Robert Christgau review
- ↑ Alastair McKay Uncut, May 2007, Issue 120
External links
- My Tennessee Mountain Home at dollyon-line.com
