The world is mourning the loss of Dolly Parton, the country music legend who passed away August 25 at the age of 80.
During the course of a career spanning seven decades, there wasn’t an area of showbiz in which she did not excel at. From movie star, to TV producer, to variety show host, to country music star and hit-making songwriter, to author, to theme park mogul, she truly did it all.
Yet when fans look back and remember her extraordinary life, what stands out are the songs she left. A gifted songwriter, these five hits have come to define Parton as an artist.
‘I Will Always Love You’
Originally written as a goodbye to her former musical partner Porter Wagoner when she decided to embark on a solo career, “I Will Always Love You” went on to transcend its origins, becoming one of the most iconic love songs in pop music.
Interestingly, Elvis Presley was keen to record it in the 1970s. That thrilled Parton — until she learned that the King’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, demanded he receive co-writing credit that would give him 50 percent of the song’s royalties. Parton said no way, while Presley reportedly regretted passing up what could have become a chart-topping comeback.
Of course, Whitney Houston‘s version for “The Bodyguard” soundtrack wound up becoming a bigger hit than Parton’s version.
During an interview with Oprah Winfrey (via Yahoo! Entertainment), Parton recalled her reaction the first time she heard Houston’s cover on the radio. “I was shot so full of adrenaline and energy, I had to pull off, because I was afraid that I would wreck, so I pulled over quick as I could to listen to that whole song,” Parton recalled. “I could not believe how she did that. I mean, how beautiful it was that my little song had turned into that, so that was a major, major thing.”
‘Jolene’
The title track of her 1974 “Jolene” album has remained a favorite. Pleading with the titular Jolene to not steal her man, the song is considered a classic, covered by artists ranging from The White Stripes to Beyoncé.
“With ‘Jolene,’ I remember hearing so many people say, ‘That’s such a humble song. It’s a true song,’” Parton said in an interview with Vulture.
“For a woman to say, ‘I can’t compete with you. I’m not as beautiful as you, I’m never going to be that beautiful. Your beauty is beyond compare, but I don’t have all that going for me.’ It was unusual at the time in songwriting,” she added.
‘Here You Come Again’
Her first big crossover hit in the pop charts, “Here You Come Again” hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. One of the rare hits that Parton didn’t write herself (the tune was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill), the 1977 hit catapulted Parton from being seen as just a country star, planting her firmly in the mainstream of pop culture.
“At the time, she felt it might be a little too slick and might cost her some of her country fans,” Weill recalled in an interview with HuffPost. “But she was talked into doing it and now she’s thrilled that she did.”
‘Coat of Many Colors’
Arguably the most autobiographical song that Parton ever wrote, this beloved hit tells the story of her childhood self enduring mockery for the patchwork coat that her impoverished mother stitched together for her from scraps of cloth. The song’s enduring power can be seen in the fact that it spawned a successful made-for-TV Christmas movie that continues to rerun each holiday season.
“I was always trying to progress and try to do more, try to grow, and try to express myself musically as much as I could in every album that we did, but still stay true to myself,” Parton told Rolling Stone of how she tried to push herself as a songwriter when creating “Coat of Many Colors.”
“I always take myself more seriously as a songwriter than I even do as a singer,” she added.
‘9 to 5’
Written for her 1980 film of the same name, both “9 to 5” the film and the song proved to be monster hits.
While the film burned up the box office while transforming Parton into a bona fide movie star, the single — which she both wrote and recorded — reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — a level of showbiz synergy that’s rarely been achieved.
While fans loved the song, and her performance in the film, Parton was a bit more self-critical when it came to the latter. “In places I was real good. In places I was real average and in others I was … (sticking out her tongue). All in all, for the first time out, I was proud of it,” she told the Associated Press, via Reflector.
