Her vocals were exceptional, too. One of my favorite videos I've randomly come across on YouTube is "Jolene" slowed down to 33 RPM [0]. The comments are hilarious as well, but the clarity of her vocals and the vibrato that carries through to a slower tempo is really something special to hear.
replyShe's one of those crossover performers, such as Kenny Rogers and Taylor Swift who escape Country music as a genre and get mass appeal. Whenever I comment about a Dolly Parton song playing in a public place I hear things like "She's a national treasure!"
replyRogers crossed over into country.
replyMy ex-wife was a big Kenny "The Country Version" Rogers fan. I chuckle to myself every time I watch The Big Lebowski and hear Rogers singing his psychedelic "Just Checked In" and wonder what the ex would think of his origins.
replyHer cover of Stairway to Heaven is definitely crossover at its best
replyOh. You weren't kidding! It's good. They avoid all the traps, like not trying to outdo Jimmy Page's guitar solo.
replyDefinitely my favorite version of that song!
replyThen you will love "The chipmunks at 16 speed"
replyFor a second I misread that as "The chipmunks at 16X speed" and was seriously confused.
replyI know what you mean, 16rpm makes more sense .
replySometime she changed the RPMs herself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJEpoLeISCo
replyThe guitar is also immaculate slowed down and that was her too. I always thought it was some hotshot Nashville session musician. One of the best guitar licks of all time.
replyShe was certainly a fine guitarist, but Wikipedia says you were right first time, it was a session player called Chip Young.
replyDolly wrote the lick herself, and when she was in the studio with the session players, they wanted her to show them how to play it [0].
replyShe ended up having Chip Young lay it down on the record since her long fingernails made it difficult to nail consistently. This is also why if you watch videos of her playing guitar she plays in open tunings [1].
0: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/oct/31/dolly-parton-r...
1: https://www.guitarworld.com/features/how-does-dolly-parton-p...
I still carry the rather 20th century idea that a performer of almost any kind also ought to have some sort of other talent in addition to their main one. The versatility of that sort of thing is one of the things that should separate a pro from the rest. I generally count "professional level musician" on more than one instrument as fulfilling that contract... perhaps one of the easier of the options, but it still carries that versatility advantage. Another example that I'm quite fond of is famous comedian Steve Martin performing Dueling Banjos with Kermit the Frog. The combo of two professional entertainers playing off of each other combined with the music skills creates the opportunity for a creative routine.
replyAgreed. The climbing voice in Jolene was my favourite of her vocal range. She was a pretty good singer too; not as good as e. g. Ariana Grande in her own prime (before chasing bulimia) but quite good nonetheless.
replyMade famous by the show The Blacklist
replyfirst time I hear that song and to my ear, the song was recorded at that speed, then sped up in production.
replyShe was a loving wife to her husband and a great entrepreneur in addition to being a prolific artist. It's hard to find someone so well rounded at so many things before even adding that most of the jobs she created were/are considered positive contributions to society, evenly spread between entertainment, hospitality, foodservice, and adjacent industries. I think I heard she was directly responsible for about 20k total jobs which is INSANE.
replyWhat a positive legacy to leave - good example for others.
Same.
replyI don't really like country music, but Dolly always seemed somewhat down-to-earth and pretty decent.
Thankfully we have Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, the White Stripes, etc for you
replyAlso not a fan of country/folk, but today I learned about her special albums trilogy: The Grass Is Blue, Little Sparrow, and Halos & Horns. Quite different music!
replySome songs I added to my playlist :)
I wouldn't ever say I was a fan per se. But she was always the go-to example of "this is what billionaires should be doing with their money". So I respected the hell out of her.
replyOf course, she also proves the very point of there being no ethical billionaire, being "only" worth some 450 million instead. Likely because she gave so much of her wealth back to her communities instead. RIP Dolly, indeed.
Completely agree johnnuanmac. Seems like a role model for being a good person while maintaining extreme goals and working toward the impossible.
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