''A Real Live Dolly'' is the first live album by American singer-songwriter

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

. It was released on June 29, 1970, by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson and was recorded on April 15, 1970, at

Sevier County High School Sevier County High School is a public high school in Sevierville, Tennessee. It is part of the Sevier County Schools district. Demographics The ethnic makeup of the school is approximately 76.8% Non-Hispanic White, 19.0% Hispanic or Latino, 1.8 ...

Sevierville, Tennessee Sevierville ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee, located in eastern Tennessee. The population was 17,889 at the 2020 United States Census. History Native Americans of the Woodland period were among the first human ...

. It peaked at number 32 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales a ...

chart and number 154 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart.

Background

Plans for a live album were first announced in the February 28, 1970 issue of ''

''. The article stated that April 25 would be the second annual Dolly Parton Day in Parton's hometown and that she would give a benefit show at her high school alma mater to establish a scholarship fund and purchase musical instruments for students at the school. They also announced RCA's plans to record the performance for a live album. The article went on to say that two busloads of artists would make the trip from Nashville to Sevierville to take part in the benefit show.

Recording

The album was recorded on April 25, 1970, at Parton's high school alma mater,

. Eight songs performed that day were cut from the album's release: "Just Because I'm a Woman", "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)", "Daddy Come and Get Me", "He's a Go-Getter, "Just the Way I Am", "Coat of Many Colors", "Chicken Every Sunday", and a reprise of "Tall Man".

Release and promotion

The album was released June 29, 1970 on LP and 8-track.

Critical reception

The review published in the July 11, 1970 issue of ''

'' said, "This package has a very homey quality. Dolly is recorded live, doing a show in her home town. Special guest is Porter Wagoner, and together they do several of their noted duets. The tunes include "Wabash Cannon Ball", "Two Sides to Every Story" and "How Great Thou Art". This disk is headed for big sales." '' Cashbox'' also published a review in their July 11 issue, which said, "Dolly Parton went back to her home in Sevier County, Tennessee, recently to be feted by the local folk, to establish a Dolly Parton Scholarship Foundation and to record this album at her alma mater, Sevier County High School, whose students will receive the scholarships. Her many devotees will want to own the set, which features Porter Wagoner in four duets with the songstress. Look for big action on this one." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' gave a positive review of the album, saying that "Dolly's a dilly with the hometown Sevierville, Tennessee, crowd."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

rated the album 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 34 on the ''

chart. It would peak the following week at number 32. The album spent four weeks on the chart. It debuted and peaked at number 154 on the US ''Billboard'' ''Billboard'' 200 chart, where it remained for two weeks.

Reissues

The album was included as a bonus disc with pre-orders of Parton's career-spanning box set ''Dolly'' in October 2009. This version of the album includes four bonus tracks recorded during the April 25, 1970 performance; "Just Because I'm a Woman", "Daddy Come and Get Me" and "He's a Go Getter" and Parton's first live performance of "Coat of Many Colors". This expanded version of the album was made available as a digital download on March 23, 2010.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes and RCA recording session records. *Joseph Babcock – background vocals *Terry Blackwell – guitar *James Buchanant – fiddle *Jack Drake – guitar *

Pete Drake Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988), was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anderson' ...

– pedal steel *Bobby Dyson – bass *Dolores Edgin – background vocals *Bob Ferguson – producer *

D.J. Fontana Dominic Joseph Fontana (March 15, 1931 – June 13, 2018) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 14 years. In 1955, he was hired to play drums for Presley, which marked the beginning of a 15-year relationsh ...

– drums * Johnny Gimble – fiddle *Edward Howard – guitar *Dave Kirby – guitar *Les Leverett – cover photo *

Mack Magaha Mack Magaha (August 1, 1929 – August 15, 2003) was an American bluegrass fiddler best known as a member of Porter Wagoner's band, and a long-time backup player in the pioneering bluegrass band, Reno and Smiley. Music career In 1955, Magaha ...

– fiddle *George McCormick – guitar *Al Pachucki – recording engineer *June Evelyn Page – background vocals *Dolly Parton – lead vocals * Hargus Robbins – piano *Dale Sellers – guitar *Roy Shockley – recording technician *

Buck Trent Charles Wilburn "Buck" Trent (born February 17, 1938) is an American country music instrumentalist currently performing in Branson, Missouri. He invented the electric banjo and also plays the five-string banjo, dobro, steel guitar, mandolin, e ...

– electric banjo *Hugh "Skip" Trotter – liner notes *Bill Vandevort – recording technician *Porter Wagoner – duet vocals

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Real Live Dolly, A 1970 live albums Dolly Parton live albums Albums produced by Bob Ferguson (music) RCA Records live albums Albums arranged by Porter Wagoner