''Dolly'' is an American
variety show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...
starring
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 ...
broadcast in
first-run syndication from September 13, 1976 to March 7, 1977.
Background
In the mid-1970s, Parton was approached by Bill Graham, president of Show Biz, Inc., the same company that produced ''
The Porter Wagoner Show
Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour.
In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Po ...
'' (on which Parton had co-starred for seven years). The syndicated variety show ''Dolly'' was created soon afterwards.
Production
The pilot episode with
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...
was filmed on February 4, 1976, at Opryland Studios. The series began production of the next four episodes the week of April 26–30.
The first 11 episodes had been filmed by July and production was scheduled to resume on October 4, according to an article in ''
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 ...
''.
At the time of the article, the series was committed to 71 stations and was expected to reach 130 stations before its premiere in September.
The show boasted a budget of up to $100,000 per episode, an impressive sum for a syndicated series, making it the most expensive show to be produced out of Nashville at the time.
A variety of celebrities appeared on the show, including
Karen Black
Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portrayi ...
,
Tom T. Hall
Thomas Hall (May 25, 1936 – August 20, 2021), known professionally as Tom T. Hall and informally nicknamed "the Storyteller," was an American country music singer-songwriter and short-story author. He wrote 12 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more ...
,
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...
,
The Hues Corporation
The Hues Corporation was an American pop and soul trio, formed in Santa Monica, California in 1969. They are best known for their 1974 single " Rock the Boat", which sold over 2 million copies.
Group name and background
Before achieving main ...
,
Captain Kangaroo
''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...
,
Lynn Anderson
Lynn Renée Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden," was a number one hit in the United States and internationally. She charte ...
,
Marilyn McCoo
Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series ''Solid Gol ...
and
Billy Davis Jr.
Billy Davis Jr. (born June 26, 1938) is an American singer and musician, best known as a member of the 5th Dimension. Along with his wife Marilyn McCoo, he had hit records during 1976 and 1977 with "I Hope We Get to Love in Time", " Your Love", ...
,
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...
,
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career.
Murray was the fir ...
,
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...
,
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
,
KC and the Sunshine Band
KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "K ...
, and
Anson Williams
Anson Williams (born Anson William Heimlich, September 25, 1949, in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor, singer, and director, best known for his role as gullible, well-intentioned singer Warren "Potsie" Weber on the television series ...
. According to a 1978 biography by
Alanna Nash
Alanna Nash is an American journalist and biographer.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1950, Nash holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of several acclaimed books. She is a 1972 graduat ...
, Parton spoke to
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and he initially agreed to do the show, but eventually bowed out due to his discomfort with the television medium at the time.
Among the more well received installments, was one featuring the first televised performance of the
Trio: Parton,
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...
and
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
, a full decade before they released the first of their two critically acclaimed albums.
The show was also the first time Parton and
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...
worked together; the two would top the country and pop charts in 1983 with their mega hit "
Islands in the Stream".
Despite the work that went into the show and the diverse collection of guests, Parton was said to have been less than pleased with the end product, as she found herself singing standards like "
My Funny Valentine
"My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart coming of age musical ''Babes in Arms'' in which it was introduced by teenaged star Mitzi Green. The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 130 ...
", which she felt didn't suit her voice or musical style, and interacting with guests with whom she had little in common. She told Nash during a 1977 interview:
:''"I liked all of the people that were on...but I would have had a totally different lineup of guests myself. It was really bad for me, that TV show. It was worse for me than good, because the people who didn't know me who liked the show thought that's how I was...I mean, I still come through as myself, even with all the other stuff, but not really like I should. Not my real, natural way. And the people who did know me thought I was crazy. They knew that wasn't me. Including me. I didn't know that woman on TV!"''
The show lasted only one season despite very high ratings, falling apart when Parton asked out of her contract for a variety of reasons, including the toll that eighteen-hour days were taking on her vocal cords.
Opening and closing themes
The show's opening theme was "
Love Is Like a Butterfly". During the opening credits, Parton emerges on a swing and then comes down to sing the opening song, either a cover of a then-current hit, or occasionally one of her own hits.
At the closing of the show, Parton speaks the recitation from "
I Will Always Love You
"I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, ...
", "And I hope life treats you kind, and I hope that you have all you ever dream of. I wish you joy and lots and lots of happiness, but above all this, I wish you love, I love you" and then she says "Goodnight" and sings the rest of the song and the closing credits roll.
Episodes
''Dolly'' originally aired in
first-run syndication, meaning its broadcast rights were sold to various television stations around the country. These stations could then choose their own day and time to air the show, as well as what order to air the episodes. Due to this fact, the show aired on different days and times around the county and episodes were shown in various orders. The episodes are presented here in the order they were originally broadcast by
WNGE-TV Channel 2 in Nashville on Mondays at 6:30 PM.
Syndication and home media
During the late 1970s and into the early 1980s, as Parton's popularity grew, ''Dolly'' was seen widely in reruns.
On February 27, 2007, six episodes of the series were released on DVD under the title ''Dolly Parton & Friends''.
GetTV
getTV is an American digital multicast television network owned by the Sony Pictures Television Networks subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television. Originally formatted as a movie-oriented service, the network has since transitioned into a genera ...
began airing select episodes of the series in 2015.
Time Life
Time Life, with sister subsidiaries StarVista Live and Lifestyle Products Group, a holding of Direct Holdings Global LLC, is an American production company and direct marketer conglomerate, that is known for selling books, music, video/DVD, ...
released the 19-disc box set ''Dolly: The Ultimate Collection – Deluxe Edition'' in September 2020 and it features a selection of six episodes of the series, two of which had previously been released on the ''Dolly Parton & Friends'' DVD in 2007. Five of the six episodes on the box set are heavily edited due to copyright issues. To date 10 of the series' 26 episodes have been released on DVD.
References
* Nash, Alanna; 1978. ''Dolly''.
Cooper Square Press
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...
, New York City.
External links
*
{{Dolly Parton
1976 American television series debuts
1977 American television series endings
1970s American variety television series
First-run syndicated television programs in the United States