''Eagle When She Flies'' is the thirty-first solo studio 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 March 7, 1991, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. The album was produced by Steve Buckingham and Gary Smith, with Parton serving as executive producer. It continues Parton's return to mainstream country sounds following 1989's ''

White Limozeen ''White Limozeen'' is the twenty-ninth solo studio album by American entertainer Dolly Parton. It was released on May 30, 1989, by Columbia Records. The album returned the performer to the country music fold, after the critical and commercial fa ...

''. The album features collaborations with

Lorrie Morgan Loretta Lynn Morgan (born June 27, 1959) is an American country music singer and actress. She is the daughter of George Morgan, widow of Keith Whitley, and ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country music singers. Mo ...

and

Ricky Van Shelton Ricky Van Shelton (born January 12, 1952) is an American retired country music singer. Active between 1986 and 2006, he charted more than 20 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. This figure includes 10 Number One hits: "Somebod ...

, with additional supporting vocals provided by

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

and

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 album was a commercial success, becoming Parton's first solo album to peak at number one 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 since 1980s ''

9 to 5 and Odd Jobs ''9 to 5 and Odd Jobs'' is the twenty-third solo studio album by American entertainer Dolly Parton. It was released on November 17, 1980, by RCA Records. A concept album about working, the album was centered on Parton's hit "9 to 5 (Dolly Parto ...

''. It was certified Platinum in by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in 1992. The album spawned four singles, the most successful being " Rockin' Years" with

, which topped the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. In support of the album, Parton embarked on the Eagle When She Flies Tour, her only concert tour of the 1990s.

Release and promotion

The album was released March 7, 1991, on CD,

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

, and LP. Dolly Parton's duet with Shelton, "Rockin' Years", topped the country charts, and the follow-up single co-written by

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

, "Silver and Gold", was a #15 country single. Rounding out the hit singles was the title song "Eagle When She Flies", which only reached a #33 peak, despite spending 20 weeks on the Billboard Country Singles chart. Her duet with Lorrie Morgan, "Best Woman Wins", appeared simultaneously on Lorrie Morgan's 1991 album ''

Something in Red ''Something in Red'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Lorrie Morgan. It reached #8 on the Billboard country albums chart, including the #3 "We Both Walk," the #9 "A Picture of Me (Without You)" (a cover of a George Jone ...

''. She co-wrote the song "Family" with Carl Perkins and "Wildest Dreams" with

Mac Davis Morris Mac Davis (January 21, 1942 – September 29, 2020) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor. A native of Lubbock, Texas, he enjoyed success as a crossover artist, and during his early career he wrote for Elvis Presley, ...

Critical reception

Frank King from ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'' wrote, "Hot damn, she's back. Just when the world is ready to write off Dolly as a cupie doll incapable of anything but candy fluff pop albums and silly duets with Kenny Rogers, she wipes us out with an inspiring, heart-on-your-sleeve country classic. The guest list -

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

- is impressive, but it's Dolly that shines from start to finish. Most of the 11 tracks are self-penned and drip with honest-to-goodness emotion. Makes a fella proud to slide on his cowboy boots and declare he finally likes Dolly for more than her pin-up appearance."

Commercial performance

The album also topped the U.S. country albums charts, Parton's first solo album to reach the top in a decade (and her last to do so until 2016) and reached #24 on the pop albums charts. The album spent 73 weeks on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. It was her first solo studio album to reach number one album in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

after 1980's ''

.'' The album's single week at number one interrupted what would otherwise have been an unbroken run of over 14 months in the top spot for

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

. The album sold 74,000 copies in its first week. It ended up being certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The album has sold 1.14 million copies as of July 2016.

Reissues

In 2009,

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

reissued ''Eagle When She Flies'' in a triple-feature CD set with ''

'' and ''

Slow Dancing with the Moon ''Slow Dancing with the Moon'' is the thirty-second solo studio album by American entertainer Dolly Parton. It was released on February 23, 1993. The album features a number of famous guest artists, including Collin Raye, Mary Chapin Carpenter ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. *Dolly Parton – lead vocals *The Mighty Fine Band: **Mike Davis – organ **Richard Dennison – background vocals **Jimmy Mattingly – fiddle, mandolin **Jennifer O'Brien – background vocals **Gary Smith – piano, keyboards **Howard Smith – background vocals **Steve Turner – drums **Paul Uhrig – bass **Bruce Watkins – acoustic guitar **Kent Wells – electric guitar Additional musicians *Sam Bacco – percussion *Romantic Roy Huskey – upright bass *Mark Casstevens – acoustic guitar, mandolin * Paddy Corcoran – acoustic guitar on "If You Need Me" *Glen Duncan – fiddle * Paul Franklin – steel, dobro *Steve Gibson – guitar, mandolin *

Carl Jackson Carl Eugene Jackson (born September 18, 1953) is an American country and bluegrass musician. Jackson's first Grammy was awarded in 1992 for his duet album with John Starling titled "Spring Training." In 2003 Jackson produced the Grammy Award-wi ...

– acoustic guitar on "If You Need Me" *Joey Miskulin – accordion *

Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle player and composer whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Musician Of The Year awards ...

– fiddle on "What a Heartache" *Allisa Jones Wall – hammer dulcimer Additional vocalists *Lea Jane Berinati – background vocals * Paddy Corcoran – harmony vocals on "If You Need Me" *Joy Gardner – background vocals *

– harmony vocals on "Silver and Gold" *Vicki Hampton – background vocals *

– harmony vocals on "Country Road" *

– harmony vocals on "If You Need Me" *The Kid Connection – additional background vocals on "Family" *

– harmony vocals on "If You Need Me" *

– harmony vocals on "Country Road" *Lewis Nunley – background vocals *John Wesley Ryles – background vocals *Lisa Silver – background vocals *

Harry Stinson Harry Stinson (born June 3, 1953 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian real estate developer from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is president of Stinson Properties, Inc. He has been called Toronto's "condo king". Biography Stinson's most significant ...

- harmony vocals on "Silver and Gold" *Dennis Wilson – background vocals *Curtis Young – background vocals Production *Joe Bogan – additional engineering * Steve Buckingham – producer *Ray Bunch – string arrangements *Robert Charles – assistant engineer *Richard Dennison – vocal supervision *Javelina East – string recording *Chrissy Follmar – assistant engineer *Carlos Grier – digital editing *Larry Jeffries – assistant engineer *Brad Jones – assistant engineer *John Kunz – engineering assistant, mixing assistant *Sean Londin – assistant engineer *Gary Paczosa – engineering, mixing *John David Parker – assistant engineer *Dolly Parton – executive producer *Denny Purcell – mastering *Gary Smith – producer Other personnel *David Blair – hair *Tony Chase – fashion, styling *Rachel Dennison – makeup *Sandy Gallin for Gallin-Morey Associates – management *Bill Johnson – art direction *Randee St. Nicholas – photographer *Jodi Lynn Miller – design assistant

Chart performance

Album Album (Year-End)

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Dolly Parton albums 1991 albums Albums produced by Steve Buckingham (record producer) Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Gary Smith (record producer)