''The Best of Dolly Parton'' is a compilation 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 November 9, 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. It includes some of Parton's early hits, a few non-single album tracks, and two previously unreleased tracks (" Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)" and " How Great Thou Art"). The album peaked at number 12 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. The single, "Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)" peaked at number three on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs 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 and earned Parton a nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the

13th Annual Grammy Awards The 13th Annual Grammy Awards were held on 16 March 1971, on ABC, and marked the ceremony's first live telecast. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1970. The ceremony was hosted for the first time by Andy Williams. Award ...

. The album was certified Gold 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 ...

on June 12, 1978, for sales of 500,000 copies.

Recording

Two previously unreleased songs were included on the album. "Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)" was the only song recorded at the May 4, 1970 session at RCA Studio B in Nashville. "How Great Thou Art" was recorded on May 12, 1970, during the second of three sessions for what would be Parton's 1971 album '' The Golden Streets of Glory''.

Release and promotion

The album was released November 9, 1970, on LP.

Singles

The album's single, " Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)", was released in June 1970 and peaked at number three on the US ''Billboard''

chart and number 4 in Canada on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Country Singles chart.

Critical reception

The review published in the November 21, 1970 issue of ''

'' said, "This LP teams with big hits, including "Mule Skinner Blues", "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)", and "Just Because I'm a Woman". Every tune is packed with that special emotion only Dolly Parton can render in a song. "Down from Dover" is a real tearjerker." '' Cashbox'' published a review in the November 14, 1970 issue which said, "It becomes difficult to choose the selections for a best hits album for Dolly, because almost everything she's recorded has been a hit! Nevertheless, this new album is just a small sampling of the enormous talent she has. "Mule Skinner Blues", "Down from Dover", "Gypsy, Joe and Me", "In the Ghetto", "Just Because I'm a Woman", "How Great Thou Art," and "Just the Way I Am" are included."

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 ...

gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Commercial performance

The album peaked at number 12 on the US ''

chart.

Accolades

Parton earned her first solo

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nomination for " Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)". It was nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes and RCA recording session records. *Joseph Babcock – background vocals * David Briggs – piano * Jerry Carrigan – drums *

Anita Carter Ina Anita Carter (March 31, 1933 – July 29, 1999) was an American singer who played upright bass, guitar, and autoharp. She performed with her sisters, Helen and June, and her mother, Maybelle, initially under the name The Carter Sisters an ...

– background vocals *

Fred Carter Jr. Fred F. Carter Jr. (December 31, 1933 – July 17, 2010) was an American guitarist, singer, producer and composer. Early career Carter was raised in the delta country in Winnsboro, the seat of Franklin Parish in northeastern Louisiana, Un ...

– 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' ...

– steel *Dolores Edgin – background vocals *Bob Ferguson – producer * Lloyd Green – steel * Junior Huskey – bass *James Isbell – drums *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 – rhythm guitar * Wayne Moss – guitar *Al Pachucki – recording engineer *June Page – background vocals *Dolly Parton – lead vocals * Hargus Robbins – piano *Roy Shockley – recording technician *Bob Simpson – remastering *Jerry Stembridge – guitar *

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 *Bill Vandevort – recording technician *

Porter Wagoner 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 ...

– liner notes

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best Of Dolly Parton, The 1970 greatest hits albums Dolly Parton compilation albums Albums produced by Bob Ferguson (music) RCA Records compilation albums