''The Fairest of Them All'' is the fifth 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 February 2, 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 peaked at number 13 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 album's only single, "Daddy Come and Get Me", peaked at number 40 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.
Recording
Recording sessions for the album began on September 4, 1969, at
RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. Two additional sessions followed on October 30 and 31. "I'm Doing This for Your Sake" was recorded during the September 10, 1968 session for 1969's ''
In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)''. "Mammie" and "But You Loved Me Then" were recorded during sessions for 1969's ''
My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy
''My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy'' is the fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on September 8, 1969, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson. It peaked at number six on the ''Billboard'' T ...
'', on May 13 and 21, 1969, respectively.
Content
Included is "
Down from Dover
Down from Dover is a song written and performed by Dolly Parton, originally released on Parton's album '' The Fairest of them All'' (1970). It was later recorded by many other artists, including Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood and Marianne Faithfull ...
", a song about the misfortune of a pregnant unwed girl, who waits in vain for the baby's father while being shunned by her parents. The song was controversial for the times and Parton has stated in recent interviews that mentor (and uncredited producer)
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 ...
told her that she'd never get played on the radio with story songs like that.
Two other story songs, "Robert" and "Daddy Come and Get Me", are distinctive for their themes. The former tells the story of a boy infatuated with a girl, not knowing that they are brother and sister. The story is a true story based on Parton's life, her father had at least one child with another woman. The latter is a haunting tale, co-written with Dorothy Jo Hope, Parton's aunt, about a woman begging her father to release her from the mental institution that her cheating husband placed her in.
The liner notes for the album were written by Parton’s assistant, friend and confidante, Judy Ogle.
In a
CMT interview with
Patty Loveless, Parton joked that it was about the funniest album cover she had ever made, with the largest collar she could find. She said she was trying to look like a fairytale character. The cover photo was taken by Bill Goodman, a photographer for the ''
Nashville Banner
The ''Nashville Banner'' is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998. The ''Banner'' was published each Monday through Friday afternoon (as well as Saturdays unti ...
''.
Parton re-recorded "Down from Dover" for her 2001 album ''
Little Sparrow
''Little Sparrow'' is the thirty-eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on January 23, 2001, by Sugar Hill and Blue Eye Records. The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album and ...
'' with an additional verse that was cut from the original.
Release and promotion
The album was released February 2, 1970, on
LP.
Singles
The album's only single, "Daddy Come and Get Me", was released in December 1969 and debuted at number 67 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 ...
''
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 dated January 21, 1970. It peaked at number 40 on the chart dated March 7, its sixth week on the chart. It charted for eight weeks. The single also peaked at number 31 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
''
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 ...
s review of the album in the February 14, 1970 issue said, "A very strong album in more ways than one. "Daddy Come and Get Me" is in the traditional jilted love vein, then "Down from Dover" follows. The "Dover" tune is very beautiful and well produced, but the theme is perhaps a little too strong for airplay, even in this day of enlightenment. "Just the Way I Am" is beautiful and not so strong. Dolly Parton is sensational, as usual."
''
Cashbox'' published a review in the issue dated February 7, 1970, which said, "Many of Dolly Parton’s male fans will agree that she is "The Fairest of Them All", and all her fans will agree that vocally, she's one of country music's brightest young stars. Teeing off this set with her current single, Dolly goes on to sing a host of strong tunes, most of which are her own compositions. Should be a nice chart spot on tap for this package. Watch it closely for action."
Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars in a review for
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 ...
. He noted that while the album "lacks any of Dolly Parton’s early masterpieces...it’s one of her strongest early LPs."
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 38 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 dated March 14, 1970. It peaked at number 13 on the chart dated May 9, its ninth week on the chart. The album charted for 17 weeks.
Reissues
The album was reissued on CD in 2010 with Parton's 1972 album ''
My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner
''My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner'' is the tenth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on October 2, 1972, by RCA Victor.
This album was released on CD for the first time on August 17, 2010, along wi ...
''. It was released as a
digital download on January 11, 2011.
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from the album liner notes and RCA recording session records.
*Joseph Babcock – background vocals
*
Jerry Carrigan – drums
*Dolores Edgin – background vocals
*Bob Ferguson – producer
*Bill Goodman – cover photo
*
Lloyd Green – pedal steel
*Milton Henderson – recording technician
*
Junior Huskey – bass
*
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
*Judy H. Ogle – liner notes
*Al Pachucki – recording engineer
*June Page – background vocals
*Dolly Parton – lead vocals
*
Hargus Robbins – piano
*Roy Shockley – recording technician
*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
Charts
Release history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairest of Them All, The
Dolly Parton albums
1970 albums
Albums produced by Bob Ferguson (music)
RCA Records albums