"9 to 5" is a song written and recorded by American entertainer

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 ...

for the 1980 comedy film of the same name. In addition to appearing on the film soundtrack, the song was the centerpiece of Parton's album ''

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", which ser ...

'', released in late 1980. The song was released as a single in November 1980. The song garnered Parton an

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nomination and four

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nominations, winning her the awards for

Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter. There ha ...

and Best Country Vocal Performance, Female. For a time, the song became something of an anthem for office workers in the US, and in 2004, Parton's song ranked at number 78 on the American Film Institute's '100 Years, 100 Songs'. The song was accompanied by a music video that featured footage of Parton and her band performing, intercut with scenes from the film.

Background

The song was written for the comedy film '' 9 to 5'', starring Jane Fonda,

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the varie ...

, and Parton in her film debut. The song—and film—owe their titles to 9to5, an organization founded in 1973 with the aim of bringing about fair pay and equal treatment for women in the workplace. The song is also featured in a

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

adaptation of the film, featuring a book by the film's original writer,

Patricia Resnick Patricia Resnick is an American screenwriter and producer, known for her work on films like ''9 to 5'', '' Straight Talk'', and ''Maxie''. She has also worked as a consulting producer or co-producer on TV series like ''Mad Men'' and '' Better Thi ...

, and 20 additional songs written by Dolly Parton. '' 9 to 5'' began showing previews in

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on September 9, 2008, and played on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the Marquis Theatre from April until September 2009 before touring. In 2012, a UK theatre tour of ''9 to 5'' began. A few months before Parton's song and the film, Scottish singer

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

released a single called "9 to 5" in the UK. When Easton's song was released in the U.S. the following year it was renamed " Morning Train (Nine to Five)" to avoid confusion. Easton's single reached the number one spot on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart three months after Parton's song left that spot. Despite similar titles, the two songs are different in lyrical themes. While Parton's song is about a working woman, Easton's song is about a woman waiting at home for her lover to return from work. Although the Parton recording only reached No. 47 in the UK, it remains a popular song on radio and in nightclubs through Britain and was spliced between " Independent Women Part 1" by Destiny's Child and " Eple" by

Röyksopp Röyksopp (), a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø formed in 1998. The duo consists of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland. Berge and Brundtland were introduced to each other through a mutual friend in Tromsø, Norway. They enjoy ...

for the

Soulwax Soulwax are an electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor Cavalera and Stefaan Van Leuven. They were first noticed after the release of their album '' Much Against Ev ...

album '' As Heard on Radio Soulwax Pt. 2''.

Commercial performance

"9 to 5" reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Country chart in January 1981. In February 1981, it went to number one on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

charts, respectively. It became Parton's first and only solo number one entry on the former. (Parton would later team up with

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 m ...

on their number one duet " Islands in the Stream".) The song was certified gold on February 19, 1981, indicating shipment 1,000,000 of physical copies. It was certified platinum on September 25, 2017. The song has accrued 500,000 digital downloads in the United States after it was made available for download in the 21st century. The song peaked at number 47 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1981. It has sold 303,511 digital copies in the UK . , it is Parton's biggest download in the UK, totaling 340,800, while it has also been streamed 8.46 million times.

Notes

This song is one of the few ''Billboard'' chart songs to feature the clacking of a

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

. Parton has stated in a number of interviews that when she wrote the song, she devised the clacking typewriter rhythm by running her acrylic fingernails back and forth against one another. With "9 to 5", Parton became only the second woman to top both the U.S. country singles chart and the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with the same single (the first being Jeannie C. Riley, who had done so with " Harper Valley PTA" in 1968). "9 to 5" served at the theme song for the mid-1980s sitcom '' 9 to 5'' which derived from the film.

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs " San Francisco Bay Blues", " Poetry Man", "Harpo's Blues", and her credited ...

sang the theme for the four-episode premiere season, which aired in March and April 1982; however, Dolly Parton would be heard singing the theme for the sitcom's 1982–1983 run and for its 1986–1988 revival. Songwriters Neil and Jan Goldberg filed a lawsuit against Parton, claiming that "9 to 5" was a copy of their 1976 song "Money World". In December 1985 the court ruled in Parton's favor. U.S. Senator

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

frequently used the song at campaign appearances during her 2020 presidential campaign, with it often playing when she took the stage. Reacting to the song's use, Parton's manager Danny Nozell said, "We did not approve the request, and we do not approve requests like this of (a) political nature." In early 2021, Parton recorded a new version of the song titled "5 to 9" for a

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advert in the Super Bowl LV.

Personnel

– lead vocals, nails *

Jeff Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense cons ...

Marty Walsh Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and former union official. He has been the 29th United States Secretary of Labor since March 23, 2021. A Democrat, he previously served as the 54th mayor of Boston from 2014, ...

– guitars *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

– bass *

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon & ...

– piano *

Rick Shlosser Rick Shlosser is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. He has been a member of Van Morrison's band and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He's also been a varied sessions drummer. Discography 1970s * Andy Pratt - ''Records Are Like Life'' (1 ...

– drums * Leonard Castro – percussion * William Reichenbach – trombone * Tom Salviano – saxophone * Kim S. Hutchroft – baritone saxophone *

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'', '' Rock with You'' ...

– trumpet * Denise Maynelli, Stephanie Spruill, Marti McCall – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

References

External links

9 to 5 lyrics
a

{{authority control 1980 songs 1980 singles 1981 singles Dolly Parton songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Film theme songs Songs written by Dolly Parton Songs written for films RCA Records singles Songs about labor Songs with feminist themes Songs used as jingles