''Joshua'' is the seventh 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 April 12, 1971, 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 16 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 and number 198 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album's single, "

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

", was nominated for a

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 ...

and was Parton's first song to reach number one 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.

Release and promotion

The album was released April 12, 1971, on LP and 8-track.

Singles

The album's single, "

", was released in November 1970 and peaked at number one on the ''

chart and number 108 on the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart. The single peaked at number two in Canada on the ''RPM'' Country Singles chart.

Critical reception

The review published in the April 24, 1971 issue of ''

'' said, "Dolly Parton took "Joshua" right to the top of the country singles chart, and she should now take him right to the top of the LP chart as well, with this exceptional album followup. Most of the tunes are originals, and there are many standouts, among them "You Can't Reach Me Anymore", "The Last One to Touch Me", and "Chicken Every Sunday"." The April 10, 1971 issue of '' Cashbox'' featured a review that said, "Dolly Parton's "Joshua" has to be one of the all-time best country records ever recorded. Now the title tune of her latest album, it enables those who missed it the first time around to hear it along with nine other fine selections. Always a best seller, this LP containing "The Last One to Touch Me", "Walls of My Mind", "Chicken Every Sunday", "Letter to Heaven", and "J.J. Sneed", which are outstanding tracks, is sure to top the charts shortly.

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 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Commercial performance

The album peaked at number 16 on the ''

chart and number 198 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album peaked at number 24 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 Albums chart.

Accolades

The album's single, "

", was nominated for

Best Country Vocal Performance, Female The Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West. The award has had several minor name changes: *From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female *In 1 ...

, at the

14th Annual Grammy Awards The 14th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 14, 1972, and were broadcast live on television in the United States by ABC; the following year, they would move the telecasts to CBS, where they remain to this date. They recognized accomplishments b ...

Recording

Recording sessions for the album began at

RCA Studio B RCA Studio B was a music recording studio built in 1956 in Nashville, Tennessee by RCA Victor. Originally known simply as "RCA Studios," Studio B, along with the larger and later RCA Studio A became known in the 1960s for being an essential fac ...

in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 20, 1970. There additional sessions followed on October 21, 1970, January 26, and February 11, 1971. "Walls of My Mind", "You Can't Reach Me Anymore", and "The Fire's Still Burning" were recorded during the October 31, 1969 session for 1970's '' The Fairest of Them All''.

Reissues

The album was reissued on CD in 2001 with Parton's 1971 album ''

Coat of Many Colors In the Hebrew Bible, the coat of many colors ( he, כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים, ketonet passim) is the name for the garment that Joseph (Hebrew Bible), Joseph owned, which was given to him by his father, Jacob. Biblical narrative Joseph' ...

''. It was released as a digital download on December 4, 2015.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. *Bobby Dyson – liner notes *Bob Ferguson – producer *Bill Meyers – cover art *Al Pachucki – recording engineer *Roy Shockley – recording technician

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control Dolly Parton albums 1971 albums RCA Records albums Albums produced by Bob Ferguson (music)