"The River Unbroken" is a song 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 ...

, which was released in 1987 as the lead single from her twenty-eighth studio album ''

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

''. It was written by Darrell Brown and

David Batteau David Hurst Batteau (born June 25, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter. Batteau is the son of Blanca Batteau and Dr. Dwight Wayne Batteau, of Harvard University and Tufts University. He is the brother of singer-songwriter Robin Batteau. H ...

, and produced by Steve "Golde" Goldstein. "The River Unbroken" was Parton's first single for Columbia, following her move to the label from

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

. The song reached No. 63 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart. In Canada, it peaked at No. 51 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, and No. 23 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Critical reception

On its release, ''Billboard'' described the song as a "rootsy, rock-flavored ballad" that should "regain her pop stature". '' Cash Box'' considered the song "enjoyable" and Parton's voice "as distinctive as ever", but felt "hard country" fans would be "disappointed" with the song's direction ("The lyrics could be country, but the arrangement surely is not"). In a review of ''Rainbow'', Ken Tucker of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' described the song as having "the firm assurance of a potential hit". In a retrospective review, Barry Weber of

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 databa ...

felt both "The River Unbroken" and "Could I Have Your Autograph" are "somewhat intriguing, but they're certainly not strong enough to survive the glossy, overtly polished production".

Cover versions

* In 1989, American gospel singer

Russ Taff Russell Taff (born November 11, 1953) is an American gospel singer and songwriter who grew up in Farmersville, California. He has sung a variety of musical styles throughout his career including: pop rock, traditional Southern gospel, contempor ...

recorded his own version of the song for his album ''The Way Home''. For the album, the song's co-writer Darrell Brown contributed background vocals and some production work. The album reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Top Contemporary Christian chart.

Track listing

;7", CD and cassette single #"The River Unbroken" - 3:56 #"More Than I Can Say" - 4:06 ;7" single (promo) #"The River Unbroken" - 3:56 #"The River Unbroken" - 3:56

Personnel

The River Unbroken *

- lead vocals, harmony vocals, backing vocals * Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Richard Dennison - backing vocals *

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy ...

- acoustic guitar *

Kevin Dukes Kevin Dukes is an American guitarist. A native of Natchez, Mississippi, Dukes attended The University of Southern Mississippi as a Music Theory and Composition major prior to moving to Los Angeles, California in the late 1970s. He has toured an ...

- electric guitar, slide electric guitar * Steve "Golde" Goldstein - synthesizer, drum programming *

Bob Glaub Bob Glaub (born May 10, 1952)Hageman, William (April 29, 2005)."The aces of bass: Five giants of an overshadowed instrument", Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists an ...

- bass * John Vigran - drum programming Production * Steve "Golde" Goldstein - producer * Richard Bosworth - mixing, recording *

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...

- mastering Other * Tony Lane, Nancy Donald - art direction *

Annie Leibovitz Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of Jo ...

- photography

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:River Unbroken 1987 singles Dolly Parton songs Columbia Records singles Songs written by Darrell Brown (musician) 1987 songs Songs written by David Batteau