![\"M-34-dolly-parton\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/M-34-dolly-parton.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nDolly Parton wears many\u00a0impressive hats: singer, actress, producer, musician, author, entrepreneur, philanthropist. But first and foremost, the Tennessee native is a songwriter, penning more than 3,000 compositions, including smash hits \u201cI Will Always Love You,\u201d \u201cJolene\u201d and \u201c9 to 5.\u201d \u201cI love writing songs\u2014I always have,\u201d she says. \u201cTelling stories is part of my Smoky Mountain DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s turned that genetic talent into a singular career. At 68, Parton\u2019s seemingly endless achievements include seven Grammy awards, 41 Top 10 country albums and more than two dozen country No. 1s. She\u2019s a Country Music Hall of Fame member and a Kennedy Center Honoree who has sold more than\u00a0100 million records worldwide.<\/p>\n
Despite the staggering stats, Parton\u2019s music has always been personal. For her new record, Blue Smoke<\/i>, she compiled an eclectic track list, from the traditional Appalachian murder ballad \u201cBanks of the Ohio\u201d to Bon Jovi\u2019s \u201cLay Your Hands on Me.\u201d But as with all of Parton\u2019s records, the bedrock of Blue Smoke<\/i> is her original music, songs that are alternately heartbreaking (\u201cMiss You\u2014Miss Me\u201d) and humorous (\u201cLover du Jour\u201d). \u201cThere are all the colors of my life in all the areas of music I\u2019ve dabbled in through the years,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The country icon has experienced many firsts in her near five-decade career, but this summer Parton will notch one more: Playing the U.K.\u2019s noted Glastonbury Festival alongside Jack White, Robert Plant and Skrillex. \u201cIt\u2019s a mighty big deal,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m no rock star, but I\u2019ll do my best.\u201d<\/p>\n
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How did you choose material?<\/b><\/p>\n
I chose songs that I thought were right for this particular time in my life. They reflect different pieces of my life from the bluegrass to the gospel to the old mountain music like \u201cBanks of the Ohio.\u201d The album covers everything I\u2019ve done\u00a0through the years.<\/p>\n
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You added lyrics to \u201cBanks of the Ohio.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always loved that song, but it was really a man\u2019s song. When I\u2019d hear other women sing it, I\u2019d think it was odd. So I thought, \u201cWhy not set the song up like I\u2019m a journalist who\u2019s going inside a prison to talk to an inmate about the story?\u201d I thought writing that verse made the song more singable for a girl. I hope that when others record it\u2014hopefully other girls\u2014perhaps they might use my little part.<\/p>\n
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Describe the recording process.<\/b><\/p>\n
You always struggle with arrangements. You\u2019ll sing a song and think, \u201cUgh, the tempo is not right for that,\u201d so you\u2019ll go back and rework it. Kent Wells produced the album, but I\u2019m very active with thoughts and input. As a songwriter I definitely have ideas that I want to get across. You always want to make sure it\u2019s good. You have to work at it, but it\u2019s always fun\u2014I love the process. You always record more material than you can put on each album, so some of these were already in the can, like \u201cBlue Smoke,\u201d which we recorded a while ago. I did \u201cBanks of the Ohio\u201d a long time ago, too. Then we recorded some new things like \u201cMiss You\u2014Miss Me,\u201d the Bon Jovi song \u201cLay Your Hands on Me,\u201d and \u201cDon\u2019t Think Twice, It\u2019s All Right.\u201d We went in on several different days to record to make sure we had a great album.<\/p>\n
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Were there any difficult moments?<\/b><\/p>\n
Trying to sing with Willie [Nelson] is one of the hardest jobs I\u2019ve ever done. I love Willie to death, and I\u2019ve known him for so many years\u2014we came to Nashville at the same time and had so many similar experiences. He\u2019s such a stylist and so unique. I love his voice, but it\u2019s different trying to sing with him rather than just listen to him. We didn\u2019t record in the studio together, but while we were working on this song \u201cFrom Here to the Moon and Back,\u201d for his CD of duets, I told him, \u201cDamn, Willie, you need to get me a sack of grass if I\u2019m supposed to sing along with you! You\u2019ve got to get me on your own plane.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Your music seems more optimistic.<\/b><\/p>\n
I still write plenty of sad story songs. It\u2019s just that a lot of people don\u2019t really care for that\u2014it\u2019s not commercial anymore. When you get ready to do an album, I try to think about what the public likes and what they will accept me singing. People don\u2019t like to hear me sing a lot of sad stuff anymore. They say, \u201cI don\u2019t think of you like that!\u201d I say, \u201cWell, think of me as a songwriter and a singer.\u201d You kind of try to base your albums on what the people want, what they expect, and what they can endure.<\/p>\n
How do you write?<\/b><\/p>\n
I write all the time because songs come to me all the time. I don\u2019t always finish a song every day, but I write down an idea for a song almost every day. My favorite thing in the world is to have a couple of weeks in advance that I know I can take off and go write. I\u2019ll go up to my old mountain home or somewhere I can just be by myself where I can get close to God and feel like I\u2019m connected and just get up in the mornings and let the spirit and ideas flow. Go at it for a couple of weeks, then come\u00a0home and record them.<\/p>\n
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Still interested in radio success?<\/b><\/p>\n
It interests me, but I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s ever going to happen for me again. I\u2019m\u00a0not saying it won\u2019t, but I guess it would depend on the musicians I use, what songs and arrangements I use, and what producers\u2014whether it\u2019s produced by one of those producers where people play their stuff because it\u2019s them. I\u2019ve always been more about just being true to my music and true to myself. It doesn\u2019t matter so much to me anymore. Of course, every singer would love to be played on the radio, but I don\u2019t spend time thinking about that so much as just doing the work and hoping all good things\u00a0come from that.<\/p>\n
How have you evolved as an artist?<\/b><\/p>\n
I really try to outdo myself every time. I\u2019m my only competition. I don\u2019t try to be better than someone else. Through the years, I think my voice has strengthened by keeping at it and doing different styles. I think my songwriting has improved because I\u2019ve lived a richer, more colorful, more involved life than my early days. Living life makes you a better singer if you love to sing and a better writer if you love to write because you write what you feel, what you know, and what you experience.<\/p>\n
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What\u2019s next?<\/b><\/p>\n
For a few years now, I\u2019ve been writing my life story as a musical that will have lots of original music, and songs I\u2019m known for. I would also love to see my life story as a movie, so I\u2019ve been working on those projects, and I\u2019m closer than I\u2019ve ever been. I would love to have my own cosmetic company and my own wig company. And I\u2019d love to have a children\u2019s show someday. I have new dreams every day\u2014the hard part is just deciding which to tackle first, and which are more apt to come true. I don\u2019t ever intend to retire. If my health holds up, I hope to be working until I\u2019m 100.<\/p>\n
\u2013Juli Thanki<\/p>\n
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