My Top Ten: Dolly Parton

Showing posts with label Dolly Parton. Show all posts

Thursday, 27 August 2026

Celebrity Jukebox #84: Dolly Parton

There aren't that many true icons left, and this week we lost another.

Dolly might not mean the same to other people in my generation as she did to me... but they probably didn't grow up listening to Terry Wogan.

Jolene

Islands In The Stream

Here You Come Again

Love Is Like A Butterfly

The Bargain Store

9 To 5

In my head, every one of those was a Top Ten hit, yet in reality only the first two troubled the UK charts (9 To 5 got to #47... can you believe that?). Despite that, Dolly is one of the few artists I've come across to have a separate discography page for Albums and Singles on iffypedia... so I doubt she worried much about her British record sales.

Dolly defined country music glamour.

Dolly had her own bridge and theme park.

Dolly single-handedly cured Covid. (Well, she did a hell of a lot more than most politicians.)

Like Tina Turner before her, I thought Dolly would go on forever.

I can't believe she's gone - and she was only 80.

Here are some songs for Dolly...

Lee Hazlewood - Dolly Parton's Guitar

Yuko - Dolly Parton

Pam Tillis - Dolly 1969

Geowulf - Dolly

Suede - Dolly

Microdisney - Dolly

And a few choice lyrical mentions...

Johnny Cash in black, over on a countryside

Dolly Parton, ha, Loretta Lynn

Don't forget Charley Pride

James Brown - That's Sweet Music

I'm stuck in Spokane in a motel room

Lord, I wish I had a Dolly Parton tape

Tom T. Hall - Spokane Motel Blues

Ladies, ladies

In my kitchen baking cake is Betty Crocker

Ladies, ladies

Dolly Parton's in my pool

And Aunt Jemima's acting cool

Sparks - Ladies

Dolly Parton was queen

Billy Joel the boss

We were uptown, downtown, little bit of Motown

With Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross

Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott - 7 Inch Single

Dolly Parton and Lord Byron

They said patriotism is the last refuge

But now its me

The Fall - Mount Energei

Larry Hagman, Sally Field

And Dolly Parton, me oh my

It's all yours at

Samson and Delilah's beauty shop

Steve Forbert - Samson & Delilah's Beauty Shop

We've been gone for way too long

Can't count all the roads we've been down

Try to keep it between the ditches

Till the Dolly Parton bridge is in the front window

The Red Clay Strays - Stone's Throw

There's a lot more where they came from, but I'm still on holiday.

Finally then, here's Dolly at her very best...

Sunday, 29 June 2025

Snapshots #402: Songs About Boys (First Initial J)

Johnny Mathis is here to welcome us to a Snapshots dedicated to boys beginning with J. And you're Justin time!

15. You need to apply some game logic here.

"Game logic here" was an anagram.

George Michael - Jesus To A Child

14. Roger, Gene and Dave turn up the volume.

Roger, Gene and Dave were The Byrds, and here they are ROCKING.

The Rockingbirds - Jonathan Jonathan

13. Place in town where James, Bobby and Charlie catch the train.

James Brown, Bobby Brown and Charlie Brown go to the Brownsville Station...

Brownsville Station - Jonah's Here To Stay

12. Vaguely related to big companies.

Something Corporate - If You C Jordan

11. Rebel Without A Mack.

James Dean was a Rebel Without A Cause. Jimmy had a Mack. (When are you coming back?)

Jimmy Dean - Big Bad John

10. Super speedster and critical utensil.

The Flash is a super speedster. A pan would be a critical utensil.

Flash & The Pan - Hey Jimmy

9. Gatsby man, follows Cinder & Barbar.

The Great Gatsby was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Cinder-ella & Barbar-ella.

Ella Fitzgerald - Jim

8. When I'm with you, something you do, bounces me off the ceiling.

Lyrics from Tracy, by The Cuff Links.

Tracie - The House That Jack Built

7. A scary sight.

Terrorvision - Jason

6. Café Americain, among the buffalo.

In Casablanca, Bogey operated Rick's Café Americain. Buffalo Springfield.

Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl

5. What Ray, Toyah and Freddie all wanted to be.

Ray Davies sang Set Me Free. Toyah sang I Want To Be Free. Freddie sang I Want To Break Free.

Free - My Brother Jake

4. Junior Officers Ali & Foreman.

J.O. - Boxers.

Jo Boxers - Johnny Friendly

3. Rolsam.

Fatherson - James

2. Moderna champion.

She spent a heck of a lot of money to help develop the covid vaccine.

Dolly Parton - Joshua

1. Experience required.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Hey Joe

Hey Jude, don't make it bad... come back for more Snapshots next Saturday and make it better.

Na na na nana na naaaaaaaa...

Thursday, 26 June 2025

Listening Post #32: Random Algo-Recommendations

In the process of compiling Namesakes and Saturday Snapshots, I go on youtube quite a lot looking at music videos. Whenever I go on there, the algorithm tries to recommend other things it thinks I will like.

Things like this...

Clearly I'm going to be interested in a song called The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station, for any number of reasons. The jury's still out on CMAT, I want to like her material more than I do, but I'm always impressed by her lyrics... even though the whole point of this song is waiting for her to get to the point.

And then there's this...

I can pretty much guarantee that 95% of people reading this blog would run a mile from the video above, but I loved it. I mean, come on... Dolly Crue? Credit to all involved. And it's a charity single too, so you can't knock it.

And finally... this has got to be the best thing Jack White has done in years. And I'd just about written him off too...

Great performance from John C. Reilly in the video too...

Sunday, 29 December 2024

Snapshots #376: The Snapshots Sale Is Now On!

Now that the Snapshots Sale has officially been started by Robin Zander, lead singer of Cheap Trick, you can all bag yourself a bargain - while stocks last!

20. Tony Pollard is very confused.

Hard as it may be to believe, "Tony Pollard" is an anagram for a very young...

Dolly Parton - The Bargain Store

19. Don't tell your other half about these guys.

Keep that affair secret, whatever you do...

Secret Affair - I'm Not Free (But I'm Cheap)

18. Foibles.

The Kinks - Massive Reductions

17. Mr. Loverman (not Shabba).

He's the man from Love...

Arthur Lee - You Can Save Up To 50% But You're Still A Long Ways From Home

Short but sweet, that one.

16. Wayward Prince, initially Jesus, every one famous.

Prince Harry is rather wayward, the first letter of Jesus is J, but they're all stars...

Harry J. All Stars - Liquidator

15. Octopus Alfred wearing a hockey mask.

Alfred Molina played Dr. Octopus... Jason wore a hockey mask.

Jason Molina - It Costs You Nothing

14. Eastenders without a cause.

Cockney Rebel - Big Big Deal

13. The riddle of who's steering the ship.

Jimmy Riddle at the Helm...

Jimmy Helms - Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse

12. Four sub-par Stewarts fly high with mock King.

They're a quartet of B-Rods in the Sky... with an Elvis who's not the King.

Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet - This Offer Is Unrepeatable

11. Use your powers of deduction to describe Cilla's laughs.

You needed a lorra lorra logic to figure this one out...

Lora Logic - Wonderful Offer

10. Overweight and covered in spots.

Fats Domino - What A Price

9. Tired / Hippocampus.

Hippocampus is the Latin name for seahorses. If you're tired, you need a Sleeper.

Sleeper - Sale of the Century

Seahorses - Sale of the Century

8. Useful for chipping away at the igloo.

Cold Chisel - Cheap Wine

7. Better than Steve Mason and Gordon Anderson.

Steve Mason and Gordon Anderson were the Beta Band.

T-Bone Burnett, Steven Soles, and David Mansfield were...

The Alpha Band - Cheap Perfume

6. Senegal Intelligence Agency.

That would be the SIA...

Sia - Cheap Thrills

5. Crazy boys.

The Mad Lads - Don't Have To Shop Around

4. An insult to the Irish, and a Young man who talks to walls.

Faron Young sang Hello Walls, Mick is a derogatory term for the Irish...

Mick Farren - Half Price Drinks

3. Desperate / not depressive.

Desperate (Steely) Dan and the Manics (not depressives).

Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go

Steely Dan - Everything Must Go

2. What a Doctor and a Baker do at the bus stop.

Tom (Baker) Waits...

Step right up
Everyone's a winner!
Bargains galore!
That's right you too can be the proud owner of...
The quality goes in before the name goes on!

Tom Waits - Step Right Up

1. Get her out of the other way and you'll hear a crazy organ playing in your new build home.

Remove "her" from "other way" and you get Otway. A crazy organ might be a wild willy... in a Barrett home.

John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett - Really Free

The Snapshots Sale Must End New Year's Day! Join us then for our final crazy reductions!

Monday, 21 October 2024

Snapshots Spillover: More Songs To Help You Get Through The Working Week

Welcome to the working week!

Here are some more songs about struggling through 'til payday... starting with the obvious one, clocking in at less than 90 seconds... Album #1, Side #1, Track #1...

Elvis Costello - Welcome To The Working Week

And then, of course, there's the one that I hinted at on Saturday... but which would have been just two damned obvious...

Dolly Parton - 9 To 5

And speaking of obvious...

Johnny Paycheck - Take This Job And Shove It

What else can I offer you?

Drive-By Truckers - This Fucking Job

Well, there's no need to swear. We're not going bowling.

Well, I get up at seven, yeah

And I'll go to work at nine

I got no time for livin'

Yes, I'm workin' all the time

Rush - Working Man

Early in the morning, factory whistle blows

Man rises from bed and puts on his clothes

Man takes his lunch, walks out in the morning light

It's the work, the working, just the working life

Bruce Springsteen - Factory

But I keep my nose on the grindstone, I work hard every day

Get tired on the weekend, after I draw my pay

But I'll go back workin', come Monday morning I'm right back with the crew

I'll drink a little beer that evening

Sing a little bit of these working man blues

Merle Haggard - Working Man's Blues

Now we're talking, Merle! Let's focus on the pay packet...

Jesse Winchester - Payday

Deacon Blue - Wages Day

Or, at the very least, clocking off time.

Hello, darlin' - I'm home again

Covered in shit and aches and pains

Too knackered to think, so give me time to come round

Just gimme the living room beat to the TV sound

The Jam - Just Who Is The 5 O'Clock Hero?

On the bright side though, Paul, it's always five o'clock somewhere...

Wednesday, 6 December 2023

Self-Help For Cynics #16: Great Responsibility

Grand Funk Railroad - Responsibility

With great power comes great responsibility. So goes the mantra by which our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man lives his life. It's a lesson he learned at a terrible cost. When Peter Parker first receives his spider powers, he treats sees them as a selfish opportunity to achieve fame and fortune. Why should he use them to help other people?

Let’s be honest, I think most of us would do exactly what he did – look after ourselves first. And to a degree, there’s nothing wrong with that. You can’t help others if you can’t help yourself. Self-preservation is hot-wired into our brain as its most important function, and that’s why the amygdala takes charge so often. The monkey brain is our protector.

Miles Kane - The Responsible

Peter’s lesson about responsibility comes when he has the chance to use his powers to stop an escaping criminal and doesn’t…

As you’re probably well aware, this act of selfishness comes back to bite him in a very big way when that same criminal later shoots his Uncle Ben dead in a bungled robbery attempt. After that, young Peter dedicates himself to using his powers to help others…

…and this is where the third of Dr. Jennifer Shannon’s three assumptions kicks in: Over-Responsibility”. Along with Fear of Uncertainty and Perfectionism, which we’ve looked at over the past couple of weeks, Over-Responsibility is another big stress-factor for our over-protective amygdala.

Barry White - Responsible

When we fall victim to Over-Responsibility, we put other people’s happiness and well-being above our own. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Don’t we do that automatically with people we love? Maybe… but if we end up resenting them for it, we need to think again. Or if we ourselves end up suffering in the process of helping someone else, couldn’t that be construed as counter-productive? In her book Don’t Feed The Monkey Mind, Dr. Shannon’ advises…

Bottom line: if taking care of your own needs is a casualty of taking care of others, you’re being over-responsible.

Benjamin Zephaniah - Responsible

The story of Spider-Man is not merely a metaphor for Responsibility – it’s also a warning about the dangers of Over-Responsibility. Peter Parker continues to disappoint friends, let down loved ones, lose jobs and fail to take care of his own well-being because he’s so obsessed with helping others. I’ve read stories where he’s taken this to an extreme, pushed himself to the point of mental and physical breakdown, trying to be Spider-Man 24/7. Just in case he’s not available that one time when he could have made the difference. And because Spidey is the one fictional character I relate to more than any other, maybe I end up acting a little Over-Responsible myself from time to time.

Avi Buffalo - Can't Be Too Responsible

Dr. Shannon lists some of the problems that arise from an Over-Responsible mindset… and I reckon I could tick off a good few of them…

“…working harder than others (no), taking on other people’s problems (sometimes), poor self-care (trying to address that right here!), burnout (been there), constant worry and rumination about others (er…), giving advice to others to the point of pushing them away (probably not, because of the last item in this list), blaming yourself for things that are not your fault (definitely), difficulty setting limits (the fact that I’m not even sure what that means leads me to believe: yes), and difficulty with asserting yourself (undoubtedly).”

Phew. I’m exhausted by the responsibility of simply reading that list.

Buffalo Tom - My Responsibility

Apparently, one of the reasons we take on too much responsibility for others is that it’s a good way of being liked and loved.

Of course someone’s going to like you if you go out of your way to help them. But they also may come to rely on you too much, to their detriment. This is a knife edge all parents walk on a daily basis. You are responsible for your child, but you’re also responsible for them developing into an independent human being who can look after themselves! Sometimes the most responsible thing you can do is let them take on their own responsibility.

Dolly Parton - Responsibility

I feel like it’s my responsibility to keep investigating this… but I also feel responsible for taking up too much of your time. One final word from Dr. Shannon then, and I’ll call this one a day…

“Over-responsible people have difficulty recognising what is within their control and what is not. Even when you have a strong personal stake in a conflict, if a solution is beyond your control, it is not your responsibility.”

Wednesday, 21 June 2023

Product Placement #16: Old Spice

When I was a small boy, I drank a whole bottle of Old Spice aftershave and had to go to hospital. Or so the story goes. I'm not entirely sure how this was possible, since in my memory, Old Spice bottles only allowed a few drops out at a time, so I must have been sucking on that white plastic teat for ages. You might well ask "Was Old Spice so delicious to a 3 year old that he wanted to keep on suckling that bottle till he'd drained it dry?" To which I have no real response. An easier question to deal with is, "Where were your parents?" We all know the answer to that one: it was the 70s.

I do wonder if this early escapade put me off alcohol and stopped me joining the teenage drinkers in High School... I was vehemently tee total until I turned 21. Made up for it in the 90s, then quit at the turn of the Millennium for health reasons. Haven't touch a drop since: booze or Old Spice.

Back in the 70s, men only really had the choice of two aftershaves, as far as I can tell. It was Old Spice or Brut... which cost more, because you had to "splash it all over". Old Spice was my dad's choice back then, and it definitely had the classier advert...

The music was O Fortuna, the opening section of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, which (like many people, it seems) I always thought was used in The Omen. It wasn't, but it was later used in The X-Factor, so there's definitely a satanic connection.

My dad stopped wearing aftershave when I was a teenager. But the scent of Old Spice still takes me back to my childhood... thankfully not my trip to Casualty.

Here are some songs that mention Old Spice... none of them are about Victoria Beckham or Geri Halliwell. (That gag wouldn't have worked for Emma.) This first one is particularly apt...

Sometimes I think about my daddy
And his Old Spice grin
Cleaned pressed shirts, and a farmers tan

Slaid Cleaves - Flowered Dresses

Time for a slightly less fragrant memory...

I can smell his cousin's Polo mixing with his grandpa's Old Spice and the
Swedish meatballs look so tempting that his two fat aunts might even fight

Less Than Jake - Pete Jackson Is Getting Married

Wait - the smell gets worse!

And I can taste the bleach on your breath
Covering the Old Spice and cigarettes

Cheap Meat - Marigold Moon

The businessman beside me smelt like Old Spice and gin
The lady to the left was talking about her grandchildren
Two kids behind me were screaming for their mom
She was screaming back, I wonder how come

Arrogant Worms - Worst Seat On The Plane

I've known some arrogant worms in my time. I'm sure you have too.

Splashing on the aftershave was part of the ritual many young men performed in order to prepare for pulling... or trying to pull.

I took a fresh pack of Luckies
And a mint called Sen-Sen
My old man's Trojans
And his Old Spice aftershave

Billy Joel - Keeping The Faith

Often it was the scent of desperation.

There they go again,
Covered in Old Spice,
They think they will get the girls,
'Cause they smell nice!

The Toy Dolls - Dig That Groove, Baby

Still, whatever you think of Old Spice, it's got to smell better than Lynx. One more reason to treasure the good old days.

Drapes and quaff are all in place
Old Spice splashed on a fresh cut facе
Putting on a tie of the old boot lace
Creepеrs and a 30 inch waist

Fairport Convention - Shuffle & Go

Even if the Old Spice did help you find romance, there was no guarantee it'd last...

Here's a little Old Spice you can put it on your pillow
In the spot where I used to lay my head

Ricky Van Shelton - Baby, Take a Picture

And even if it did, you'd probably stop wearing it after awhile. How long then before the infidelity sets in...?

You come home all hours of the night
The fragrance on you ain't Old Spice

Dolly Parton - If You Need Me

You got that guilty look in your eye

And you smell like Old Spice on your skin

So there ain't no way that you can lie

Glenn Frey - Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed?

I guess in the days of Paco Rabanne, Ralph Lauren and Johnny Depp's Sausage, Old Spice is old hat. What do the young people have to say about it?

You old Old Spice wearing

Short chain wearing

Dress shoes and jogging pants wearing

Church sock wearing...

Kanye West - Mama's Boyfriend

I don't know if I have more respect for Kanye, knowing that he's sampled Billy Joel, or not. Also, "young people" - dude is 46 now. Almost as old as another artist I'll always think of as a "youngster", even though she'll be 50 next year...

Old Spice is nice

But sweat is better

Jewel - U & Me = Love

Here's a random sprinkling of tunes that named themselves after my beverage of choice as a toddler...

Lucky Millinder And His Orchestra - Old Spice

Creed - Old Spice

I don't think that's actually the famous Creed, though to these uncultured ears, they sound pretty much the same.

Space Needle - Old Spice

And second to last, but not second to least, some rare XTC...

They sailed in the shallows now they've paid the price

The captain drank the champagne but it tasted like Old Spice

How can we free, how can we free

The ship trapped in the ice

XTC - The Ship Trapped In The Ice

But it's John Grant who wins the prize today. A year's supply of Old Spice is winging its way to Iceland... don't drink it all at once, John.

You'd better watch out sugar, 'cause I'm about to get my Old Spice on

John Grant (featuring Midlake) - Chicken Bones

There is a video for that tune, but it breaks the song up to create a (very entertaining) narrative, so I linked to the album version instead. He still gets his Old Spice on in the video though.