Dolly Parton: The Little Engine That Did
With the decline in social action, the breaking-up of the American Family, and the increased rate of divorces across the country, singer-songwriters in the seventies were inclined to cater to the “single” fan base by writing “acoustic confessions” to which audiences could relate (Szatmary 221–222). It is clear that throughout the seventies, there was a period of time in which constructing relationships was difficult and single people would look to music as a sort of escape. In singer-songwriter Dolly Parton’s 1974 hit, “Jolene,” the song highlighted the ups-and-downs of relationships. The main instruments involved — drums and acoustic guitar, were played at varied ranges and the song’s melody consisted of a mixture of steadiness and changes in the rhythm’s intensity. This reflected the oscillating relationships between couples during the 70s time period in relation to divorces and the breakup of families and relationships.
While doing research on another singer-songwriter, Joni Mitchell, I found that, “in 1970, the yearly divorce rate leapt to 1.5% and 5 years later it reached 2%. By 1978, more than 1.1 million Americans lived in single households. To establish relationships, people would go to bars, single resorts, and even single housing complexes” (Szatmary 221–222). This statistic was important for not only certain markets but singer-songwriters. Like Mitchell, it was a factor for Dolly Parton that was put into play when writing music for her fans. And like I mentioned, it was always necessary for singer-songwriters to pay attention to society at the time in order to write music that related to the lives of their listeners. This single fan-base was important for Parton to connect to and it can be concluded that Parton’s song, “Jolene” was simply one of the many aspects in music that reflected the strengths and weaknesses of marriages and relationships throughout the 70s. This type of song was important to society during this time period because the single fan base needed to see how relatable and relevant these struggles truly were. These people needed to hear through the voice of an artist that many almost every relationship, whether it is in your family or in marriage, has its rough patches and hard times.
When Dolly Parton was young, “her Uncle Bill noticed her musical talent. He eventually taught her how to write songs and at age 12, she performed at the Grand Ole Opry in place of Jimmy C. Newman” (Taylor). She was very fortunate to have been noticed at a very young age and partially being in the right place at the right time. After some success in her early songs at 16 years old, she signed a deal with Mercury Records in 1962 and four years later got married relatively early at the age of 20. Although there is no direct connection between Parton’s relationship with her uncle and the increased divorce rates throughout the seventies, a connection that highlights the strengths in a relationship — not so much the weaknesses — can be made. Parton clearly established strong bond with her Uncle Bill Owens at a very young age and with his help was given the opportunity to perform live for the first time. Like I said — although very talented, I believe that her innocent look and playing along her Uncle Bill was very beneficial to her landing a spot on the Grand Ole Opry stage in place of Johnny C. Newman. This performance fundamentally was the start of her music career. Even the strong relationship with her husband can be connected to a relationship’s ups and downs. Like her connection with her uncle, the relationship with her husband has been very strong. Parton’s husband had helped her produce music before and overall, their relationship was built with a solid foundation. Although the two have been married for 53 years, I’m sure they have their disagreements.
As far as her big hit, “Jolene,” The contour of the melody showed that the melody goes up when the vocals play the chorus. Parton liked to slide up and down from notes and occasionally use bent notes in her vocals. The bent notes are when a singer or instrument might slide down and back up again before moving on to the next note. However, considering there was only an acoustic guitar and light percussion, there wasn’t much of this as far as the instruments. For the most part, the melody is consistent, and the rhythm has a relatively arch shape to it. Additionally, the motives included in the melody are rhythmic — mainly evenly distributed. Although there were some parts in this song where there were increases in intensity, the main instruments — drums/percussion and acoustic guitar, were not played at a very high pitch or volume. The overall tone of the song was relatively mellow with some fast tempo. With Parton being introduced to the guitar at a very young age, she used her talent of playing acoustics to her advantage in her song “Jolene” and many of her other songs. The structure/foundation of Parton’s country songs were mainly built around the play of the acoustic guitar. Her use of the varied intensity of rhythm is a direct reflection the oscillating relationships between couples during the 70s time period. Also, at times Parton would be singing at a lower pitch and then suddenly jump to a higher note. This relatively inconsistent vocal pitches can reflect the conflict in marriages and families.
Parton’s expression is put on display mainly when singing the lyric title, “Jolene.” However, with more listens, it became clear that her vocals sound more emotional when signing the lyrics, “Please don’t take him even though you can.” The way she expresses herself here makes you think that this song holds a strong meaning to her. The last of the four “Jolene” phrases in the chorus can be considered a rhythmic accent because it is a note that is played at a higher pitch and is played with more emphasis than the notes surrounding it. In the melody, there are several parts. As far as phrasing, “Jolene” is the small phrase that is used in the song repeatedly. This lyric is sung by the main vocals throughout the beginnings of the chorus and the verses. For the range of the vocals, it is clear that they vary from a relatively low to high pitch throughout the song. The melodic character consists of intervals that start as conjunct, become disjunct, then return to conjunct. Most songs combine the two. As far as the singer-songwriters discussed in my chunk in Chapter 26 (401–407), not a single female artist was brought up. And just like the mix of pitches in “Jolene”, she adds a sense of diversity. Also, she is a good choice to supplement this chapter because it is not well-known that she is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and her impact on the music industry goes un-noticed. Parton’s mix of country, bluegrass, country pop, and gospel show how versatile she was as an artist. It is always important to know how the industry was not solely dominated by men back in the day (60s-70s). Although the minority, women held their own as well. These factors impacted how the music that she wrote was heard in the 70s. With men leading the industry, it was not very common for female artists to see as much success as Parton did. As far as the musical traits of her music, being female allowed her to expand her vocal range in her songs. Like I said, she knew how to use vocal expression in her songs which connected herself with her fans on an emotional level. With the feeling of being one of the only top female artists of the 70s, this may have taken a toll on Parton as an artist. She may have felt susceptible at times, but like her relationships with both her husband and uncle, she was strong. Her consistency as far as strength can be linked to the consistent pulse in “Jolene” just like her use of the wide vocal range and varied intensity of rhythm in the song could be linked to the troubling and fluctuating relationships between couples in this time period.
In “Jolene,” for the most part the melody is consistent, and the rhythm has a relatively arch shape to it. The harmonic character is strong and sharp throughout the piece. Also, this song proves to have a variety of short and long intervals between notes. This combination of lower and higher notes makes up most of the melody. This shows how Dolly Parton liked to slide up and back down to certain notes. This is a part of the melodic contour, or shape of the melody, in the song. As far as melodic motives, the beginning of the chorus, “Jolene (x4)” is an example. With the upbeat tempo that reflected the highlights and good times in a relationship, the lyrical message and emotional expression portrayed in her voice reflected the tough times in a relationship in which many fans were a part of the majority of divorces in the seventies.
Works Cited
“Dolly Parton.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 6 Sept. 2019.
Savannah Guthrie. “Well, to put it simply, Dolly Parton is a legend. Seven Grammys, ten Country Music Awards”. NBC News, May 13, 2014 Tuesday.
Szatmary, David P. Rockin’ in Time. Pearson, 2019.
Taylor, B. Kimberly, and Ken Burke. “Parton, Dolly.” Contemporary Musicians, edited by Tracie Ratiner, vol. 75, Gale, 2013, pp. 158–162. Gale eBooks, Accessed 8 Oct. 2019.
