If you ever needed concrete evidence that Dolly Parton deserves her honorary title of Queen of Appalachia, her late 1970s performance with almost her entire family is a fantastic place to start. The Parton family visited their daughter and sibling's variety show, Dolly, which aired from the fall of 1976 to the spring of 1977. Despite its short run, the show offered countless notable performances, including the one with Dolly and her folks.
From the sibling harmony to the noticeable physical similarities to the heartstring-tugging connection between Dolly and her aging parents, the Parton family's rendition of "In the Pines" is one of the best yet.
Dolly Parton has often incorporated imagery from her childhood in the Appalachian mountains of Sevierville, Tennessee, in her music, from "Coat of Many Colors" to "My Tennessee Mountain Home." But in the late 1970s, the country star took her dedication to her family one step further by inviting them to perform on her variety show, Dolly. This was no charity act, either. Although Dolly might be the most famous Parton in their clan, she's certainly not the only musical member of the family. Several of her siblings also pursued careers in music and other creative fields.
The entire Parton family wasn't present on stage during the late 1970s performance, but the majority of them were. Dolly's parents, Robert Parton and Avie Lee Parton, sat on either side of their daughter, front and center. Seven out of 11 of the Parton siblings sat behind them, including Willadeene, Stella, Cassie, Randy, Floyd, Frieda, and Rachel Parton. Four siblings were missing, one of whom, Larry, died as an infant in 1955. Dolly's oldest brothers, David, Coy, and Robert Lee Parton Jr., preferred a life out of the spotlight and were also missing from the television performance.
As the camera pans around the stage, it's easy to see the Parton attributes that the entire family boasts: big smiles, dimples, full lips, and light eyes. The noticeable nerves felt by some of the more bashful family members make the performance even more endearing (and Dolly's comfortable stage presence that much more impressive). From their song of choice to their heavily accented banter before and after they sing, Dolly Parton and her family's rendition of "In the Pines" is about as Appalachian as it gets.
The Appalachian region of the southeastern United States is rich in musical history, and Dolly Parton and her family are no exception to that tradition. Parton's time performing with relatives as a child would ultimately lead to her finding her big break in Nashville as a songwriter, and many of her siblings pursued musical careers as well. Even when Parton's parents look visibly nervous while singing with their daughter on Dolly, the Partons carry their melodies effortlessly. When the entire family sings together, the sound reminds listeners just how powerful blood harmony can really be.
Even the song they selected, "In the Pines," is a traditional Appalachian tune. Dolly referenced another song the family used to sing together, "Little Brown Jug," inviting wisecracks from her father about how well he's come to know that little brown jug (presumably filled with a lot of white lightning). When Dolly's parents sing their respective verses in their thick mountain drawl, it's as if you're listening to the folk tune in its native language. And who can deny the sweetness of Dolly's father looking to his daughter for reassurance and bashfully smiling when she gives him an encouraging grin?
Throughout her entire decades-long career, we'd place Dolly's singalong with her family as one of her top ten "Peak Dolly Parton" performances.
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