Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton

Abstract

Lydia Hamessley's book Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton offers a welcome addition to the scholarly discussion of Parton's oeuvre. Focusing on Parton's songwriting, Hamessley provides a helpful musicological analysis of Parton that details specific elements of Parton's music, ranging from analysis of melody, harmony, form, and modes to themes in her lyrics. She contributes a lively account of Parton's compositional practice and biographical contexts, in part by drawing on interviews with Parton herself, as well as interviews with Parton's producer, Steve Buckingham. Researchers in the field will find productive material here, particularly the discussion of the music itself and the details about the Parton interviews and how they illustrate Parton's compositional processes. As Hamessley includes listening outlines for songs like “Coat of Many Colors” and musical examples, the book would also be useful for students.Assessing Parton's compositional practice, Hamessley describes the artist's approach as “instinctive and emotional, not theoretical” (p. 4), and she registers some of the contributions of a musicological approach: “Musical analysis identifies and clarifies her intuitive musical choices, explains their effects, and reveals Dolly's distinctive compositional voice” (p. 4). As Hamessley notes, Parton is a prolific songwriter, with more than 3,000 songs, over 450 of which have been recorded. The book uses representative songs as examples, given the huge number of songs in Parton's oeuvre. Because she wishes to illustrate how the songs speak to each other, linking families of tunes and lyrics, Hamessley organizes the book thematically rather than chronologically. Such an approach assists Hamessley in establishing how Parton undertakes a workshop approach to songwriting, in which she returns to melodic and lyrical content to rewrite in new ways.Hamessley's interviews with Parton fill in the blanks of some of the singer's family history and her earliest musical memories. Hamessley argues that Parton “uses her songs to remember and take control of her experiences, both the good and the bad” (p. 11). While Hamessley notes that Parton is often interpreted autobiographically and that the singer herself sometimes uses her songs as “memory palaces” (p. 33), Hamessley is also careful to point out that Parton is frequently dramatizing other people's stories. Parton talks about depicting the lives and emotions of people she knows or true stories she has heard.After a first chapter on Parton's biography, focusing on the development of her music, the book's second chapter uses “Coat of Many Colors” as a case study for unpacking Parton's practices as a composer. Chapters 3 and 4 concern Parton's use of Appalachian music, and form the heart of the book, which will be of special interest from the point of view of folklore studies. Hamessley's specialization in Appalachian music lends her the vantage from which to evaluate Parton's use of those musical traditions and also to contextualize and complicate critical understandings of those musics as multiple and varied. In a second part, focused on thematics, the book includes chapters on love, women's lives and struggles, tragic songs, and spiritual and inspirational songs. The chapter on love draws special attention to, and provides engaging musicological analyses of, “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene,” two of Parton's classic songs. The gender chapter turns to Parton's bluegrass albums in particular.One song that Hamessley returns to in different chapters and contexts is “Little Sparrow,” Parton's adaptation of the traditional song “Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies.” By discussing that song both in terms of Parton's use of Appalachian story songs and her engagement with Appalachian ballads, and also in terms of Parton's bluegrass albums, Hamessley is able to detail the multiple ways in which Parton's classic songs may illuminate different influences in the singer's oeuvre. The book also includes an appendix in which Hamessley provides a case study of Parton's compositional voice in “Wayfaring Stranger.”Throughout, Hamessley underscores how Parton frames her own songwriting process as serious, instinctual, and based on what Parton sees as a spiritual gift (p. 35). Hamessley's readings showcase how Parton emphasizes songwriting itself as the driving force of her work and career. The book also makes the case for further musicological analyses of popular music and of genres such as country music.