"Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton"--author Lydia R. Hamessley's expert analysis and Parton’s characteristically straightforward input inform this comprehensive look at the process, influences, and themes that have shaped the beloved superstar's songwriting artistry (see my review)

 

Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton's success as a performer and pop culture phenomenon has overshadowed her achievements as a songwriter. But she sees herself as a songwriter first, and with good reason. Parton's compositions like "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene" have become American standards with an impact far beyond country music.

Lydia R. Hamessley's expert analysis and Parton’s characteristically straightforward input inform this comprehensive look at the process, influences, and themes that have shaped the superstar's songwriting artistry. Hamessley reveals how Parton’s loving, hardscrabble childhood in the Smoky Mountains provided the musical language, rhythms, and memories of old-time music that resonate in so many of her songs. Hamessley further provides an understanding of how Parton combines her cultural and musical heritage with an artisan’s sense of craft and design to compose eloquent, painfully honest, and gripping songs about women's lives, poverty, heartbreak, inspiration, and love.

Filled with insights on hit songs and less familiar gems, Unlikely Angel covers the full arc of Dolly Parton's career and offers an unprecedented look at the creative force behind the image.

MY REVIEW:  Author Lydia R. Hamessley's biography of Dolly Parton focuses on Parton's songwriting artistry, musical ability, and peerless vocals. While the subject of "Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton" is known for her dazzling appearance, lightning-quick wit, and her charm as an entertainer, she is also very serious about her songwriting. Parton has written over 3,000 songs, and more than 450 of them have been recorded. When beginning her research, Hamessley, a professor of music, and herself a banjo player, first approached Steve Buckingham, a longtime Parton producer and friend. Buckingham, who would later provide the forward for the book, was impressed with the author's vision and contacted Parton, who responded with enthusiastic support. The result is a fascinating, richly-detailed history, not only of a beloved entertainer, but of the music of the Tennessee mountains and the timeless culture of Appalachian America. Parton's lively mind and natural curiosity also propel her to incorporate elements of pop, rock, folk, inspirational, and the most current of musical trends into her own music making. The timeline in "Unlikely Angel" begins with Parton's birth in Locust Ridge, TN in 1946, and continues through to her early years in Nashville, winds through her surge in global stardom as a pop crossover artist, and shines a light on her return to country music, bluegrass, and traditional music, including inspirational and gospel. Today, Dolly Parton is more revered and respected than ever, and as she approaches her 75th birthday, she is still sparkling and effervescent. Her seriousness about her music remains evident in all of the elements she continues to blend together and all the projects she takes on in writing, recording and performing--not just in music, but also in television and film. From the little girl who made her own first guitar and wrote her first song about "Little Tiny Tasseltop"--a doll made from a corn cob--to the incomparable, internationally-acclaimed artist who is also beloved for her great heart and philanthropy, Dolly Parton is a true American Icon. Author Lydia R. Hamessley succeeds in her quest to spotlight the amazing artistry of the "Unlikely Angel". Highly recommended for fans of Dolly Parton, lovers of music, and for those who believe in the American Dream.

Book Copy Gratis University of Illinois Press

Reviews

 

"I’m so excited about the book Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton spotlighting Dolly's unmatched gift as a songwriter. Always honoring and forgiving, Dolly shines only the best light on circumstances that would've taken the rest of us out. She's the hero who continues to encourage those who wanted change or wished to go back, bringing to life a part of the country and an existence most of us didn't know or understand, all while making hard living seem like heaven on earth. Her magical combination of heart and genius is a most awe inspiring thing to witness, having a beauty and delivery like no other. Dolly's tales of family, faith, and romance have created an American treasure who has continued to enrapture the world for decades. What a gift for us to see life through hers." --Alison Krauss

"A dazzling close reading of Parton's songs and identity as a songwriter." --No Depression

"Meticulously researched . . . The fine, affectionate attention Hamessley pays to Parton's music offers all sorts of revelations: the old-world strangeness of Parton's lyrical diction, the Appalachian roots of the stirringly beautiful chest voice she employs on her 2002 song 'These Old Bones,' or how much more eerie her critically maligned tearjerker 'Me and Little Andy' becomes when you consider it within the tradition of the ghost story." --Lindsay Zoladz, Bookforum

​"A persuasive argument for taking Dolly Parton seriously as an artist. For folk and country music scholars, musicians, and fans." --Library Journal

"Serious Dolly Parton fans and country music aficionados will be delighted by this in-depth gander into an icon's creative process. " --Booklist

 "By examining [Dolly] thoroughly through her musical creations, author and music professor Lydia R. Hamessley gives a dynamic view of this remarkable star." --Bookreporter.com

 

 

 

Lydia Hamessley

 

  

 

Lydia Hamessley is a professor of music at Hamilton College, where she teaches courses in country music, music and film, Medieval and Renaissance music, and world music. She received the Class of 1962 Outstanding Teaching Award in 2007 and The Samuel & Helen Lang Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2013.

She appeared in the BBC2 documentary, Dolly Parton: Here I Am, 2019 (currently available on Netflix), which aired in the U.S. as Biography: Dolly on A&E, 2020.

She writes on old-time and bluegrass music, with an emphasis on women and Southern Appalachia. She has published articles on the banjo in 19th-century America; Appalachian murder ballads; and Peggy Seeger. She is a clawhammer banjo player, enjoys cycling tours in the UK, and is a quilter.

https://people.hamilton.edu/lhamessl