The Fairest of Them All (Dolly Parton album)

Infobox Album |
Name = The Fairest of Them All
Type = Album
Artist = Dolly Parton


Released = February 1970
Recorded = 1969, RCA Studio "B", Nashville
Genre = Country music
Length = 27:50
Label = RCA
Producer = Bob Ferguson
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusicguide.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ajfixqw5ld0e link]
Last album = "My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy" (1969)
This album = "The Fairest of Them All" (1970)
Next album = "A Real Live Dolly (1970)

"The Fairest of Them All" was a 1970 Dolly Parton album.

Album Information

Included is "Down From Dover," a song about the misfortune of a pregnant unwed girl, who waits in vain for the father while being shunned by her parents. The song was controversial for the times and Parton has stated in recent interviews that mentor (and uncredited producer) Porter Wagoner told her that she'd never get played on the radio with story songs like that. The song remains a fan favorite to this day and was re-recorded by Parton for "Little Sparrow" with an additional verse that was cut from the original.

Two other story songs, "Robert" and "Daddy Come and Get Me" are distinctive for their themes. The former tells the story of a boy infatuated with a girl, not knowing that they are brother and sister. The story is a true story based on Parton's life. (Her father had several children with other women.) The latter is a haunting tale, (co-written with Dorothy Jo Hope, Parton's aunt) about a woman begging her father to release her from the mental institution that her cheating husband placed her in.

In a CMT interview with Patty Loveless, Parton joked that it was about the funniest cover she ever made, with the largest collar she could find. She said was trying to look like a fairy tale character. The cover photo was by Bill Goodman, a photographer for " The Nashville Banner".

The liner notes for the album are written by longtime Parton assistant, friend, and confidante Judy Ogle.

Track listing

# Daddy Come and Get Me (Dolly Parton, Dorothy Jo Hope)
# Chas (Dolly Parton)
# When Possession Gets Too Strong (Dolly Parton, Louis Owens)
# Before You Make Up Your Mind (Bill Owens)
# I'm Doing This For Your Sake (Dolly Parton)
# But You Loved Me Then (Dolly Parton)
# Just The Way I Am (Dolly Parton)
# More Than Their Share (Dolly Parton)
# Mammie (Dolly Parton)
# Down From Dover (Dolly Parton)
# Robert (Dolly Parton)

Chart position

External links

* [http://www.dollyon-line.com/archives/albums/fairestota/index.shtml The Fairest Of Them All at Dolly Parton On-Line]