Tunesday Tuesday

I Shazam music all the time, whether it’s in a commercial, in a movie, or sitting in a restaurant, if it catches my ear I want to know who it is and the name of the song.

I love discovering new artists, new-to-me artists, historical recordings, amazing covers, powerful tributes, you name it, I will listen to it. Sometimes, a  conversation with friends is all it takes to bring me back to the music of an artist that I love. That's what happened over the weekend and that's what this week's Tunesday Tuesday is all about.

Over the weekend, friends of mine had a chance to see a living legend in concert. They were at Tanglewood to see Dolly Parton and, while I am pea green with envy, it reminded me of songs that I know and love, but haven't listened to in a long time. So, I've gone back to some of the first records in my collection.

Dolly tells a story during her show about the song 'Jolene' and the story behind it. Apparently, her husband kept going to the bank, he said it was to get a boat loan. But, when he went almost every day, Dolly got suspicious. She went in and saw him talking to a very pretty teller, and while nobody did anything wrong, that's all she needed as inspiration for a song.

Dolly is the most honored female country artist of all time, she’s had 41 Top Ten country albums, 25 number one hits, 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums. Sales of her music has topped 100 million units worldwide. She's been on the big screen and the small screen, is an author, and a movie about her life got very good ratings last fall. In fact, look for a Christmas special this year.

She never let anyone define her or tell her what a girl singer could or couldn't do. She is an inspiration to so many, including myself.

She’s won ten CMA awards, eight Grammys, 7 ACM awards, and three AMA awards. She ties Bruce Springsteen and Beyonce with 46 Grammy nominations. Here she is with two other legends who helped pave the way for female artists in the music business.

I used to dance around my grandparents house listening to this song. Thank goodness it was a lot harder to take a video then than it is now!

Of course, no listening session to Dolly's music can be complete without this song. Here she tells the story of why she wrote it.

Where you lucky enough to see here at Tanglewood or do you have tickets to see her in an upcoming show on her tour? Let me know if you do get to see her. I want to hear all about it!