Dolly Parton: Boulder to Birmingham

Dolly Parton’s 1976 album All I Can Do was her last record before she started her run of country/pop crossover albums with 1977’s New Harvest…First Gathering. Even so, Parton always understood pop music, and her cover of Emmylou Harris’ “Boulder to Birmingham” would have sounded perfect in the mix of other Top 40 hits played on the radio in 1976. The song is one of Harris’ signature recordings. It is an ode to Gram Parsons, who died tragically young from a heroine overdose and recorded with Harris on both of his solo albums. I have no idea if Parton recorded the song to deal with loss in her own life or if she merely understood how wonderful a song it is. In any case, it is one of the most gorgeous recordings in Parton’s decades-long career.

To learn more about Dolly Parton, check out her website.

To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.

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