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Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton Audiobook
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Publisher Description
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.
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“Metzger's skillful performance, delivered with a delightful Southern drawl when quoting Parton, paints a respectful picture of the first lady of county music, who fought for equality in a male-dominated business…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
Quotes
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“Hamessley is especially attuned to the subtle ways in which Ms. Parton interweaves old and new musical strands.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“A dazzling close reading of Parton's songs and identity as a songwriter.”
— No Depression -
“[An] in-depth gander into an icon's creative process.”
— Booklist -
Metzger's skillful performance, delivered with a delightful Southern drawl when quoting Parton, paints a respectful picture of the first lady of county music, who fought for equality in a male-dominated business.
— AudioFile
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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About Lydia R. Hamessley
Lydia R. Hamessley is a professor of music at Hamilton College. She writes on old-time and bluegrass music, with an emphasis on women and Southern Appalachia. She has also written about the banjo in nineteenth-century America, Appalachian murder ballads, and Peggy Seeger. She appeared in the BBC2 documentary Dolly Parton: Here I Am, which aired in the United States as Biography: Dolly.
About Janet Metzger
Janet Metzger, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has performed as a stage, television, voice, and film actor and as a jazz vocalist in hotels and supper clubs. For five years she was the voice of Headline News, now HLN, during which time she also promoted features and news stories for CNN and CNN International. She is a graduate of Florida State University.