Decades before Dolly Parton would make it to Broadway and other major stages around the world, she was pulling inspiration from the iconic New York City thoroughfare for her debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly, which she released on September 18, 1967. The album peaked at a modest No. 11 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and kick-started what we know today as a monumental career.
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As Parton explained in an interview with Pitchfork, producer Fred Foster was the mastermind behind her debut album’s title and cover image. (Parton and her co-writer, Bill Owens, were responsible for the songs.)
Dolly Parton’s Debut Used Broadway Inspiration
An artist’s debut album is a chance for the musician to make a strong impression, which is no small feat. Back in the late 1960s and for decades after, radio stations all but required songs to be under three minutes to be in airplay rotation. 120 to 180 seconds is certainly not a lot of time to tell a listener what you, your values, and your musical style are all about.
Luckily, Dolly Parton had plenty of help in the business side of things by way of Fred Foster, who also produced records for Roy Orbison and Willie Nelson. Speaking to Pitchfork in 2020, Parton described her debut album as “a start, a chance, and a hope. I was on Monument Records at the time, and a man named Fred Foster had taken an interest in me. So, this was the beginning of my career in country music, as far as a true artist and a true singer/writer.”
The debut album’s title, Hello, I’m Dolly, was also Foster’s idea. “Hello, Dolly! was on Broadway at the time and had just come out,” Parton explained. “And my name’s really Dolly, so he said, ‘Well, why don’t we call it Hello, I’m Dolly?’ And that was just natural. If I was doing another album of songs from back then, I might call it, Hello, I’m Still Dolly.”
While the main source of inspiration for Parton’s debut album was the popular Broadway show, we’d wager a bet that Foster also had Johnny Cash in mind. “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” was the singer-songwriter’s signature greeting to his audience, and Foster’s decision to call Parton’s album Hello, I’m Dolly subtly linked the two artists in an incredibly clever way.
Behind The Natural Album Cover Photoshoot
Dolly Parton’s debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly, features a fresh-faced Parton on the record cover. Some elements of Parton’s look are unmistakable—the sky-high blonde bouffant, her dimples, her full lips. But her appearance is noticeably different from future album covers, like Jolene from 1974 or Burlap and Satin from 1983. Once again, Parton explained, this was Fred Foster’s idea.
Describing the album cover, Parton said, “That was before I started wearing wigs. I remember he had me out in the sunlight, and he said, ‘Well, let’s just do it outside, ‘cause you’re a country girl. Let’s just do it.’ So, that’s what we did. I suppose I was thinking on that album cover, ‘The sun is in my eyes, and I’ll be glad when they get this picture taken, and I hope they get a good one.’ But actually, during that whole shoot, we were outside, and it was pretty, but I remember just thinking that I was so happy and proud that I was finally getting to do my first album. That had been a dream of mine all my life.”
It would have been impossible for Parton to know just how much her career would skyrocket in the years to follow, although there seems to be some sort of quiet, confident self-awareness in Parton’s expression on the debut album that would help propel her to stardom with hits like the opening track, “Dumb Blonde,” and “Something Fishy.”
Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage
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