On This Day in 1978, Dolly Parton Was at No. 1 With One of the Sexiest Songs in Her Discography

On this day (May 12) in 1978, Dolly Parton was in the middle of a two-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right.” The song’s lyrics are from the perspective of a lonely woman calling a casual acquaintance for a one-night stand, but it wasn’t controversial. Interestingly, it came only three years after misinterpretations of her lyrics led to one of her singles being banned by country radio.

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Parton released “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right” with “Two Doors Down” as a double A-side single from her album Here You Come Again. It climbed to the top of the country chart while “Two Doors Down” worked its way up the Hot 100, peaking at No. 12. The album saw her breaking into the pop world while keeping one foot planted on her country music roots. The two sides of the single almost perfectly illustrate the balance she struck with the LP.

Parton only wrote four of the album’s 10 tracks. Among those was the overtly sexual “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right.” She was surprised when the song hit country radio without causing an uproar. Just three years earlier, “The Bargain Store” was banned by many radio stations. The single’s lyrics are about carrying baggage from previous bad relationships and broken hearts. However, some DJs and radio programmers thought she was singing about prostitution. So, she was ready to weather the same storm again. This time, though, the pearl-clutching would be warranted.

Dolly Parton on “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right”

“I never meant nothin’ dirty in ‘The Bargain Store.’ In ‘It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right,’ I really did,” Dolly Parton said in a 1978 interview. “I meant for it to be what it was. You know, what people call makin’ love to somebody you’re not married to. With lyrics like, ‘Hello, are you free tonight? / I like your looks, I love your smile / Could I use you for a while?’ Just how plain can I be?” she explained. At the same time, she expected some pushback from Nashville. “Even in this day and time, when you can say everything, country music is a little bit more delicate, and I respect that,” Parton added.

In her 2020 book, Songteller, Parton looked back on the single. “I thought this was a clever title and a clever idea for a song. I’ve always been drawn to sexy songs, and this happens to be one of my favorites,” she wrote. “This character in this one just kinda throws caution to the wind, as most of us have done at one time or another.”

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