Did You Know Dolly Parton Didn’t Actually Write Her Biggest Holiday Hit?

Dolly Parton is certainly known for her glamorous and grandiose presence. However, beyond the hairspray and rhinestones is a poet who dissects the human condition to the utmost degree. Parton perfectly exemplifies that talent in her Christmas hit, “Hard Candy Christmas.” To take such a stance on pain in suffering in a Christmas song is already an enormous risk. Although, when you’re Dolly Parton, it’s an even bigger risk as fans are expecting something bubbly and cheerful. But Parton did not submit to these commercial needs, as she created a uniquely tragic country music Christmas song.

Videos by American Songwriter

Released in 1982, Parton’s somber Christmas ballad subverts the general marketable appearance of the holiday season. In our words, the song is about the other side of Christmas. The side of Christmas that isn’t shown in the toy stores or the commercials. A side of Christmas wreaking with raw humanity. Though, before you jump to conclusions and give Dolly Parton all the credit, you must know that she actually did not write this song. Rather it was the acclaimed songwriter, Carrol Hall.

Dolly Parton Indirectly Pays Credit to Carrol Hall

In an interview with Kelly Clarkson on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the two went in depth about Parton’s Christmas hit. That being so, right off the bat Parton exposed the public opinion and acknowledged she did not write the song. She stated, “I actually did not write “Hard Candy Christmas.” “Everybody thinks I did. The girl that wrote all of that, the music from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas wrote that,” Parton added.

Dolly Parton, admirably, did not steal the credit of the criminally unknown Carrol Hall. As she told Clarkson, “But I love that song and people always tag it to me” and “I get a lot of credit for a lot of stuff a lot of people do, just because I’m singing it.”

For a bit of context, Carrol Hall is an award-winning lyricist and composer for several Broadway musicals and other endeavors. Most notably, she wrote all of the music for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The other songs that make her worth a listen are “My Circle of Friends” and “This Is My Birthday.” Even though all of the superlatives apply to Dolly Parton, they also apply to Carrol Hall, the silent songwriter who wrote one of Parton’s biggest hits.

Photo by John Seakwood/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images