A day after her high school graduation in 1964, Dolly Parton left behind the rugged East Tennessee mountains of her childhood and headed for the big city. The following year, she signed with Monument Records, where producers tried to steer her toward a more bubblegum pop-oriented sound despite her preference for country music. First finding success alongside duet partner Porter Waggoner, Parton finally scored her first solo No. 1 in early 1971 with “Joshua.” Up until February 1972, the singer had mostly confined herself to the realms of childhood nostalgia, rather than pure love songs. That changed with “Touch Your Woman,” released on this day (Feb. 21) in 1972.
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Why Some Radio Stations Banned This Dolly Parton Hit
In contrast to her previous, more upbeat numbers, “Touch Your Woman” takes its time. Following a disagreement with her lover, Dolly Parton offers instructions on how to reconcile. When the anger’s at an end / And you want inside my arms again / All you have to do to make it right is just / Touch your woman.
The title track to her ninth solo album of the same name, Parton described “Touch Your Woman” as “sexy” and “intimate,” but “also innocent and pure.”
However, not all radio executives saw it that way, with several stations refusing to play the song due to its sexually suggestive lyrics. Still, this didn’t stop “Touch Your Woman” from reaching No. 6 on the country singles chart. It also earned Parton a Grammy nomination for Best Female County Vocal Performance, although she would ultimately lose out to “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” by Donna Fargo.
[RELATED: I Listened to Every No. 1 Hit by Dolly Parton—Here’s Are the 3 That Surprised Me Most]
“Let’s Just Do It And Touch Again”
“Touch Your Woman” has since been covered by country singer Skeeter Davis, R&B artist Margie Joseph, and folk singer Kate Campbell. Dolly Parton touched on the hit in her 2020 book Songteller, calling it “a really good love song.”
“It’s, ‘Just let me know you love me.’ Touch me, and let’s get back to where we’ve been and how we got together to start with,” Parton wrote. “We can’t let some little upset make us get bitter and calloused. Let our love build and grow. Just touch me, tell me that you’re sorry, or let me say that I’m sorry. Whoever is sorry, let’s just do it and touch again.”
Featured image by David Redfern/Redferns
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