SMART BLONDE: DOLLY PARTON > By Stephen Miller

Miller does a good job in chronicling Parton’s impressive career, from her impoverished beginnings in East Tennessee to the heights of superstardom, a transformation accomplished through sheer grit and determination. It’s a lesson for all those aspiring singer/songwriters who think success in the music biz can be accomplished by simply getting a hold of the right lottery ticket (American Idol, anyone?).Label: OMNIBUS PRESS
[Rating: 3 STARS]

Miller does a good job in chronicling Parton’s impressive career, from her impoverished beginnings in East Tennessee to the heights of superstardom, a transformation accomplished through sheer grit and determination. It’s a lesson for all those aspiring singer/songwriters who think success in the music biz can be accomplished by simply getting a hold of the right lottery ticket (American Idol, anyone?). Dolly Parton’s success came the old fashioned way; she worked for it. Miller is somewhat hampered in that he couldn’t get an interview with Parton herself, or many of those closest to her, though, ironically, this does allow to him more freely cover every aspect of her life. Miller works hard to get behind the façade, though it seems the real Dolly is pretty much as she appears in public: a spunky gal who’s down-to-earth underneath all the spangles. Miller also charts the development of her savvy business sense, another key factor in Parton’s longevity. Miller never quite gets inside his subject, but it’s as close a look at Parton as you’ll probably get.