Country music fans long ago learned that it's a serious mistake to confuse Dolly Parton's over-the-top style with her musical substance. For beneath the flamboyant wigs, rhinestone-studded getups, hourglass figure and self deprecating humor is one of the most gifted songwriters and loveliest voices of the past 50 years. Jolene, recorded in 1972 and '73 in Nashville with that musical mecca's finest session musicians, is filled not only with richly tuneful love songs, but a pair of numbers--"Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You"-- that topped the Country chart. (Parton has had an incredible 23 Number One country hits.) "I Will Always Love You" is a perfect example of how a great songwriter can bring universality to a specific event, in this case the professional breakup of Parton (b. 1946) and her longtime duet partner Porter Wagoner, who contributed to this set the aching "Lonely Comin' Down." In 1992 Whitney Houston made "I Will Always Love You" an international pop smash and, in the process, cemented it as one of Parton's signatures. In the years since Jolene, Parton has herself become a global superstar, not just in music but in the movies and as chief of her own entertainment empire. This album had more than little to do with elevating her to the next level of stardom. And the next. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.