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Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actress, author, businesswoman, and philanthropist, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Dolly Parton made her album debut in 1967, with her album Hello, I’m Dolly. With steady success during the remainder of the 1960s (both as a solo artist and with a series of duet albums with Porter Wagoner), her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continuing into the 1980s; Parton’s subsequent albums in the later part of the 1990s were lower in sales. However, in the new millennium, Parton achieved commercial success again and has released albums on independent labels since 2000, including albums on her own label, Dolly Records. Nine to five key E flat karaoke
Parton is the most honored female country performer of all time. Achieving 25 Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum awards, she has had 25 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts, a record for a female artist (tied with Reba McEntire). She has 41 career top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and she has 110 career charted singles over the past 40 years. All-inclusive sales of singles, albums, hits collections, and digital downloads during her career have topped 100 million worldwide. She has garnered nine Grammy Awards, two Academy Award nominations, ten Country Music Association Awards, seven Academy of Country Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and is one of only seven female artists to win the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award. Parton has received 47 Grammy nominations.
In 1999, Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She has composed over 3,000 songs, notably “I Will Always Love You” (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper for Parton, as well as an international pop hit for Whitney Houston), “Jolene”, “Coat of Many Colors”, and “9 to 5”. She is also one of the few to have received at least one nomination from the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards. As an actress, she has starred in films such as 9 to 5 (1980) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), for which she earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress, as well as Rhinestone (1984), Steel Magnolias (1989) and Joyful Noise (2012).
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, a remote area in rural Sevier County, Tennessee. She is the fourth of 12 children born to Avie Lee Caroline (née Owens; 1923 – 2003) and Robert Lee Parton Sr. (1921 – 2000). Mr. Parton (known as “Lee”) was a subsistence farmer and construction worker. Avie Lee was homemaker for their large family. Her 11 pregnancies between 1939 and 1959 made her a mother of 12 by age 35.
Dolly Parton’s middle name comes from her maternal great-great grandmother, Rebecca (Dunn) Whitted. She has described her family as being “dirt poor.”[7] Parton’s father paid the doctor who helped deliver her with a bag of oatmeal. She outlined her family’s poverty in her early songs “Coat of Many Colors” and “In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad).” They lived in a rustic, one-room cabin in Locust Ridge, just north of the Greenbrier Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains, a predominantly Pentecostal area. Music played an important role in her early life. She was brought up in the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) the church her grandfather, Jake Robert Owens pastored. Her earliest public performances were in the church, beginning at age six. At seven, she started playing a homemade guitar. When she was eight years old, her uncle bought her first real guitar.
Parton began performing as a child, singing on local radio and television programs in the East Tennessee area.[13] By ten, she was appearing on The Cas Walker Show on both WIVK Radio and WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. At 13, she was recording (the single “Puppy Love”) on a small Louisiana label, Goldband Records, and appeared at the Grand Ole Opry, where she first met Johnny Cash, who encouraged her to follow her own instincts regarding her career.[15]
The day after she graduated from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville. Her initial success came as a songwriter, having signed with Combine Publishing shortly after her arrival; with her frequent songwriting partner, her uncle Bill Owens, she wrote several charting singles during this time, including two top-10 hits: Bill Phillips’s 1966 record “Put It Off Until Tomorrow” and Skeeter Davis’s 1967 hit “Fuel to the Flame.” Her songs were recorded by many other artists during this period, including Kitty Wells and Hank Williams Jr. She signed with Monument Records in 1965, at age 19; she initially was pitched as a bubblegum pop singer. She released a string of singles, but the only one that charted, “Happy, Happy Birthday Baby,” did not crack the Billboard Hot 100. Although she expressed a desire to record country material, Monument resisted, thinking her unique voice with its strong vibrato was not suited to the genre. Nine to five key E flat karaoke
After her composition, “Put It Off Until Tomorrow,” as recorded by Bill Phillips (and with Parton, uncredited, on harmony), went to number six on the country chart in 1966, the label relented and allowed her to record country. Her first country single, “Dumb Blonde” (composed by Curly Putman, one of the few songs during this era that she recorded but did not write), reached number 24 on the country chart in 1967, followed by “Something Fishy,” which went to number 17. The two songs appeared on her first full-length album, Hello, I’m Dolly.[18]
Her non-musical ventures include Dollywood, a theme park in Pigeon Forge in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, and her efforts on behalf of childhood literacy, particularly her Imagination Library, as well as Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede and Pirates Voyage Dinner and Show.
In 1967, musician and country music entertainer Porter Wagoner invited Parton to join his organization, offering her a regular spot on his weekly syndicated television program The Porter Wagoner Show, and in his road show. As documented in her 1994 autobiography, initially, much of Wagoner’s audience was unhappy that Norma Jean, the performer whom Parton had replaced, had left the show, and was reluctant to accept Parton (sometimes chanting loudly for Norma Jean from the audience). With Wagoner’s assistance, however, Parton was eventually accepted. Wagoner convinced his label, RCA Victor, to sign her. RCA decided to protect their investment by releasing her first single as a duet with Wagoner. That song, a cover of Tom Paxton’s “The Last Thing on My Mind”, released in late 1967, reached the country top 10 in January 1968, launching a six-year streak of virtually uninterrupted top-10 singles for the pair. Nine to five key E flat karaoke
Parton’s first solo single for RCA Victor, “Just Because I’m a Woman,” was released in the summer of 1968 and was a moderate chart hit, reaching number 17. For the remainder of the decade, none of her solo efforts — even “In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad),” which later became a standard –- was as successful as her duets with Wagoner. The duo was named Vocal Group of the Year in 1968 by the Country Music Association, but Parton’s solo records were continually ignored. Wagoner had a significant financial stake in her future; as of 1969, he was her co-producer and owned nearly half of Owe-Par, the publishing company Parton had founded with Bill Owens. By 1970, both Parton and Wagoner had grown frustrated by her lack of solo chart success. Wagoner persuaded Parton to record Jimmie Rodgers’s “Mule Skinner Blues,” a gimmick that worked. The record shot to number three, followed closely, in February 1971, by her first number-one single, “Joshua.” For the next two years, she had numerous solo hits –- including her signature song “Coat of Many Colors” (number four, 1971) – in addition to her duets. Top-20 singles included “The Right Combination” and “Burning the Midnight Oil” (both duets with Wagoner, 1971); “Lost Forever in Your Kiss,” (with Wagoner) “Touch Your Woman,” (1972) “My Tennessee Mountain Home,” and “Travelin’ Man” (1973).
Although her solo singles and the Wagoner duets were successful, her biggest hit of this period was “Jolene.” Released in late 1973, it topped the country chart in February 1974 and reached the lower regions of the Hot 100. (It eventually also charted in the UK, reaching number seven in 1976, representing Parton’s first UK success). Parton, who’d always envisioned a solo career, made the decision to leave Wagoner’s organization; the pair performed their last duet concert in April 1974, and she stopped appearing on his TV show in mid-1974, although they remained affiliated. He helped produce her records through 1975. The pair continued to release duet albums, their final release being 1975’s Say Forever You’ll Be Mine.
In 1974, her song, “I Will Always Love You,” written about her professional break from Wagoner, went to number one on the country chart. Around the same time, Elvis Presley indicated that he wanted to cover the song. Parton was interested until Presley’s wily manager, Colonel Tom Parker, told her that it was standard procedure for the songwriter to sign over half of the publishing rights to any song recorded by Presley. Parton refused. That decision has been credited with helping to make her many millions of dollars in royalties from the song over the years. Parton had three solo singles reach number one on the country chart in 1974 (“Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You,” and “Love Is Like a Butterfly,”) as well as the duet with Porter Wagoner, “Please Don’t Stop Loving Me”. She again topped the singles chart in 1975 with “The Bargain Store,” Nine to five key E flat karaoke
From 1974 to 1980, she consistently charted in the country Top 10, with eight singles reaching number one. Parton had her own syndicated television variety show, Dolly! (1976–77) During this period, many performers, including Rose Maddox, Kitty Wells, Olivia Newton-John, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt covered her songs. Her siblings Randy and Stella both received recording contracts of their own. During this period, Parton began to embark on a high-profile crossover campaign, attempting to aim her music in a more mainstream direction and increase her visibility outside of the confines of country music. In 1976, she began working closely with Sandy Gallin, who served as her personal manager for the next 25 years. With her 1976 album All I Can Do, which she co-produced with Porter Wagoner, Parton began taking more of an active role in production, and began specifically aiming her music in a more mainstream, pop direction. Her first entirely self-produced effort, New Harvest … First Gathering, (1977) highlighted her pop sensibilities, both in terms of choice of songs –- the album contained covers of the pop and R&B classics “My Girl” and “Higher and Higher” – and production. Though the album was well received and topped the U.S. country albums chart, neither it nor its single “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” made much of an impression on the pop charts. Nine to five key E flat karaoke
After New Harvest’s disappointing chart performance, Parton turned to high profile pop producer Gary Klein for her next album. The result, 1977’s Here You Come Again, became her first million-seller, topping the country album chart and reaching number 20 on the pop chart. The Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil-penned title track topped the country singles chart, and became Parton’s first top-ten single on the pop chart (#3). A second single, the double A-sided “Two Doors Down”/”It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right” topped the country chart and crossed over to the pop Top 20. For the remainder of the 1970s and into the early 1980s, many of her subsequent singles moved up on both charts simultaneously. Her albums during this period were developed specifically for pop-crossover success.
In 1978, Parton won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her Here You Come Again album. She continued to have hits with “Heartbreaker,” (1978) “Baby I’m Burning,” (1979) and “You’re the Only One,” (1979) all of which charted in the pop Top 40 and topped the country chart. “Sweet Summer Lovin'” (1979) became the first Parton single in two years to not top the country chart (though it did reach the Top 10). During this period, her visibility continued to increase, with multiple television appearances. A highly publicized candid interview on a Barbara Walters Special in 1977 (timed to coincide with Here You Come Again’s release) was followed by appearances in 1978 on Cher’s ABC television special, and her own joint special with Carol Burnett on CBS, Carol and Dolly in Nashville. Nine to five key E flat karaoke
Parton served as one of three co-hosts (along with Roy Clark and Glen Campbell) on the CBS special Fifty Years of Country Music. In 1979, Parton hosted the NBC special The Seventies: An Explosion of Country Music, performed live at the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C., and whose audience included President Jimmy Carter. Her commercial success grew in 1980, with three consecutive country chart number-one hits: the Donna Summer-written “Starting Over Again,” “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You,” and “9 to 5,” which topped the country and pop charts in early 1981.[20] She had another Top 10 single that year with “Making Plans,” a single released from a 1980 reunion album with Porter Wagoner. Nine to five key E flat karaoke
The theme song to the 1980 feature film 9 to 5, in which she starred along with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, “9 to 5,” not only reached number one on the country chart, but also, in February 1981, reached number one on the pop and the adult-contemporary charts, giving her a triple number-one hit. Parton became one of the few female country singers to have a number one single on the country and pop charts simultaneously. It also received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Her singles continued to appear consistently in the country Top 10. bBtween 1981 and 1985, she had 12 Top 10 hits; half of them hit number one. She continued to make inroads on the pop chart as well. A re-recorded version of “I Will Always Love You,” from the feature film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) scraped the Top 50 that year and her duet with Kenny Rogers, “Islands in the Stream” (written by the Bee Gees and produced by Barry Gibb), spent two weeks at number one in 1983.
In the mid-1980s, her record sales were still relatively strong, with “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “Downtown,” “Tennessee Homesick Blues,” (1984) “Real Love” (another duet with Kenny Rogers), “Don’t Call It Love,” (1985) and “Think About Love” (1986) all reaching the country Top 10. (“Tennessee Homesick Blues” and “Think About Love” reached number one; “Real Love” also reached number one on the country chart and became a modest crossover hit). However, RCA Records did not renew her contract after it expired that year, and she signed with Columbia Records in 1987.
pop music” are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular (and can include any style).
Pop music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other styles such as urban, dance, rock, Latin, and country; nonetheless, there are core elements that define pop music. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure) as well as the common employment of repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and hooks.
David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop music as “a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, and folk musics”. According to Pete Seeger, pop music is “professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music”.Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music. The music charts contain songs from a variety of sources, including classical, jazz, rock, and novelty songs. Pop music, as a genre, is seen as existing and developing separately.Thus “pop music” may be used to describe a distinct genre, aimed at a youth market, often characterized as a softer alternative to rock and roll.
The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that the term “pop” refers to music performed by such artists as the Rolling Stones (pictured here in a 2006 performance)
The term “pop song” was first recorded as being used in 1926, in the sense of a piece of music “having popular appeal”.However, the term was in mainstream use at least ten years earlier. Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as the birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country, blues and hillbilly music.
According to the website of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, called Grove Music Online, the term “pop music” “originated in Britain in the mid-1950s as a description for rock and roll and the new youth music styles that it influenced The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pop’s “earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to a wide audience … since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the special meaning of non-classical mus[ic], usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, ABBA, etc”. Grove Music Online also states that “… in the early 1960s [the term] ‘pop music’ competed terminologically with Beat music [in England], while in the USA its coverage overlapped (as it still does) with that of ‘rock and roll'”.
Throughout its development, pop music has absorbed influences from most other genres of popular music. Early pop music drew on the sentimental ballad for its form, gained its use of vocal harmonies from gospel and soul music.