Dolly records a song for Little Sparrow. Get your copy here!
News and Reviews
Sept. 18: Ten weeks into its release, Dolly's Halos & Horns has sold about 91,000 copies, Sugar Hill Records confirmed to Dollymania this week. For comparison, Little Sparrow had sold a little more than 80,000 at this point in its release last year, meaning copies of Halos are selling about 10 percent faster than did those of her most recent album. Since its release almost 20 months ago, Sparrow has sold about 198,000 copies. And since its release nearly three years ago, The Grass Is Blue has sold about 179,000 copies. Since the release of Halos, these two other Sugar Hill titles by Dolly have logged about 8,000 units sold each.
Sept. 9: Little Sparrow, which had fallen off the 20-position British country albums countdown last week, returns to No. 16 for its 79th chart week, it was announced Sunday. It had peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and has been on the chart overseas for more than a year and a half.
Sept. 6: After seven weeks on the Billboard bluegrass albums chart, Dolly's Little Sparrow falls off the top 20, down from No. 14, in the Sept. 14 edition released Thursday.
Sept. 2: After a solid year and a half on the country albums chart overseas, Dolly's Little Sparrow falls this week out of the top 20, down from No. 16 last week. That album had peaked at No. 1 in England for eight weeks.
Aug. 30: Little Sparrow falls one place to No. 14 in its seventh week on the Billboard bluegrass albums chart, it was announced Thursday in the chart's Sept. 7 edition.
Aug. 26: Little Sparrow loses six spots as it falls to No. 16 for its 78th week on the British country albums chart, it was announced Sunday.
Aug. 23: Billboard released its Aug. 31 albums charts on Thursday, and Little Sparrow drops one place on the bluegrass chart to No. 13 for its sixth week.
Aug. 19: Little Sparrow remains steady at No. 10 for its 77th chart week on the British country albums chart released Sunday.
Aug. 16: Billboard released its Aug. 24 albums charts on Thursday, and Little Sparrow moves up three places on the bluegrass chart to No. 12 for its fifth week.
Aug. 12: Little Sparrow remains steady at No. 10 for its 76th chart week on the British country albums chart released Sunday.
Aug. 9: Billboard released its Aug. 17 albums charts on Thursday, and Little Sparrow falls three on the bluegrass chart to No. 15 for its fourth week.
Aug. 5: Little Sparrow falls two places to No. 10 for its 75th chart week on the British country albums chart released Sunday.
Aug. 2: Little Sparrow also re-enters the top 15 bluegrass chart in the Aug. 10 Billboard chart, coming in at No. 12 for its third week on that list.
July 31: Little Sparrow climbs another spot to No. 8 for its 74th chart week on the British country albums chart released Sunday.
July 22: Little Sparrow climbs one spot to No. 9 for its 73rd chart week on the British country albums chart released Sunday.
July 19: Little Sparrow moves up one notch to No. 12 in its second week on the Billboard bluegrass albums chart (dated July 27), it was announced Thursday.
July 15: Little Sparrow, now in its astonishing 72nd chart week overseas, falls two places to No. 10 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The Grammy-winning Sparrow last year spent eight weeks at No. 1 and reached gold album status in England.
July 12: Billboard premiered its new bluegrass albums chart on Thursday, issuing its first edition dated July 20, and Dolly is well-represented. Little Sparrow comes in at No. 13, and Ricky Skaggs And Friends Sing The Songs Of Bill Monroe (which features the awesome "Cry, Cry Darlin'" performed by Dolly) is at No. 11. Although this is the first week that the chart has been published, the CDs were both credited as in their second week (apparently chart figures were tabulated for the previous week but not released publicly).
July 8: Little Sparrow jumps up two places on the British country albums chart released Sunday, coming in at No. 8 in its 71st week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
July 1: Dolly's Little Sparrow remains steady on the British country albums chart released Sunday, coming in at No. 10 in its 70th week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
June 24: Dolly's Little Sparrow drops two notches on the British country albums chart released Sunday, coming in at No. 10 in its 69th week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
June 17: Dolly's Little Sparrow moves down one place on the British country albums chart released Sunday, coming in at No. 8 in its 68th week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
June10: Dolly's Little Sparrow inches up one spot on the British country albums chart released Sunday, coming in at No. 7 in its 67th week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
June 3: Dolly's Little Sparrow inches back up two places on the British country albums chart released Sunday, coming in at No. 8 in its 66th week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
May 27:  Dolly's Little Sparrow inches down two places on the British country albums chart released Sunday, coming in at No. 10 in its 65th week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
May 20: Dolly's Little Sparrow inches down two places on the British country albums chart released Sunday, coming in at No. 8 for a 64th week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
May 13: Dolly's Little Sparrow could be heading back toward the top of the British country albums charts, as it inches up one more place on the tally released Sunday, coming in at No. 6 for a 63rd week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
May 6: Dolly's Little Sparrow jumps up three more places on the British country albums chart released Sunday, coming in at No. 7 for a 62nd week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
April 29: Dolly's Little Sparrow jumps up nine places on the British country albums chart released Sunday, coming in at No. 10 for a 61st week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
April 22: Dolly's Little Sparrow returns to the 20-position British country albums chart released Sunday, re-entering the chart at No. 19 for a 60th week. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
April 12: After 59 total weeks on the overseas chart, Dolly's Little Sparrow fell off of the 20-position British country albums chart released Sunday, down from No. 20. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
April 1: Little Sparrow slips one spot to No. 20 in its 59th week on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year and reached gold status overseas.
March 25: Little Sparrow slips one spot to No. 19 in its 58th week on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year.
March 18: Little Sparrow slips three spots to No. 18 in its 57th week on the British country albums chart released Sunday.
March 12: Dolly's second bluegrass effort won her a second Association for Independent Music (AFIM) Indie Award, it was announced Monday night. Little Sparrow beat out Dale Ann Bradley's Cumberland River Dreams and the Dry Branch Fire Squad's Hand Hewn for Best Bluegrass Album, an honor which she won in 2000 for The Grass Is Blue. The Songcatcher soundtrack, which features a Dolly duet, didn't fare as well, losing Best Soundtrack to The Dark Punk.
March 11: Little Sparrow slips one spot to No. 15 in its 56th week on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The Grammy-winning CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year.
March 4: Little Sparrow falls two spots to No. 14 in its 55th week on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The Grammy-nominated CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year.
Feb. 27: Dolly took home her seventh Grammy Award Wednesday night winning Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Shine" from Little Sparrow in a category she hasn't won in more than 20 years. However, she lost Best Bluegrass Album for the CD to pal Alison Krauss, who won for New Favorite. Dolly had previously won the Female category in 1978 for "Here You Come Again" and 1981 for "9 to 5." Last year, she had been nominated in the category for "Travelin' Prayer" from The Grass Is Blue, which itself had won Best Bluegrass Album at last year's ceremonies. This marks the first time Dolly has won three consecutive Grammy Awards, having taken home Best Country Collaboration With Vocals two years ago for "After The Goldrush" from the gold Trio II with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. In tonight's awards, she had been competing in Best Female Country Vocal Performance with Sheryl Crow's "Long Gone Lonesome Blues," Jamie O'Neal's "There Is No Arizona," Lucinda Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart" and Trisha Yearwood's "I Would've Loved You Anyway." For Best Bluegrass Album, she had faced Krauss, Patty Loveless with Mountain Soul, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for History of The Future and Ralph Stanley and Friends for Clinch Mountain Sweethearts, which includes a Dolly duet. In her career, Dolly has amassed 38 Grammy nominations and seven wins. In related news, USA Today this morning had picked Dolly to win the Best Female award, while today's The Tennessean had its three critics split between Crow, Yearwood and O'Neal, although one said he believed Dolly should win.
According to the Nashville Tennessean, the cover art for Dolly's Little Sparrow won a silver medal in this year's Nashville ADDY Awards, a competition honoring the best in advertising and marketing. The CD picked up the award for Collateral CD Package.
Feb. 25: Little Sparrow inches down two spots to No. 12 in its 54th week on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The Grammy-nominated CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year.
Of course, Dolly is up for two Grammy Awards at Wednesday night's ceremonies (Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Shine" and Best Bluegrass Album for Little Sparrow, which she won last year for The Grass Is Blue), and CMT.com has for the past few days been conducting polls on who should win the country awards. On Friday and Saturday, Dolly was their readers' pick hands-down. In the last vote I saw for Female Vocalist, Dolly's "Shine" led with nearly 70 percent (Trisha Yearwood's "I Would Have Loved You Anyway" was second with about 20 percent, and Jamie O'Neal's "There Is No Arizona" was third with a little less than 10 percent), and over the weekend her Little Sparrow captured about 50 percent of the vote for Best Bluegrass Album (with Patty Loveless' Mountain Soul at second with about 40 percent and Alison Krauss' New Favorite third with about 10 percent). Perhaps this is a sign of good things to come on Wednesday? Let's hope so!
Dolly also earned a mention in the online Grammy Magazine country field round-up last week. It noted: "Several Nashville legends show their enduring artistry with nominations in key categories. This isn't Dolly Parton's first return to her roots, and last year's The Grass Is Blue garnered her a GRAMMY for Best Bluegrass Album. Little Sparrow is nominated in that category this year, where Parton is joined by country thrush Patty Loveless in her criticially acclaimed roots release, Mountain Soul. Alison Krauss + Union Station is another perennial favorite in the Bluegrass Album category, and the bittersweet New Favorite is nominated this year. Ralph Stanley and Friends' Clinch Mountain Sweethearts is Stanley's second "friends" release, and as such it deftly blended talent from across the pop, country and folk scenes. The Best Bluegrass Album nominee joined such Stanley "friends" as Iris Dement, Maria Muldaur, Jeannie Seely and Sara Evans, proving once again how traditional music can bridge barriers of genre. Rounding out the category are Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder for History Of The Future, which, like the Stanley release, made traditional bluegrass accessible to today's generation." The article, available here, made no mention of Dolly's nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance (or for that matter, that she was also one of Stanley's "friends" on his CD), although it did list the nominations of all four other artists in the female category. (Shame.)
Dolly gets a couple of good nods in the Knoxville News-Sentinel 10th annual (Wayne) Bledsoe/(Chuck) Campbell Grammy Predictions. For Best Bluegrass Album, they note: "CHUCK: I'll just blindly go with Dolly Parton. It's the only one I listened to all the way through. (And more than once, at that.)WAYNE: Oh, Chuck. My heart warms. There is a ray of light in that dark, dank pit that where your musical taste is housed! Although Ricky Skaggs delivered the strongest 'bluegrass,' Dolly is my pick, too." For Best Female Country Vocal Performance, they opine: "WAYNE: This is another slap at current commercial country radio. Only two of these tracks landed airplay. The bad thing is that, as much as I like the artists, the nominees are not particularly remarkable. Dolly's is my pick, but expect Trisha Yearwood to take it home.CHUCK: Dolly's my pick, too, even over Sheryl Crow. I'll trust you on the Yearwood prediction."
Feb. 18: Little Sparrow inches down one spot to No. 10 in its 53rd week on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The Grammy-nominated CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year.
Feb. 11: Little Sparrow inches down two spots to No. 9 in its 52nd week on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The Grammy-nominated CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year.
Feb. 4: Little Sparrow inched down two spots to No. 7 in its 51st week on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The Grammy-nominated CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year.
Dolly earned a mention in Sunday's Chicago Tribune (which you may read here). The paper's rock music critic Greg Kot discussed the popularity of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and the roots music of folk and bluegrass. At the end of the story, he listed several of the top roots music albums which have come out recently, including Dolly's Little Sparrow, of which he noted: "She verged on self-parody during her countrypolitan heyday in the '70s, but lately she's returned to her mountain roots with stunning results."
Jan. 28: Little Sparrow inched down one spot to No. 5 in its 50th week on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year.
Jan. 24: The February issue of Country Music magazine features Dolly all over the place in the 2001 critics' poll of the best music of the year. (The poll compiled votes from the nation's premiere music critics, including those with Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, The New York Times and Bluegrass Unlimited.) First, on the overall albums of the year, Dolly shows up several times. The Grammy-nominated Little Sparrow ranks at No. 5, with critics noting that the CD marks "her finest effort in any format for 27 years . . . the Appalachian atmosphere reawakened her songwriting genius . . . (with songs of) unflinching honesty and rare sympathy." Individual critics also praised her work, as Bill Friskics-Warren named her Grammy-nominated cover of "Shine" from Sparrow the sixth best single of the year, Geoffrey Himes rated Sparrow the fourth best album of the year, and Gary Graff chose her as 2001's best "Overall Act."
Jan. 21: Little Sparrow remains steady for another week at No. 4 in its 49th week on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year.
Jan. 18: After a post-Grammy nomination nudge in sales returned Dolly's Little Sparrow onto the Billboard country album chart dated for her 56th birthday on Saturday at No. 74, it falls back out of the top 75 in the chart dated Jan. 26, it was announced Thursday. The CD, which peaked at No. 12, has logged 37 weeks on the U.S. chart.
Jan. 17: A story posted this week by the Reuters News Service announced that Dolly's Little Sparrow has passed gold certification in Great Britain for sales in excess of 100,000 copies. As was reported on Dollymania in the early summer, the CD passed the silver mark of 60,000 albums several months ago. That CD played a large role in its European distributor, Sanctuary Records, posting record earnings of 82 million pounds ($119 million U.S.), up 82 percent over the previous year. The label's 60 percent rise in profit's the previous year was also credited largely to the success of their European release of Dolly's Grammy-winning The Grass Is Blue. Sparrow, which has sold about 175,000 copies in the U.S., peaked at No. 1 on the U.K. country albums chart, a position it held for eight weeks last year. The Grammy-nominated album is still currently in the top 10 overseas. (Britain, with a population between one-quarter and one-fifth the size of the United States, awards gold albums for one-fifth the copies required for that status in the U.S. and platinum albums for one-third the number here.)
Little Sparrow was ranked the No. 1 country album of the year by critic Jeremy Tepper in Tower Records' store publication, Pulse Magazine! Thanks, Sheena!
Jan. 14: Little Sparrow moves up three places to No. 4 for its 48th week on the British country albums chart released Sunday. The CD peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year.
Jan. 11: Fresh off its two Grammy nominations and inclusion on several best of the year lists, Dolly's Little Sparrow re-enters the Billboard country albums chart dated Jan. 19 (her 56th birthday!) for a 37th week, coming in at No. 74. It peaked early last year at No. 12.
Jan. 7: Little Sparrow remains steady once again at No. 7 on this week's U.K. country albums chart released Sunday. In its 47th chart week overseas, the album peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks last year.
Jan. 4: Dollymania is proud to be the first Dolly site to inform you that Dolly earned two nominations this morning for the 44th Annual Grammy Awards with nods in the following categories: Best Female Country Performance and Best Bluegrass Album. This brings Dolly's total number of career nominations to 38, of which she has won six. For Female Performance, she faces Sheryl Crow's "Long Gone Lonesome Blues," Jamie O'Neal's "There Is No Arizona," Lucinda Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart" and Trisha Yearwood's "I Would've Loved You Anyway." I predict that O'Neal has a 50 percent chance of taking home the trophy, Dolly 30 percent, Yearwood 15 percent and Williams and Crow an outside chance. For Bluegrass Album, Little Sparrow faces frequent Dolly harmony singer Alison Krauss with New Favorite, Patty Loveless with Mountain Soul, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for History of The Future and Ralph Stanley and Friends for Clinch Mountain Sweethearts, which includes a Dolly duet. I predict Dolly has a 50 percent chance of winning this one, with Loveless next with a 30 percent chance, Krauss with 15 percent and Skaggs and Stanley with an outside chance. Of course, last year, Dolly won Best Bluegrass Album for The Grass Is Blue (and was nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Travelin' Prayer"), and the previous year she won Best Country Vocal Collaboration for "After The Goldrush" from the now-gold Trio II. Awards will be handed out in Los Angeles on Feb. 27, with a live telecast on CBS.
(I know this is a bit late, but I just came across this.) Iowa City Press Citizen music critic Jim Musser on Dec. 13 named Little Sparrow the 13th best CD of 2001, noting: "One of the first (and best) female singer-songwriters, Dolly Parton coasted artistically for the 15 or so years she spent as a multi-media star, but when she plugged back into the music scene in earnest a few years back, her spectacular talents were clearly intact. Bluegrass has made huge gains over the past decade, and the grassroots success of O Brother, Where Art Thou set a new high-water mark for the music's mass appeal, but Parton's ebullient applications to the genre with The Grass Is Blue and this gem broke some serious ground. All-world picking, swell tunes, the voice of an angel." Read his full list here.
Dec. 31: Little Sparrowcame in at No. 25 on E!Online's list of the top 25 CDs of 2001 released Friday. Their critics noted: "The country gal picks and grins her way to hog heaven on this purdy bluegrass romp. Dang, she even makes Collective Soul's top-40 hit "Shine" seem aglow with meaning." Merle Haggard and alt-country performer Ryan Adams (who was No. 1) were the only other country artists on the list. Nashville's own The Tennessean included it in the top 20 CDs of all genres released in 2001 (although they didn't rank them by number). They noted: ""Already in the Country Music Hall of Fame, Dolly Parton is, remarkably, doing the best work of her life. Her 1999 album, The Grass Is Blue, was a classic, full of standards and self-penned songs, cutting-edge bluegrass picking and Parton's seasoned, emotional and endearing voice. Little Sparrow is similarly acoustic and vivid, with an even more imaginative and varied approach to song choice. We get original tunes that sound written in ancient runes ('Down From Dover'), standard swing ('I Get a Kick Out of You') and modern rock craftily re-invented as hot newgrass (Collective Soul's 'Shine'). Parton's voice is captured close and warm, and she's backed by the best in the business, including Dan Tyminski, Alison Krauss, Jim Mills (banjo), Chris Thile (mandolin) and Barry Bales (bass)." Their full list is here.The CD ranked No. 3 on the USA Today list of the best country CDs of the year released Thursday, with critic Brian Mansfield writing: "On the second of her acoustic albums, Parton doesn't so much return to her roots as use those Appalachian influences as a filter through which to view her own work, as well as country, gospel and pop music both new (Collective Soul's 'Shine') and old (Cole Porter's 'I Get a Kick Out of You')." The full list is here.The Cleveland Plain Dealer on Sunday put it in their top 10 as well, with critic Laura DeMarco saying about her No. 6 choice of the year: "This haunting bluegrass album reminds us what Parton's biggest assets really are: songwriting, storytelling and her lonesome, lilting voice." Their full list is here. Thanks, Patrick!The CD remained steady at No. 7 on this week's U.K. country albums chart released Sunday. In its 46th chart week overseas, the album peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks earlier this year.
Dec. 28: Knight Ridder News Service released its best bluegrass albums of the year on Thursday, and Dolly's Little Sparrow came in at No. 3. Critic Keith Lawrence wrote: "Dolly Parton brought a lot of attention to bluegrass with her first bluegrass album in 2000. And she followed up with a second mostly bluegrass album this year. And it's just as good. Parton can mine the dark side of life better than anyone since Hank Williams (the First). Little Sparrow offers two fascinating examples -- a remake of her 1970 'Down From Dover' and 'Mountain Angel,' tales of death and madness that follow believing the promises of wayward men." You may read the full list in the Salt Lake City Tribune here. The CD also ranked at No. 49 on the Billboard year-end tally of 2001's best-selling country albums Thanks, Justin!.
Dec. 27: Little Sparrow made another end-of-the-year album review list, this time from the Dallas Morning News. In Mario Tarradell's Christmas Day list of the 10 best country CDs of 2001, Sparrow came in at No. 6. He wrote: "Bluegrass album No. 2 for the country legend turned out better than the first one, 1999's The Grass Is Blue. She is so at home in the genre that she takes stylistic chances (a cover of Collective Soul's "Shine") that pay off. Her crystalline voice and all that homespun musicianship are a pure pleasure from start to finish." You may read the full story here (note: you must first register with their site to be able to view the story). The Associated Press' list of the best albums of the past year was released Wednesday, and Dolly came in at No. 8 on theirs, the only country album included. AP music critic Nekesa Mumbi Moody wrote about Little Sparrow: "Parton's music tends to be overshadowed by her larger-than-life personality. But on Little Sparrow, it's just her and the beautiful harmonies of mountain and bluegrass songs. And with Parton's voice, that's all you really need." Michael Franti and Spearhead's Stay Human came in at No. 1. The full list is available on CNN.com here.
Dec.24: Little Sparrow inches up one place to No. 7 for its 45th chart week in Great Britain, according to the country albums chart released there on Sunday. The CD peaked at No. 1 in England for eight weeks earlier this year.
Dec. 22: Little Sparrow is honored yet again with another inclusion in a list of the best albums of 2001, this time in Newsweek, as the only country artist to make the cut on their list. The magazine this week published its list of the "10 CDs You Need To Own" from the past year, and Dolly was the ninth one listed, although the article didn't say if they were shown in any particular order. Reviewer Lorraine Ali noted: "Little Sparrow is Dolly's second effort to return to her humble roots. Here the country diva delves deep into Appalachian mountain music and Kentucky-style bluegrass. She sings old ballads of loss and love, as well as some self-penned numbers about howling mountain ghosts. It's all done in her trademark crystalline highs and sweet sentimental lows. Though a megasuperstar, Parton still manages to capture and recall the flavor of America's backwoods." Read the full article here.
Dec. 21: Dolly's Little Sparrow has made one of the most important Best Of The Year lists, it was announced this week. Time magazine's Best And Worst Of 2001 section in the Dec. 24 issue chose the CD as the 9th best album released this year from all genres. The review noted: "Although lumped with the bluegrass revival, Parton's album sports little of the preciousness associated with most nouveau blue. On traditional tunes and unconventional ones (Collective Soul's Shine, Cole Porter's I Get a Kick Out of You), Parton tests bluegrass's elasticitybut gently. The whole album sounds fresh and playful." The Strokes' This Is It ranked No. 1, and while no other mainstream country acts made the top 10, two alternative-country performers did, Ryan Adams' Gold and Lucinda Williams' Essence came in at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively. Thanks, Gordon! The CD also ranked No. 85 on Barnes & Noble's music editor picks of the year.
Dec. 19: Dolly is back in the top 10 overseas. Little Sparrow shoots up 12 places to No. 8 for its 44th chart week in Great Britain, according to the country albums chart released there on Sunday. The CD peaked at No. 1 in England for eight weeks earlier this year. Annapolis Capital Gazette writer John Horney on Monday issued his list of the best 20 or so country CDs released over the past year as a guide for Christmas shopping for country fans. Included was Little Sparrow, of which he noted: "This is what she (Dolly) grew up singing and it's some of the best she has ever done." His full article is available here.
Dec. 10: Apparently fueled by holiday gift sales and possibly by the release of the Women Talking Dirty soundtrack, Dolly's Little Sparrow shoots up eight spots on the weekly British country albums chart released Sunday. In its 43rd chart week overseas, the CD comes in at No. 12. It peaked earlier this year at No. 1 for eight weeks and No. 30 pop (compared with just No. 12 country, No. 97 pop in its 36-week run on the U.S. charts).
Dec. 3: After a three-week absence, Dolly's Little Sparrow returns to the British country albums chart released Sunday. The CD checks in at No. 20 for its 42nd chart week. It peaked earlier this year at No. 1 for eight weeks.
Nov. 12: Little Sparrow falls off the British top 20 country albums chart released Sunday, down from No. 20. With 41 chart weeks overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1 and reached No. 30 pop.
Nov. 5: Little Sparrow falls three spots to No. 20 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 41st chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1 and reached No. 30 pop.
Oct. 29: Little Sparrow falls five spots to No. 17 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 40th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1 and reached No. 30 pop.
Oct. 25: Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow falls off CMT's weekly Top 20 countdown, it was announced Wednesday. The song, which had peaked at No. 4, spent 13 weeks on the chart.
Oct. 22: Little Sparrow inches down one spot to No. 12 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 39th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1 and reached No. 30 pop.
Oct. 18: Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow falls four spots to No. 17 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown for its 13th chart week, it was announced Wednesday. It had peaked at No. 4. Remember to cast your vote daily for "Shine" at CMT's Most Wanted Live here and on Great American Country's Top 15 Countdown here.
Oct. 15: Little Sparrow moves up one spot to No. 11 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 38th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1 and reached No. 30 pop.
usic critic Ben Wener of The Orange County Register on Friday offered his opinion on which CDs from the past year will and which ones should be nominated for Album of The Year at the 2002 Grammy Awards (the one-year period of eligibility by release date ended Sept. 30). His picks for those he expects to be nominated although he goes far to admit most of them do not deserve it are U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind, the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, Alicia Keys' Songs In A Minor, Sade and Bob Dylan's Love and Theft. Other CDs he believe stand an outside chance are Outkast's Stankonia and Radiohead's Amnesiac. However, he said four "dark horses" that don't really have a chance of being nominated but which deserve it more than any of these other albums are REM's Reveal, PJ Harvey's Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, Ani DiFranco's Revelling/Reckoning and Dolly's Little Sparrow, which he called "outstanding" but predicted its chances for honors at the Grammy Awards will suffer against the slightly inferior O Brother collection. (As you may recall, The Grass Is Blue won the Best Bluegrass Grammy this year.) Read his full column here.
Oct. 12: As was mentioned last week on Dollymania as a possibility, both Dolly's Little Sparrow and the Songcatcher soundtrack fall off the 75-position country albums chart in the Oct. 20 edition, Billboard announced Thursday. In its 36-week run, Sparrow peaked at No. 12. It came in at No. 73 the previous week. In its 15-week run, Songcatcher, which includes a wonderful new Dolly song "When Love Is New" performed with movie cast member Emmy Rossum, peaked at No. 42. It was No. 70 the previous week.
Oct. 11: Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow falls four spots to No. 13 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown for its 12th chart week, it was announced Wednesday. It had peaked at No. 4. Remember to cast your vote daily for "Shine" at CMT's Most Wanted Live here and on Great American Country's Top 15 Countdown here.
Oct. 9: A Dollymania reader alerted me to what is the only independent label country artist singles chart I've ever seen, operated on IndieWorldCountry.com, which shows Dolly's "Shine" at No. 2 for at least the second week! Thanks, Rick!
Oct. 8: Little Sparrow slips four spots to No. 12 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 37th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1 and reached No. 30 pop.
Oct. 5: Little Sparrow may be nearing the end of its chart run, as in its 36th chart week it slips seven spaces to No. 73 on the 75-album country chart, according to the Oct. 13 Billboard positions released Thursday. For comparison, The Grass Is Blue logged 35 weeks on the chart (24 weeks in its initial release and 11 additional weeks on the wave of Sparrow's success and the CD's Grammy win) and Trio II 37 weeks. Her most recent album other than those two to exceed 25 weeks on the chart was 1993's million-selling Slow
Dancing With The Moon with 35 weeks.
Oct. 4: Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow falls five spots to No. 9 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown for its 11th chart week, it was announced Wednesday. The video also falls off the network's heavy rotation list this week. Remember to cast your vote daily for "Shine" at CMT's Most Wanted Live here (where you'll be automatically entered in a contest for a trip to Nashville) and on Great American Country's Top 15 Countdown here.
Oct. 1: Little Sparrow slips one spot to No. 8 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 36th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1 and reached No. 30 pop.
The October bluegrass charts have been released by Bluegrass Unlimited, and Dolly's "Marry Me" moves up one place to take the No. 1 spot for the month on the singles chart! While Little Sparrow drops one spot to No. 4 on the albums chart for its seventh chart month, the CD has two additional songs in the bluegrass Top 10! "Bluer Pastures" is up four to No. 8, and "Seven Bridges Road" moves down three to No. 10. The CD's title cut, which had been at No. 21 for September, falls of the singles chart. Thanks, Chris!
Sept. 28: Little Sparrow moves down three spaces to No. 66 in its 35th chart week, according to the Oct. 6 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday.
Sept. 27: Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow remains in place at No. 4 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown for its 10th chart week, it was announced Wednesday. Remember to cast your vote daily for Dolly's video for "Shine" at CMT's Most Wanted Live here and on Great American Country's Top 15 Countdown here.
Sept. 24: Little Sparrow remains steady at No. 7 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 35th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1 and reached No. 30 pop.
Sept. 21: Little Sparrow moves down one space to No. 63 in its 34th chart week, according to the Sept. 29 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday. (And for those who may be wondering why there was no CMT chart update yesterday, the network did not update their chart from the previous week, apparently due to the circumstances following the terrorist attacks last week. Therefore, "Shine" remains at No. 4.)
Sept. 17: Little Sparrow moves up two notches to No. 7 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 34th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1.
Sept. 14: Little Sparrow moves down five spaces to No. 63 in its 33rd chart week, according to the Sept. 22 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday.
Sept. 13: Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow shoots up two more places to No. 4 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown for its ninth chart week, it was announced Wednesday.
Sept. 10: Little Sparrow drops one space to No. 9 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 33rd chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1.
Sept. 8: It's been nearly eight months since Little Sparrow hit stores, but Scott Morris, entertainment writer at Tupelo's Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, just got a copy of the CD and raved about it in Friday's paper. He starts off recalling how personable she was when he interviewed her last year at her Stars Over Mississippi benefit performance and then gets into the new CD, noting, in part: "One listen to her version of Cole Porter's 'I Get a Kick Out of You,' and you realize just how amazing Dolly is. With help from an all-star bluegrass lineup, Dolly clearly has fun adding her Southern twang to the Broadway classic. A couple of rock 'n' roll tunes get the same treatment. She turns Collective Soul's 'Shine' into a gospel song fit for Sunday morning, while her take on the Eagles' 'Seven Bridges Road' features beautiful harmonies with backup vocalists Sonya Isaacs and Becky Isaacs Bowman." He adds, "If you've ever been a Dolly fan, this will be a great addition to your CD collection. I expect to get years of enjoyment from my copy." The full article is available here.
Sept. 7: Little Sparrow moves down two spaces to No. 57 in its 32nd chart week, according to the Sept. 15 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday. For those of you who wonder about sales figures, the CD has sold about 153,000 copies since its January release (compared to nearly 154,000 copies of The Grass Is Blue since its release two years ago). Thanks, Jennifer! As projected on Dollymania at the beginning of August, Sparrow passed the 150,000 milestone before the end of that month, and I will now predict that it should surpass the sales of the Grammy-winning Blue early next week.
Sept. 6: Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow shoots up three more places to No. 6 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown for its eighth chart week, it was announced Wednesday. In addition, the video officially entered the network's "Heavy Rotation" list on Wednesday. Although it has been in what most would consider heavy rotation on CMT for the past several weeks, the video this week was added to the official list of the seven videos which will be scheduled for airing more than any others on the channel. Remember to keep voting on Most Wanted Live here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here.
Sept. 3: Little Sparrow remains steady at No. 8 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 32nd chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1.
Thanks to your votes, Dolly's video for "Shine" made it into the top 50 on CMT's annual Labor Day weekend Top 100 videos of all time countdown, coming in at No. 49. Thanks to all who voted! And remember, cast your votes for the video daily on CMT's Most Wanted Live here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here. The video is currently No. 9 on CMT's weekly video countdown.
The September issue of Bluegrass Unlimited has hit newsstands, and Dolly is still doing well on their monthly bluegrass charts. On the album side, Little Sparrow falls one place to No. 3 in its sixth chart month. Dolly has four songs from the CD on their singles chart: "Marry Me," up two spots to No. 2 in its sixth month; "Seven Bridges Road," up two notches to No. 7 in its sixth month; "Bluer Pastures," steady at No. 12 for its fifth month; and "Little Sparrow," down five places to No. 21 in its fifth month. Thanks, Tony!
Now, let's all call radio stations across the country and request "Shine" to give Dolly her 100th country chart single! Thanks to everyone who has submitted request lines, I've posted a list here. And you can still e-mail yours to me here!
Aug. 31: Little Sparrow moves up two spaces to No. 55 in its 31st chart week, according to the Sept. 8 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday.
Aug. 30: Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow enters the Top 10 this week, moving up two notches to No. 9 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown for its seventh chart week, it was announced Wednesday. Jennifer at Sugar Hill Records asked me to remind you all to keep voting on Most Wanted Live here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here.
Aug. 27: Little Sparrow moves up three notches to No. 8 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 31st chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1.
Aug. 24: Little Sparrow remains for another week at No. 57 in its 30th chart week, according to the Sept. 1 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday.
Aug. 23: Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow moves up two notches to No. 11 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown for its sixth chart week, it was announced Wednesday. And on CMT's Most Wanted Live, the video fell off from the top 10 on Tuesday after returning to No. 4 Monday. Remember to keep voting on Most Wanted Live here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here.
Aug. 21: Little Sparrow drops one notches to No. 11 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 30th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1.
Meanwhile, "Shine" from the CD shot back onto the CMT Most Wanted Live countdown on Monday, coming in at No. 4. Remember to keep voting on Most Wanted Live here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here.
The Bluegrass Unlimited monthly bluegrass charts came out last week, and Dolly moves up on both the album and single side for August. Little Sparrow inches up one spot to No. 2 in its fifth chart month, while its cut "Marry Me" shoots up five spots from No. 9 to No. 4, also in its fifth month. July's No. 2 album, Big Mon: The Songs of Bill Monroe, which includes a Dolly performance, drops three places to No. 5 in its ninth month.
Aug. 17: Little Sparrow remains steady at No. 57 for its 29th chart week, according to the Aug. 25 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday.
Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow moves up two notches to No. 13 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown, it was announced Wednesday. In its fifth chart week, the video had earlier spent five weeks as a "Hot Shot" video on the network.
Little Sparrow remains steady at No. 3 for its fourth month on the bluegrass albums chart, according to July numbers issued Tuesday by Bluegrass Unlimited, while Big Mon: The Songs of Bill Monroe, which features Dolly, also holds steady at No. 2 for its ninth month on the chart.
Aug. 13: Little Sparrow drops three notches to No. 10 on the British country albums chart released Sunday. Currently in its 29th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1.
Aug. 10: Little Sparrow drops six places to No. 57 for its 28th chart week, according to the Aug. 18 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday.
Aug. 9: Dolly's video for "Shine" from Little Sparrow moves up two notches to No. 15 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown, it was announced Wednesday. In its fourth chart week, the video had spent five weeks as a "Hot Shot" video on the network. And remember to keep voting for the song on CMT's Most Wanted Live here, CMT's Labor Day Top 100 here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here.
Aug. 6: Little Sparrow remains at No. 7 on the British country albums chart, released Sunday. Currently in its 28th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1.
Aug. 3: Current figures indicate that Little Sparrow should pass the 150,000 mark for U.S. sales within weeks, Dollymania has learned. According to Sugar Hill Records, Sparrow has sold more than 144,100 copies since its January release while Dolly's first bluegrass effort, the Grammy-winning The Grass Is Blue, released in October 1999, just passed the 150,000 level a few days ago! Based on sales over the past two months, Sparrow should reach 150,000 in two or three weeks. Thanks, Jennifer!
Dolly's video for "Shine" moves up one notch to No. 17 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown, it was announced Wednesday. In its third chart week, the video had spent five weeks as a "Hot Shot" video on the network. And remember to keep voting for the song on CMT's Most Wanted Live here, CMT's Labor Day Top 100 here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here.
Little Sparrow holds steady at No. 50 its 27th chart week, according to the Aug. 11 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday.
July 30: Little Sparrow inches up one notch to No. 7 on the British country albums chart, released Sunday. Currently in its 27th chart week overseas, the CD peaked for two months at No. 1.
July 27: Little Sparrow goes up four spots on the Aug. 4 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday, coming in at No. 50 in its 26th chart week.
July 26: Dolly's video for "Shine" moves up two places to No. 18 on CMT's weekly top 20 countdown, it was announced Wednesday. The video debuted last week at No. 20 after five weeks as a "Hot Shot" video on the network. And remember to keep voting for the song on CMT's Most Wanted Live here, CMT's Labor Day Top 100 here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here.
July 23: Little Sparrow and Trio II both remain steady on the July 22 British country albums chart, coming in at No. 8 and No. 16, respectively. Sparrow, in its 26th chart week overseas, peaked at No. 1 country for eight weeks and No. 30 pop. Trio II, in its 35th chart week, peaked at No. 3 country about two years ago.
Oxford American's Fifth Annual Southern Music Issue came out last week, and concerning the Dolly song included on their companion CD ("Seven Bridges Road" from Little Sparrow), they note: "Dolly was on last year's CD, and of course we would never, ever put an artist on the OA CD two years in a row. But it's not like we had any say in the matter. The song just took hold of us and wouldn't let go. Case closed." The magazine also features a Q&A with Dolly about the song in which she talks about how much she's loved it since it first came out in the early '70s, how she always heard men singing it and thought the harmonies would sound great with female voices, and that composer Steve Young liked her version of it, which she said she "Dolly-ized." Dolly also gets a mention in an article on the O, Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack and a piece on pal Emmylou Harris. The magazine is on newsstands now.
US Airways' official magazine, Attache, gives a hand to Dolly in an article titled "Cool Tunes For The Dog Days" by Robert Sullivan. He writes: "Dolly Parton's two most recent discs, the Grammy-winning The Grass Is Blue and this year's follow-up, Little Sparrow, are pure bluegrass albums, a welcome change from the overproduced pop of her platinum days. Parton has always had a beautiful voice, and now, with a superb backing band, she renders this material sensationally." The author hints at his more contemporary audience to "Trust me on this." Accompanying the article is a photo of several CD covers (including Sparrow), which also graces the title page of the magazine. Thanks, Solomon!
July 20: Little Sparrow remains steady on the July 28 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday, coming in again at No. 54 in its 25th chart week.
July 19: Dolly's video for the single "Shine" from Little Sparrow debuts on CMT's Top 20 Video Countdown this week at No. 20, it was announced Wednesday. While it makes it onto the chart this week, it drops out of place as a Hot Shot video on the network, an honor bestowed on the video for five weeks in a row. (And remember to continue voting for "Shine" on CMT's Most Wanted Live here, CMT's Labor Day Top 100 here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here!)
July 16: Little Sparrow slips one spot to No. 8 on the British country albums chart, released Sunday. Currently in its 25th chart week overseas, the CD has spent about the past two months at No. 7, after peaking for two months at No. 1.
July 13: Little Sparrow moves up four places on the July 21 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday, coming in at No. 54 in its 24th chart week. And the CD's single "Shine" has been named a Hot Shot video at CMT for the fifth week in a row!
July 9: Little Sparrow remains steady one more week at No. 7 on the British country albums chart released Sunday, marking its 24th week on the chart.
July 5: Little Sparrow falls eight places to No. 58 in its 23rd chart week on the July 14 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday.
Sugar Hill Records announced Thursday that the official "add date" for Dolly's "Shine" will be Monday. That's the day the label asks radio stations to begin playing the song as a single. So everyone call your local country stations and demand they play it! Also, CMT announced Wednesday that the song this week is one of the network's four "Hot Shot" videos, making it the fourth week in a row Dolly has received that designation. (And remember, go vote daily for the video on CMT's Most Wanted Live here and GAC's Top 15 Countdown here!)
July 2: Little Sparrow remains steady for yet another week on the British charts, holding at No. 7 on the U.K. country albums chart, where it is in its 23rd chart week. The CD peaked overseas at No. 1 country for eight weeks and No. 30 pop.
June 29: Little Sparrow slides up three places to No. 50 in its 22nd week on the July 7 Billboard country albums chart released Thursday, but the CD falls off the independent albums chart, down from No. 46 after 19 weeks.
June 25: Little Sparrow remains steady for yet another week on the British charts, holding at No. 7 on the U.K. country albums chart, where it is in its 22nd chart week. (Their country charts somehow skipped a week a couple of months back, so they've been a week behind for the longest time. This week, they caught back up.) The CD peaked overseas at No. 1 country for eight weeks and No. 30 pop.
June 22: Little Sparrow may have stayed steady at No. 53 for its 21st week on the Billboard country albums chart's June 30 edition released Thursday, but it moved up on the independent albums chart, re-entering at No. 46 for a 20th week after dropping out of that chart's top 50 albums last week.
Remember to vote for "Shine" daily. Although the video remains in heavy rotation on both GAC and CMT (where it was one of the past week's four Hot Shot videos and has again been selected as a Hot Shot video for the coming week), it fell out of the top five on CMT's Most Wanted Live countdown on Tuesday but has remained in the top 10 since premiering last week. Let's make it No. 1! Vote for it on CMT here and for GAC's Top 15 chart here! And it finished up the week on the Internet poll for GAC's Fast Forward program with about 60 percent of voters giving it the gold! About 8 percent went for the silver or bronze, compared to about five percent gold, 8 percent silver and 20 percent bronze for its competitor, O.J. Hanssen's "What's It Gonna Take." Congratulations, Dolly!
June 18: Little Sparrow remains steady at No. 7 in the June 17 U.K. country albums chart. In Great Britain, the CD has gone silver (more than 60,000 copies sold) and is nearing the gold mark (more than 100,000 copies sold). It has sold about 130,000 units in the U.S.
June 15: Little Sparrow drops 15 places in the June 23 edition of the Billboard country albums chart released Thursday, down to No. 53 in its 20th chart week. The CD also falls off the independent albums chart, down from No. 39.
June 11: In its 19th chart week in the U.K., Little Sparrow stays steady at No. 7 in the chart released Sunday. The CD, which is near the U.K. gold level of 100,000 units sold there, peaked at No. 1 on the country chart for eight weeks and reached No. 30 pop.
June 8: Dolly gets the Billboard "Pacesetter" honor in the June 16 country albums chart released Thursday for the 17-point jump which Little Sparrow makes to No. 38 for its 19th chart week. The CD also re-enters the independent albums chart after a week's absence, coming in at No. 39 for its 18th week there.
June 7: Even though it is slowly falling down the U.S. country albums chart, Little Sparrow continues to scoot up the bluegrass albums chart, according to June positions released Wednesday by Bluegrass Unlimited. The CD climbs two places to No. 3 for the month in the national chart; it debuted in April at No. 9. The soundtrack to O, Brother Where Art Thou? remains at No. 1, and the Bill Monroe tribute album Big Mon, which features Dolly performing "Cry, Cry Darlin'," remains at No. 2.
The CD also puts Dolly on the cover of this month's country version of Columbia
House's music subscription service newsletter. The cover headline reads: "Dolly Parton: Back
To The Beautiful Basics," and inside rave that the CD is "an inspired, stripped-down shot of
American roots music . . . a career album for the legendary artist."
June 5: Dolly's critically-acclaimed Little Sparrow has reached a milestone overseas, recently passing Britain's silver mark for more than 60,000 copies sold and is nearing the gold level, according to reports. With roughly one-fifth the population of the U.S., album sales in the U.K. are much lower than here. Hence, they award a silver album at 60,000, gold at 100,000 and platinum at 300,000 (compared to the 500,000 gold mark in the U.S. and 1 million platinum mark here). According to the London Evening Standard, the sales for her current CD overall in Europe are double any of her previous albums there. (No exact figure was given for continent-wide sales, just Great Britain only.) News site Ananova, on the other hand, reports that the CD is nearing the 100,000-unit gold status and that Sanctuary Records, which has distributed the CD in Europe, expects to acquire the rights to release Dolly's next album there as well, although no details of what her next album will be have been announced yet. These numbers are in addition to the more than 126,000 it has sold in the U.S. The label, interestingly enough, is best known for releasing material by heavy metal artists such as Megadeth. While the CD has only reached No. 12 country and No. 97 pop in its 18 chart weeks in the U.S., it rested at No. 1 of the U.K. country charts for eight weeks earlier this year and made it to No. 30 pop there, currently in its 18th chart week. Read the full London Evening Standard story here and the Ananova story here.
June 4: Little Sparrow falls one spot in the U.K. this week but remains in the top 10 on the country albums chart overseas. It clocks in at No. 7 for its 18th chart week there. It had peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks and No. 30 pop (compared to its U.S. peak of No. 12 country, No. 97 pop).
June 1: Jennifer at Sugar Hill Records confirms that Dolly herself will appear soon on CMT's Most Wanted Live program to premiere her new video for "Shine," although no date has been set yet for the video to first air or for the single to go to radio. (And when it does, everyone needs to call in and request it. Let's give Dolly another No. 1!) She also updated for Dollymania the U.S. sales figures for Dolly's last two albums, since I've had several people asking about them. Little Sparrow is now at 126,140, while The Grass Is Blue comes in at 143,227. Thanks, Jennifer!
Little Sparrow slips another eight spots to No. 55 on the June 9 country albums chart released by Billboard on Thursday. It is in its 18th week on the chart. It also falls off the independent albums chart, down from last week's No. 39.
An article in Thursday's Dallas Morning News celebrated the popularity of independent record labels in country music, specifically noting Dolly's recent successes. It calls Little Sparrow a "critical and commercial triumph" and that independent labels tend to emphasize art, not commercial success. In a cataloging of the biggest little labels in the biz, 23-year-old Sugar Hill gets nods for its "one-two sales punch" of Sparrow and Nickel Creek's self-titled hit as well as Dolly's Grammy for The Grass Is Blue. Read the full article here.
May 30: Steve Romanoski of I-Bluegrass Magazine recently gave Dolly another rave review for Little Sparrow. While he praises The Grass Is Blue for its purity and sincerity, he noted that many who loved the new Dolly bluegrass were "shocked" that Sparrow was "far less of a bluegrass effort." However, he said the new CD was "true Americana," much of which with a bluegrass tint. "However, more often than not, Dolly is looking to spread her wings and fly to another flower. She proves herself capable of working in a myriad of styles." The styles move from bluegrass to contemporary folk to mainstream country, with even a little country/rock and jazz swing. While he says it probably won't win her a second International Bluegrass Music Association honor for Album of The Year (as Blue won), it shows "the world that she can utilize a bluegrass band to stretch beyond the boundaries that is still tied to the sound. Dolly is an innovator when she chooses to be and, while I was far more excited by her initial foray into bluegrass, Little Sparrow just might bring the music greater success." Read the full review here. Thanks, Greg!
May 28: Little Sparrow moves up one spot on the U.K. country albums chart's May 27 edition to No. 6, marking its 17th week on the chart overseas, where it peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks and No. 30 pop.
May 25: Little Sparrow continues to fall on the Billboard country albums chart released Thursday. For the June 2 issue, the CD slides seven more places to No. 47 in its 17th week. On the independent albums chart, it drops 13 spots to No. 39.
May 21: Little Sparrow falls two places this week on the U.K. country albums chart to No. 7. The CD, which is in its 16th week on the charts overseas, peaked at No. 1 country for eight weeks at No. 30 pop.
May 18: Little Sparrow continues its descent on the Billboard country albums chart released Thursday. For the May 26 edition, the CD drops two more places to No. 40 in its 16th week. On the independent albums chart, however, it jumps up seven spots to No. 26.
May 14: Little Sparrow inches down another position to No. 5 in the U.K. country albums chart released Sunday. The CD, which spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the country side overseas and peaked at No. 30 on their pop chart, is in its 15th chart week there.
Orange County Register columnist Ben Wener offered a wonderful piece in Friday's issue lamenting on the current state of film soundtracks but explaining that the unexpected million-selling success of the pure roots music of the O, Brother Where Art Thou? disc offers hope, which he says in a perfect world would turn listeners on to Dolly. He writes: "Thus, for some, hearing it is an ear-opening experience that, I pray, leads the narrow-minded to artists they otherwise wouldn't have dared approach for fear their impeccable taste would be compromised. My dream scenario: A Beck-lovin', techno-dabblin' "Morning Becomes Eclectic" fan picks up on O Brother, goes nuts for bluegrass, then gets directed to Dolly Parton's glorious Little Sparrow, which is every bit as steeped in tradition without being musty or highfalutin about it. I don't think the possibility is too unlikely. These days genres are cross-pollinating like bumblebees swarming on a nursery and lately everyone's pistil has been sticky with excited discovery." You may read his full story here.
May 11: Little Sparrow drops two more places in the May 19 Billboard country albums chart, released Thursday, falling to No. 38 in its 15th week. On the independent albums chart, it slides one spot to No. 33.
May 10: Dolly announced at MerleFest that she would be filming a video last week for the next single from Little Sparrow, "Shine," and on Monday, bluegrass band Nickel Creek chronicled their inclusion on the project. Two members of the band participated in the video, shot on Tuesday of last week. Their site is located here. Thanks, Justin and Greg!
May 7: Even as the CD continues to dip in the U.S. charts, Little Sparrow remains strong across the pond, holding steady at No. 4 in the charts released Sunday. In its 14th week on the charts there, the CD peaked at No. 1 on the country side for eight weeks and No. 30 on their pop chart, compared to a peak of No. 12 country and No. 97 pop stateside. May 4: Little Sparrow slides a little further in the May 12 Billboard album charts released Thursday. On the country side, the CD, in its 14th week on the charts, falls three places to No. 36. On the independent label albums chart, where it is also in its 14th week, it drops seven slots to No. 32.
Jennifer at Sugar Hill Records alerted me to a contest currently running at music.com to promote Sparrow in which you may enter to win a guitar autographed by Dolly. The prizes, supplied by the record company, are the autographed guitar and an autographed copy of the CD for one grand prize winner, an autographed CD and tickets to Dollywood for two first prize winners, and autographed CDs for two second prize winners. Entries, limited to one per person, will be accepted through May 28 with winners chosen June 4. To enter, click here. Thanks, Jennifer!
May 1: Little Sparrow remains in the top 40 of the country albums chart in the May 5 issue of Billboard, dropping three spots to No. 33 in its 13th week. It also falls seven places to No. 25 on the independent albums chart. 1999's The Grass Is Blue, however, falls back off the country albums chart after its 35th week; it had been at No. 74. Another Dolly "appearance" on the charts is Sherrie Austin's cover of her classic "Jolene," which slides down five spots to No. 59 on the country singles chart, while the CD which contains the song, Followin' a Feeling falls a dozen places to No. 59 on the country albums chart. Overseas, Dolly remains steady at No. 4 on the U.K. country albums charts, where the CD spent eight of its 13 chart weeks at No. 1. While back at home, on the bluegrass albums chart published by Bluegrass Unlimited, Sparrow shoots up four places for May to No. 5. Dolly also appears (singing "Cry, Cry Darlin'") on Big Mon, the Bill Monroe tribute CD which remains steady at No. 2 on the bluegrass chart.
Timothy Finn offered a brief review of Little Sparrow in The Kansas City Star on Thursday. He noted, in part: "Her fidelity in the music reveals itself in many places, but mostly in her voice, which has matured as elegantly as the rest of her." Read the full review here.April 24: One of my sources out there, or as I like to call them, "spies," obtained for me the Soundscan sales figures which were used for the April 28 edition of the Billboard album charts, in which Little Sparrow and The Grass Is Blue are No. 30 and No. 74, respectively, on the Country Albums Chart. For the week, Sparrow sold 4,472 copies, down 322 from the previous week. Since its release in January, it has sold 107,942 units in the U.S. Blue, on the other hand, sold 1,323 copies for the week, down 100 from the previous week, for a grand total of 137,130 since its release 18 months ago. And remember, your average bluegrass album sells only 10,000 or 20,000 copies, so as many reviewers have pointed out, Dolly's sales are the bluegrass equivalent to multi-platinum NSYNC or Brittany Spears sales. Thanks! April 23: Little Sparrow remains in the top 10 on the British country albums chart, according to its April 15 edition (although for some reason the chart is a week behind and the April 15 positions are dated April 22). In its 12th chart week, the CD falls one spot to No. 4. It peaked at No. 1 on their chart for eight weeks.
According to the publication 3rd Coast Magazine, which compiles the Freeform American Roots Chart from "freeform" radio DJs (those who aren't bound by playlists) on public, college and community stations around the country, Little Sparrow is No. 23 for March airing. That's down from where the album has been. It was No. 4 for February and debuted at No. 1 for the month of January!
Dolly got a good bit of press in the weekend papers. First, she appears in two articles in Sunday's New York Times. In the first, writer Anthony DeCurtis raves about a handful of country artists who "still display a country heart." Included, he talks about Dolly and her "immense talents as a songwriter and singer." Further, he praises both the Grammy-winning The Grass Is Blue and her most recent CD, Little Sparrow, noting about the latter, it "ventures beyond bluegrass into the folkloric darkness of the title song, with its witches, ghosts and demons, as well as into the breezy wit of Cole Porter's 'I Get a Kick Out of You' and the prayerfulness of Collective Soul's 'Shine.' Ms. Parton wins over these songs from such varied sources with all the charm of a down-home hostess making both country cousins and city slickers comfortable at a barn dance. Before long, all superficial distinctions disappear, and her peerless voice and superb band are all that matter." Read his article here.April 20: Little Sparrow continues its slow descent on the country albums chart, dropping three places in the April 28 numbers released by Billboard on Thursday. On the independent albums chart, however, the CD stays steady at No. 18. It is in its 12th week on both charts. The Grass Is Blue marks its 35th week on the country albums chart, falling nine spots to No. 74. In related news, Sherrie Austin's cover of the Dolly classic "Jolene" re-enters at No. 55 on the country singles chart. (The song had spent one week at No. 59 before falling off the chart last week.) Her CD Followin' a Feeling remains at No. 47 on the country albums chart.
The London-based magazine Country Music People puts Little Sparrow at No. 1 of its Specialist Dealer albums chart for the second month in a row, after knocking Shania Twain off No. 1 a couple of months ago. I don't fully understand the chart, but it apparently is a survey of country DJs over there. It is also No. 1 on their CIN chart (whatever that is). The current issue, dated for April, also features a two-and-a-half page article on Dolly and the new CD and a review of the Jolene/My Tennessee Mountain Home reissue, giving it five out of five stars and naming it the Spotlight Album. Thanks, Sheena!April 13: Little Sparrow is still holding on in the Billboard country album chart, where it slides two places to No. 27 in the April 21 edition, released Thursday. On the independent label albums chart, it drops three spots to No. 18. It has spent 11 weeks on both charts. On a brighter note, The Grass Is Blue re-enters at No. 65 after a week's absence from the country albums chart to mark its 34th week on the chart. April 9: After an amazing eight-week reign at No. 1 of the British country album chart, Little Sparrow falls this week to No. 3 in its 11th week on the chart overseas. LeAnn Rimes' I Need You debuts in the top spot for its first week of release in the U.K., and Shania Twain's Come On Over, which has been at No. 1 for most of the past couple of years over there, remains at No. 2. April 6: Little Sparrow remains for a 10th week on the April 14 country album chart from Billboard, it was announced Thursday, but it falls off the pop charts. The CD, which has reached as high as country No. 12 and pop No. 97, falls five places on the country album chart to No. 25 and is no longer on the pop Top 200 album chart, where it had been No. 177 the previous week. The CD also remains on the independent albums chart, dropping four spots to No. 15 (it had peaked at No. 3). The Grass Is Blue, which re-appeared on the chart following the success of Sparrow, also drops off the country album chart, down from No. 75 after its 33rd chart week. Also disappearing is the Sweet November soundtrack, featuring the Dolly and Paula Cole number "Heart Door," after seven weeks on the pop album chart. It had peaked at No. 66.
Sunday's British album charts released Sunday brought Dolly some good news and bad news. First the good news: Little Sparrow entered a prosperous eighth week at No. 1 of the country album charts. Now the bad news, the CD fell off both the pop chart, down from No. 70, and the independent album chart, down from No. 14. For the past five weeks, Sparrow and Dolly's RCA/BMG compilation CD Gold The Hits Collection were the only two country albums on the UK pop chart, but the compilation album also fell out of the chart's top 75 CDs counted. Also over the weekend, Sparrow fell off the Canadian country album charts, down from No. 48.
Jennifer at Sugar Hill Records tells me Amazon.com is featuring a download of "Marry Me" from Little Sparrow here. Thanks, Jennifer!
Dolly's "A Tender Lie" won this week's "Pick It Or Flick It" contest on the nationally-syndicated radio show After Midnite. Thanks to all of you who called in your votes! (P.S. I'm also told the song has been getting a fair amount of airplay on country radio in San Francisco as well!)March 30: Little Sparrow inches up a notch on the country album chart according to the April 7 numbers released Thursday, which place it at No. 20 in its ninth week. On the pop album chart, it falls 11 places to No. 177, while on the independent albums chart it drops three spots to No. 11. The Grammy-winning The Grass Is Blue marks its 33rd week on the chart, dropping four places to No. 75, while the Sweet November soundtrack, featuring the amazing Dolly and Paula Cole song "Heart Door," falls another 34 spots to No. 151. The numbers suggest Sparrow has sold about 76,000 copies in its first nine weeks of release. March 26: Little Sparrow continues to reign the British country charts, recording its seventh week at No. 1 on the country album charts. On the pop side, the CD slips down nine spots to No. 70, while it moves up four places on the independent album chart to No. 14. Her BMG/RCA compilation CD Gold The Hits Collection continues to be the only other country CD on the pop top 75, moving up six notches to No. 51. On the Canadian charts' April 1 edition, Sparrow drops 14 places to No. 48 in its seventh week on the country album charts up there. March 23: Little Sparrow is still doing well on the charts, according to the March 31 numbers released Thursday by Billboard, although it once again drops a few places. On the country albums chart, it falls three spots to No. 21, while on the pop albums chart, it skips down 17 slots to No. 166. It has spent eight weeks on both charts. The story is different, however, on the independent albums chart, where the CD inches up one place to No. 8 for its eighth week there. It falls back off the top 20 Internet sales chart, down from the No. 20 position it held in its fifth week. Chart figures suggest it has sold about 74,000 copies in its first eight weeks of release. The Grammy-winning The Grass Is Blue marks an impressive 32nd week on the chart, dropping six places to No. 71, while the Sweet November soundtrack, with the Dolly and Paula Cole number "Heart Door," falls another 19 spots to No. 117. March 19: Little Sparrow spends its sixth week at No. 1 on the British country albums charts in its eighth chart week overseas, it was announced Sunday. On the pop charts, however, it falls nine spots to No. 61 in its fifth week there, and down six spots to No. 18 on the independent album charts. RCA/BMG's compilation CD Gold The Hits Collection falls 10 places on the pop side to No. 57 in its fourth week as the only other country CD on the U.K. top 75 pop albums chart. On the Canadian country album charts, Sparrow jumps up 11 spots to No. 34. March 17: The Silicon Valley Metro on Thursday gave Little Sparrow more praise, with reviewer Sarah Quelland writing that Dolly "offers a beautiful collection of simple-sounding acoustic songs full of heartbreak and harmony." She adds that Dolly's originals are amazing, while she takes all of the cover songs on the CD and makes them "her own." Read the full review here. March 16: In its seventh week on the charts, Little Sparrow is still riding high, although it is down two spots to No. 17 on the country album charts and falls 20 places on the pop charts to No. 149, according to figures released Thursday by Billboard.. (Chart positions suggest it has sold about 72,000 copies in its first seven weeks.) The CD inches down one notch on the Internet sales chart to No. 20 and three places on the independent albums chart to No. 9. The Grass is Blue, now in its 31st chart week, drops 14 spots to No. 65 on the country albums charts, and the Sweet November soundtrack, which features Dolly with Paula Cole on "Heart Door," drops a dozen places to No. 86 in its fifth week on the chart. The upcoming issue of Country Music Magazine will include a great review of Sparrow, which I have been provided. Reviewer Holly George-Warren gives the collection four-and-a-half out of five stars. She notes the CD is "stunning," "timeless," "a rich acoustic tapestry of evocative arrangements and eclectic material." She comments that it "has so much hillbilly soul it hurts." Likening it to her turn on television as a star who returns to her roots, she notes that Sparrow is "the real Smoky Mountain Christmas, 365 days a year." "You can go home again," she concludes. "Maybe Parton never really left." March 12: Little Sparrow marked its fifth week at No.1 on the U.K. country album charts over the weekend, while also falling nine places on the pop charts to No. 47. The CD also dropped four spots on the independent albums chart to No. 12, as The Grass is Blue fell off the country album charts. Also on the pop charts, her compilation CD Gold The Hits Collection fell 17 notches to No. 52. On the Canadian country album charts, Sparrow falls five spots to No. 45. The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times on Sunday offered an opinion on Dolly's Little Sparrow, with reviewer Peter A. Couture writing: "Let us now praise Dolly Parton . . . Parton has eclectic tastes and unlike the current flavors of the month on country radio she doesn't confuse arena rock with country music." He adds that the CD features a "timeless quality that wouldn't be out of place on the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers' latest work of quirky Americana" (O, Brother Where Art Thou?). Read the full review here.The CD also got a mention at the end of a New York Times article Sunday on the new crop of women in country music. Writer Peter Applebombe lamented Dolly's lack of appearances on country radio (saying they consider her "country emeritus") but called both Sparrow and The Grass is Blue "true gems." He notes her version of "I Get a Kick Out of You" is "an exuberant bluegrass turn" and that Nashville should have as much room for that song as it does for today's country pop hits. The full article is available here.
March 9: Little Sparrow is still holding its own on the Billboard charts. In its sixth week on the charts, the March 17 edition, released Thursday, sees it inch up four spots on the pop album chart to No. 129 and hold steady on the country album chart at No. 15 as well as on the independent album chart at No. 6. It re-enters the Internet sales chart at No. 19, as The Grass is Blue moves up three spots on the country album chart to No. 51 for its 30th chart week, as the Sweet November soundtrack, which features the Paula Cole and Dolly performance of "Heart Door," fall 20 places on the pop album charts to No. 86 for its fourth week on the chart.
 The Austin City Limits Web site (here) recently released the first photo of Dolly's appearance on the PBS concert series, set to air March 24. (Local air times vary; so check local listings.) The site also congratulates her on her recent Grammy win.March 5: Little Sparrow spends a fourth week atop the British country albums chart this week, while The Grass is Blue creeps up two spots to No. 18 for its 20th week on the chart across the pond. Sparrow falls four places on the independent album chart to No. 8 and eight slots on the pop album charts to No. 38. The only other country CD on the pop album charts, once again, is Dolly's new compilation CD, Gold The Hits Collection, which drops a dozen places to No. 35. In Canada charts, she falls 10 spots to No. 40 for her fourth week on their country album charts. March 2: Billboard released its March 10 charts on Thursday, and Dolly's still up there. Little Sparrow drops another spot on the country album charts to No. 15 and 23 slots on the pop charts to No. 133 for its fifth week of sales. It again falls off the Internet sales chart and is down two spots on the independent label chart at No. 6. Based on chart performance, I estimate it sold about 55,000 copies in its first five weeks (it's entered its sixth week of sales on Tuesday). Getting a post-Grammy boost, The Grass is Blue shoots up nine notches on the country album charts to No. 54. The Sweet November soundtrack, which features the Paula Cole and Dolly performance of "Heart Door," jumps up 26 places on the pop album charts to No. 66 for its third week on the chart.
London's The Times on Friday gives readers a double Dolly treasure a lyrical review of both Little Sparrow and her new RCA compilation CD, Gold Greatest Hits. Barbara Ellen's wonderful review calls Dolly the female crossover equivalent of Elvis Presley and champions her songwriting and superior versions of both her own songs and covers she performs of others'. About Sparrow, she notes it is: "a well-paced, heartfelt collection of new songs and old cover versions, which embrace the ancient country arts of storytelling, but give them little modern twists in the tail . . . For all her promiscuous embrace of many musical genres over the years, this is clearly the music which makes Parton's heart thump the hardest." As for Gold, she lauds Dolly's "Jolene," pristine telling of "I Will Always Love You" and her "beautiful" cover of Elvis' hit "In The Ghetto." Along the way, she points out that Dolly has the kind of superstardom anyone in the business would envy a career longevity surpassed by almost no one and a diversification few have attained (singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, even her own theme park; "not even Madonna has her own theme park," she proclaims). To read the full review, click here.
Feb. 28: Dolly was as spectacular as ever on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Tuesday night. Of course, she talked about her clothes and plugged Dollywood's April opening and her water park's May opening. Jay congratulated her on winning her sixth Grammy last week and asked for her opinion on the Eminem controversy. She didn't want to get into that one and responded simply, "I never criticize anybody else's work." However, she joked that she thought after his duet with Elton John that she might hook up with him next year and become "M&M and Double D," which she noted was also a reference to her married name, Dolly Dean. She also said she got along wonderfully with the rappers and hip-hop crowd backstage at the Grammy Awards and joked that she was thinking of changing her and her band's name to "Puff Momma and The Backwoods Boys." Jay had her tell almost the entire story of the song "Mountain Angel" and commented that Jolene and her new CD were his favorites of her albums. After a break for another guest's interview (during which Dolly did a little a capella version of "Marry Me"), Dolly performed the CD's beautiful title track, "Little Sparrow." Jay noted before the performance that she has "still the most beautiful voice out there. Just lovely."
This one's about a month old, but tonight I came across a review of Little Sparrow on Virgin.net. Reviewer Esther Sadler notes that both her originals and the covers that look odd at first glance "are truly one, united by the wondrous magic thing that is DP's clear and softly crooning voice . . . . This is the old, even timeless music, but newly commanded by a modern goddess of song. A good old fashioned modern classic." Read the full review here.
Feb. 27: British music mag Q has a brief review of Little Sparrow in its current issue, giving it four out of five stars. The review calls the CD "marvelous" and says it is delivered with Dolly's "canny combination of humour, cartoon sexuality and rootsy songwriting."
Feb. 26: Dolly is the undisputed country queen of the charts this weekend in the U.K. Not only does Little Sparrow hold onto the No. 1 spot on the country albums charts for a third week, but it shoots up 31 positions to No. 30 on the pop album charts. It also moves up to No. 4 on their independent album charts, up from No. 8. At the same time, The Grass is Blue, which peaked at No. 8 overseas in late 1999, re-enters for a 19th week on the country album charts, coming in at No. 20. And if that's not enough, the only other country release on the U.K. pop charts this week is Gold The Hits Collection, BMG/RCA's new Dolly compilation CD, which debuts at No. 23! (I don't know why it doesn't show up on the country album charts. Logically, since it is higher on the pop charts than Sparrow, it should be No. 1 on the country charts.) Sparrow dropped four spots to No. 30 in its third week on the Canadian country album charts.
The Boston Phoenix earlier this month published a raving review of Little Sparrow, with writer Ted Drozdowski noting that "the sweetness of her voice, an instrument of astounding power and clarity with a gentle, ever-present vibrato" soars on the CD. "Little Sparrow is spectacular and often sad, showing perhaps for the first time the depths of emotion that Parton can reach. Her voice is terribly fragile in 'My Blue Tears,' one of seven songs that descend to various levels of pain over love gone wrong the lowest being the madness that rends the life of the spurned 'Mountain Angel.' Parton wrote both numbers, though the latter sounds like a classic English folk ballad transposed to hillbilly country," he says. Further, he praises: "altogether these songs are more of experience than of innocence. And from that experience Parton has made an album that rivals not only her own earlier work but nearly everything else in contemporary country." For the full review, click here. Thanks, Mark!Feb. 22: There was a second Rolling Stone review of Little Sparrow released Wednesday! In it, reviewer Parke Puterbaugh notes that "on this nearly hour-long modern-bluegrass tour de force. Parton gravitates toward sepulchral tales of doomed lovers and broken families that haunt the hill country -- 'Down From Dover' and 'Mountain Angel' are downright gothic but she lightens the mood with a near-definitive take of Steve Young's song of the South, 'Seven Bridges Road,' and a gospel-style recasting of Collective Soul's 'Shine'" It ends saying that "Parton's silvery, force-of-nature voice cuts to the heart of the matter, convincingly making the case that -- famous literary dictum aside -- you can go home again." You may read the full review here. * Dolly graces the cover of the features section of the New York gay magazine Next this week, with a great interview, including an announcement that she will play Carnegie Hall (date to be announced)! Other items of note are some somber comments about her father's death, extensive positive remarks about the gay community, and plenty of plugs for Dollywood and the new CD. You can read the entire article here.Thanks, Greg! Feb. 21: I'm told Dolly is featured throughout the March 6 issue of Country Weekly, with a Q&A session, review of Little Sparrow and a spot on the fashion page. Thanks, Robert!
And I'm also informed that a Dallas radio station has been playing "In The Sweet By and By" from Little Sparrow several times each day as a tribute to NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt, who died in a crash at Sunday's Daytona 500. Thanks, Michael!
And Popmatters.com had its own review recently of Little Sparrow, with Charlotte Robinson calling Dolly's original songs on the CD "deeply poetic and tragic" and saying the CD delivers "spectacular results." Read the full review here.
Feb. 19: Dolly has a great interview in this week's New Yorker magazine, focusing on her performance at Joe's Pub there to promote Little Sparrow. Included are several of her quips from the show (plus a note of how much writer Nancy Franklin hated Whitney Houston's cover of "I Will Always Love You.") You may read it here.
Little Sparrow this weekend recaptures the No. 1 spot on the British country album charts, up from No. 2, and moves up six spots on their independent album chart to No. 8. It also debuts this week on the U.K. pop album charts at No. 71, the only country CD on that chart (which counts the top 75 albums of the week). The CD also moves up one notch this week on the Canadian country album chart, to No. 26 for its second week on the chart there.Feb. 16: Billboard released its Feb. 24 charts on Thursday, and as predicted here, Little Sparrow took a slight dip. It fell one spot on the country charts to No. 13, 10 spots on the pop charts to No. 107, and off of the Internet sales chart (where it had been No. 4 last week). It held onto its position on the independent album chart, however, where it's still No. 3. The Grass is Blue fell from No. 57 to No. 63. I'd expect a few more weeks of slight falling before some large gains following her Grammy Awards performance.
Jennifer at Sugar Hill confirmed Thursday that Dolly will do another in-store appearance to promote the CD at Tower Records, this time in Los Angeles at Tower Sunset, from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23. Thanks, Jennifer!
And the CD is still getting great press up in Canada, where a story in the Ottawa Citizen on the resurgence of bluegrass focused extensively on Dolly. Writer Paul Langston says a "sense of family infuses both of Parton's bluegrass albums . . . The discs have the comfortable feel of folks sitting around the kitchen table, swapping tall tales and instrumental solos . . . Parton's voice is the ideal vehicle for bluegrass. Tamping down the back of her throat in classic Appalachian fashion, she lingers over the music's tense, 'high lonesome' notes. Mourning for something lost and yearning for something better, Parton conveys the sense of exile that marks bluegrass and the southern character." You may take in the full article here.Feb. 15: I came across another review of Little Sparrow today, although it was actually published last Friday. It's from the Baton Rouge daily newspaper, The Advocate, and reviewer John Wirt wrote that it "is a great bluegrass album" and that anyone who loves bluegrass "had best not let Little Sparrow fly on by." He says Dolly "sings and writes of heartbreak and regret with touching authority. She's affecting, never maudlin." He further calls her "a country classic." Read the full review here.
And Billboard has posted a free download of "Marry Me" from the CD. You may get it here.Feb. 14: Wall of Sound published a nice little article on Little Sparrow Tuesday, saying Dolly "isn't dripping any tears in her beer or whatever her beverage of choice is" with the success of the CD, her upcoming television films and next week's Grammy Awards. Read the article here.
Another review of the CD popped up Monday on The Stream. You may read it here. Thanks, Gregg!Feb. 13: A Dollymania reader passed along another review for Little Sparrow, this one coming from the Edmonton Journal on Sunday. Giving it four out of five stars, the review noted: "Once again she proves she's a prolific tunesmith, having knocked off half the offerings here while snatching material from camps as diverse as contemporary rock, hardcore country and even one from Cole Porter's book." It continued to say that the guest vocalists "add multiple harmonies to beautifully arranged and crystalline sounding pieces like 'My Blue Tears' and 'Mountain Angel'" and "a Celtic tributary flows into this stream on the alluring" "Down From Dover." It also said she "slapped ['Seven Bridges Road'] with a blazing bluegrass arrangement and gave it a new identity." Thanks, Tim!
Dolly was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday discussing the CD. You can listen to the interview here.Feb. 12: Little Sparrow debuted on the Canadian country charts over the weekend, coming in at No. 27 in the Feb. 18 edition.
And on Sunday, the Toronto Sun ran its review of the CD, giving it four-and-a-half out of five stars. Reviewer Jane Stevenson calls it "her latest remarkable bluegrass tribute." It calls her voice, "clear, sparkling" and notes "The Beautiful Lie" is "startlingly beautiful." Read the full review here.
The news page on Collective Soul's official Web site (here) includes a note about the CD, saying: "Special thanks to Dolly Parton for her moving rendition of 'Shine' on her new album Little Sparrow. If you're lucky, you got to see her sing it on Late Night With David Letterman." Thanks, Jonathan!
A fan from overseas confirms that Dolly is scheduled there for a few appearances to promote the album. She will appear on Michael Parkinson's show on Feb. 17 (BBC1, 21:05 to 22:05 with comedienne Tracey Ullman and Olympic gold medalist Denise Lewis), and also on Gloria Huniford's Open House Feb. 19 (Channel 5, 2:15). Thanks, Gareth!Feb. 10: Rolling Stone Online on Friday noted that Collective Soul was ecstatic to learn that Dolly had covered their song "Shine" on Little Sparrow. Lead singer Ed Roland told the magazine that a friend called them when she appeared on Leno and said, "Dolly Parton just sang your song on TV!" He explained to the magazine: "In all honesty, the first CD, which has 'Shine' on it, basically was a songwriter's demo, trying to get a publishing deal and try to showcase songs. It's the first time ever we've had one of those songs covered, and it's an honor, and really cool . . . especially coming from someone who's a great songwriter. It's not necessary for her to use anyone's songs except her own." The band also sent Dolly a large bouquet of flowers to show their appreciation when she appeared on Letterman with a note which read: "It's an honor for you to do our song. You humble us by your kind words." Read the full article here.
The New York Post on Friday had a great interview with Dolly about the new CD and her press concert of it in New York last month including descriptions of a very emotional performance of "Smoky Mountain Memories" in memory of her late father during the show. Read it here.Feb. 9: Billboard released its Feb. 17 charts Thursday, and as predicted here, Little Sparrow moved up a bit. It inched up two spots on the country chart, from No. 14 to No. 12; 20 spots on the pop charts from No. 117 to No. 97; nine spots on the Internet sales chart from No. 13 to No. 4; and one spot on the independent album chart from No. 4 to No. 3. The Grass is Blue also moved up four spots on the country chart, from No. 61 to No. 57. The positions reflect sales figures for the second week of the CD's release (it's currently in its third week). I would expect it to stay steady or fall slightly in the Feb. 24 chart and thereafter before getting a strong boost in the March 10 or 17 chart for sales following her Feb. 21 Grammy performance. Feb. 7: Bay Area Online on Tuesday ran a review of Little Sparrow from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, in which reviewer James M. Tarbox comments that the CD "delves even more assuredly into Dolly Parton's bluegrass/Appalachian roots. But being the musical adventurer she always has been, she also finds acoustic possibilities in seemingly the most unlikely places and brings them to full fruition, too." He says "Seven Bridges Road" and "Shine" are each "a treat," and that "In The Sweet By and By" has "a nice Celtic lilt." You may read the full review here. Feb. 5: Time on Saturday released its review of Little Sparrow, with Jonathan Gregg writing that it "delivers a good helping of the right stuff . . . Dolly's bluegrass incarnation is one of the more exciting makeovers of recent years in country or any other kind of music, and Little Sparrow is a valuable addition to one of America's most enduringly vital genres." The review also looks at Big Mon, noting that Dolly's version of "Cry, Cry Darlin'" on that CD is "a standout by any standard." To read both full reviews, click here.
A review in Sunday's Cleveland Plain Dealer calls "Down from Dover" and "Mountain Angel" both "fantastic" and notes that Dolly's "sweet mountain twang is a dandelion wisp swirling in a sad hillside wind on the title track that opens the disc, and joins the keening fiddle of Stuart Duncan to offer a wailing lament on the reprise that closes it. In between, it's even better . . . This is beautiful music from a beautiful lady about a beautiful part of our beautiful land." Read the full review here.
The Wichita Eagle on Sunday also published their review, saying Dolly's voice is "as bright as an angel" and notes that is especially true on "Mountain Angel," which she "writes and delivers perfectly." It concludes by saying the pickers and harmony singers on the CD "help Dolly bring it all back home, and a fine home it is." Read the review here.* And the CD moved up a notch on the U.K. country charts this week, taking the No. 1 spot! For comparison, The Grass is Blue made it to No. 8, and both Trio II and Hungry Again went to No. 3. Feb. 2: As predicted here yesterday, Little Sparrow debuted at No. 14 on the Feb. 10 country album chart released Thursday afternoon by Billboard. It was the highest-debuting country CD of the week, earning the country chart's "Hot Shot Debut" tag. It was also the fifth-highest debut of the week on the pop charts, where it lands at No. 117; highest debut of the week on the independent label chart, where it is No. 4; and third-highest debut of the week on the Internet sales chart, where it is No. 13. The Grass is Blue also makes a return to the country album chart for the week, re-entering at No. 61 for its 25th week on the chart.
Tower Records' in-store publication Pulse on Wednesday finally updated its Web site to include the current issue with the Dolly interview. You may read it here.
The CD is still getting rave reviews. The Nashville Scene on Thursday said Little Sparrow rounds out the "dazzling triptych" started with Hungry Again and The Grass is Blue and "not only bridges the Appalachian and Anglo-Celtic ballad traditions, it puts the focus squarely on that part of Dolly's legacy that deserves it most: her art." In an interview that follows, Dolly says: "So there were two reasons that I did 'Dover' again; actually, I guess three. The first being that I thought it was one of the best songs I'd ever written and felt like it never had a fair chance. Another reason was that I had to take that verse out, and that always bothered me. I wanted, in my lifetime, to have all the song's pieces back together. And then the third reason was, we were using [Altan], and I wanted to have songs that really had those long beautiful chords where they could actually play the kind of stuff they do, [which] I think sounds better on those kind of songs. I've always thought that 'Dover' sounded old-world anyway." Read the story here.
Wall of Sound posted a brief review recently calling the CD "nearly as lovely" as "the gorgeous award-winning" The Grass is Blue. Read it here.
Country Standard Time also featured an interview article which calls it "indeed a step or two beyond bluegrass but only so far; it's not a dramatic change, of course." You may read it here.Feb. 1: Little Sparrow Will debut at No. 117 on the pop Top 200 albums chart, according to Billboard. We'll have to wait until late Thursday to find out its country position, but based on recent chart performance (The Grass is Blue peaked at pop No. 198 when at country No. 24; Trio II and peaked at pop No. 62 when at country No. 7), Sparrow should debut on the country chart around No. 13 or No. 14. The positions will reflect sales from the CD's first week of release, prior to her Letterman and Conan appearances this week, which traditionally increase sales; so we could see the album move up a notch or two on the following week's charts.
And call your radio stations to request the new Dolly singles! Jennifer at Sugar Hill confirmed for me that three singles were released to radio last week. "A Tender Lie" was sent to country stations, "Bluer Pastures" shipped to bluegrass stations, and "Seven Bridges Road" to the those in the relatively new Americana genre. She also tells me that, contrary to previous reports, no video is currently planned. Thanks, Jennifer!
Even though it isn't a single, "Shine" is getting some attention as well. Each week, John Sakamoto, editor of Canada's top music site, JAM, lists the 10 songs he believes are the best new releases that week across all genres. On Wednesday, he selected "Shine" at No. 5, noting: "What the hell is a riff-heavy Collective Soul song doing on a hardcore bluegrass album, you ask? Revealing itself as the kind of spiritual ('Oh, heaven let your light shine down') that Parton favours these days. Utterly convincing." Read the full list here.Jan. 31: More great reviews for Little Sparrow this week! Nashville's own The Tennessean on Monday professed: "Words won't get us all the way there on this one. We can go with shimmering, stunning, unforgettable, poignant and lovely. And that's not all the way there. Little Sparrow is a fully realized bluegrass masterpiece, an advanced study in vocal expression and a showcase for tremendous musicianship from some of the finest pickers on the planet. It is, in other words, awfully good." Writer Peter Cooper says "Shine" is "thrilling," "Seven Bridges Road" is "wondrous," and Dolly's original songs "harrowing tales." He concludes saying the talented harmony performers on the CD "sing like pained angels over Parton's harrowing narratives." Read the full review here.
A very brief write-up in Friday's The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram called it "engaging" and noted that the largest improvement over her previous bluegrass CD is that it contains more Dolly originals. Read their review here.
The New York Post on Tuesday in a review by Dan Aquilante said the CD is a great follow-up to The Grass is Blue but lamented it is not that album's equal because of Sparrow's "dark" material, which he says could be the "starkest of her career." Still, he calls her songwriting "prolific" and finds the melding of bluegrass with the Irish and Scottish sounds from the Appalachians "exciting." However, while he said she sounded fine on "I Get a Kick Out of You," he didn't think it fit in with the other tracks. Read the full review here.Jan. 30: The Orange County Register on Monday issued its verdict on Little Sparrow, finding the CD "worth the wait" from 1999's The Grass Is Blue. Reviewer Keith Lawrence of the paper's affiliate Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer writes: "Dolly Parton is everywhere these days, promoting her second Sugar Hill (mostly) bluegrass album. And the media is paying attention. She's featured in just about every publication you pick up. There's a good reason for that." He observes that Dolly "can mine the dark side of life better than anyone since Hank Williams (the First)," and professes that "Down From Dover" and "Mountain Angel" are two "fascinating" examples of that fact. He also compliments the CD's happier tracks and the "stellar" cast of accompanying pickers and harmony singers she assembled for the recording. Read the full review here. Jan. 29: On Saturday, Little Sparrow made its way to the No. 1 spot on CDNow's country chart, where it remained on Sunday!
The CD also made a very impressive debut on the British country album charts, showing up at No. 2! (Shania Twain's mega-hit Come On Over, now in its 168th week on the U.K. charts, remained at No. 1). For comparison, The Grass is Blue only went to No. 8 across the pond, while both Hungry Again and Trio II made it to No. 3.
The New York Daily News released its review Sunday of Little Sparrow, saying the CD has an "appealing delicacy to" it. It adds: "Parton's still-girlish voice retains an almost eerie innocence. At times her vocals border on the precious, but they're irrefutably earnest . . . Her music could use more grit. But it has sweetness going for it, and at long last a total absence of glitz." Read the full review here.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel also ran a review Sunday, giving the CD an "A." Reviewer Wayne Bledsoe wrote: "No voice was ever more suited to Appalachian music than Smoky Mountain-born Dolly Parton." He calls "Shine" "more effectively sung by Parton" than the original and "I Get a Kick Out of You" "breezy." He calls her original songs on the CD "an even bigger prize," and says the "most gorgeous" number is "The Beautiful Lie." Read the full review here.Jan. 27: The Associated Press on Friday released its review of Little Sparrow, noting that while some could view Dolly's recent bluegrass journey with cynicism, seeing it as an artist unable to get songs played on country or pop radio reaching for something in which she can stand out, however, the reviewer says, "The thing is, she makes such great bluegrass records that her motivations really don't matter . . . If making bluegrass music is a business decision for Parton, it's one that is also paying handsome artistic dividends." He praises "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "Shine" as working "marvelously," says her songwriting of such gems as "Down from Dover" and "Mountain Angel" as "inspired" and notes her voice "remains a wonder." Read the full review in the Topeka Capital-Journal here.
The Canadian entertainment site JamMusic also released a brief review Friday, saying "the queen of crossover country continues to mine a more heartfelt muse with deeply felt Americana." Reviewer Paul Cantin calls "I Get a Kick Out of You" "surprising" and asserts: "The bluegrass setting gives Parton's most prominent artistic asset -- her crystal-clear voice -- a chance to shine." Read the review here. Jan. 26: A fan who attended Dolly's Tower Records session in New York City Wednesday sent a few photos to share with you. He said hundreds of fans braved standing out in the cold for more than an hour in a line that wrapped around the block for their chance to have Dolly autograph Little Sparrow. You may see the shots here. Thanks, Anthony!
Jan. 25: Country.com posted its review Wednesday of Little Sparrow , mainly glowing. Reviewer Michelle Nikolai says "In The Sweet By and By" has an "ethereal" feel, but she thinks "Shine" and "I Get a Kick Out of You" don't fit. (She's the only critic I've seen who didn't like "Shine" and just the second to dislike "I Get a Kick Out of You.") She close, however, with: "The lyrical imagery of the songs is frequently stunning, and Parton's voice is in fine emotive form, truly a thing of rare beauty. She remains one of the most captivating storytellers in country music today." Read the full review here.
Rolling Stone also published a great feature on Wednesday about the album. Writer Andrew Dansby talks with Dolly about the CD. He notes that Dolly "Parton again proves to be a masterful songwriter with a handful of originals of uncompromising traditional beauty and a couple of delicious covers that will send you scrambling for the credits in the liner notes. Her inimitable persona may forever attract the most attention, but Parton's art will always be the quiet-yet-greater colossus." She says to look forward to more cover surprises like "Shine" and "Seven Bridges Road" on future albums, but she won't reveal which songs because "somebody'll go out and do it first." When asked if she thinks the album will make ripples in Nashville, she responds: "You know what, it wouldn't just surprise me at all that doing an album so pure that that'd be the very thing that country music would play, but to be honest with you, I could give a shit less. I've been at it so long trying to get them to play things, now I'm doing this strictly for the sake of music, 'cause it's something I love to do. I'm paying for these albums out of my own pocket and then leasing them to Sugar Hill -- they're on my little label, Blue Eye records in a joint venture. But I know I'm gonna make enough money back to pay for the expenses of making the record, and if that's all it ever does, that's pretty good to me because to me it's the joy of getting to finally do something the way I wanna do it without having to listen to a bunch of record people and executives, managers and a bunch of radio saying, 'We won't play this.'" Read the full story here.Jan. 24: Little Sparrow is out an still getting rave reviews! Plus, Jennifer at Sugar Hill tells me that Dolly will do a live Internet chat on Barnes and Noble's site (barnesandnoble.com) at 7 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Feb. 6. Thanks, Jennifer!
Rolling Stone critic Richard Skanse praises the CD, writing: "With precious few exceptions -- Bob Dylan's Time Out of Mind, maybe -- rock's true elder statesmen rarely deliver new albums these days that measure up to the work they did in their prime. But as evidenced by fine recent outings by the likes of Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris and even George Jones, country icons have been pulling off that very feat with alarming regularity lately. With Little Sparrow, Dolly Parton has delivered her third winner in a row, following 1999's Grammy-nominated The Grass is Blue and 1998's Hungry Again. Still reaping the bountiful fields of bluegrass that made The Grass is Blue such a welcome change of pace, Parton sings the fourteen songs on Little Sparrow with the exuberant assurance of an artist not recalling her prime but in it. And though she brings a commanding presence to such covers as Cole Porter's 'I Get a Kick Out of You,' Steve Young's 'Seven Bridges Road' (known to most folks as an Eagles song) and even Collective Soul's 'Shine' (you gotta hear it to believe it, but it works), it's on such outstanding, haunting originals as 'Little Sparrow' and 'Mountain Angel' that Parton reminds us that her songwriter's voice was ever just as potent as her Tennessee Mountain twang. Throw in a veritable all-star band of bluegrass pros -- including fiddle player Stuart Duncan, dobro player Jerry Douglas and guitarist Bryan Sutton -- and Little Sparrow represents a level of quality that might, as measured by rock icon standards, be deemed a career record. But at fifty-five, Parton gives the impression she's just getting warmed up." Read it again here.
Former Dolly biographer Alanna Nash gave it an A in Entertainment Weekly, noting that the CD when compared to The Grass is Blue "proves a sequel can surpass the original." She adds Dolly "turns in a powerful performance, augmented by the best of bluegrass' hot pickers."
USA Today's review from Tuesday (which notes "If you've ever suspected that Collective Soul's 'Shine' might be a gospel song, Parton's version here will make you a believer") is here.
Sugar Hill posted the No Depression review on their site, which says the CD "bridges the gap between bluegrass and Appalachian folk music, and even includes a few songs with an Irish flavor. Little Sparrow is a stunning blend of these genres and draws material from varied sources, including Dolly's own unparalleled songwriting. She has proven to be the rarest of figures, a singer and songwriter who became a superstar yet retained the skills and impulses of a serious, seriously driven artist.. An artist of extraordinary skill and astonishing vitality." * The label also posted a letter from Dolly to her fans about the album, which may be read here.
E-Online's review, which includes a note that "Dollywood rocks!", is here.
An article from Tuesday's Cleveland Plain Dealer is available here.
VH1's online site on Tuesday carried a note about the CD here.
MSNBC published an interview from the Jan. 29 issue of Newsweek which is available here.
Sonic.net published an article on Little Sparrow Tuesday as well, calling "Seven Bridges Road" "stunning." It also said she will perform some yet-to-be-scheduled concerts to promote the CD and will begin shooting the remake of Solid Gold Cadillac for TNT this spring. Read the full story here.
Dolly was great on Today Tuesday. She talked with Katie Couric about the album and performed "Marry Me."
The Dallas Morning News ran an amazing review of the CD this week, although I mistakenly didn't make a note of who sent the article to me (sorry!). The review, by Mario Tarradell, reads, in part; "Dolly Parton always reaches for the high lonesome heavens. She doesn't need the excuse of recording a bluegrass record. Her voice fragile yet strong, anguished yet jubilant effortlessly channels all the pain, joy and spirituality inherent in the genre Bill Monroe invented. Mix that with a slew of acoustic stringed instruments, from banjos to mandolins, and the results are cathartic." He adds that while The Grass is Blue "was healthy", Little Sparrow "soars." He gushes over her covers of "Shine," "A Tender Lie" and "I Get a Kick Out of You," saying her versions are so good that one almost forgets who made them popular. He also praises her songwriting, most notably "Down from Dover" and "Little Sparrow." Read it here Thanks to whoever sent this. Remind me of your name, and I'll credit you with it!
I'm told Dolly also appeared Tuesday on NPR's Fresh Air. She was interviewed by host Terry Gross, and several songs from Little Sparrow as well as some of her older material were played. Thanks, Patrick, who can make copies for those who missed it! Jan. 23: The review in this week's Billboard is too good to just put an excerpt from, so here's the full review: "Recognizing that mainstream country radio is pretty much off limits, Dolly Parton has wisely followed her muse of late rather than try to gauge commercialism, and God bless her for it. Little Sparrow is among Parton's best work ever, a stellar collection that peels the paint off the walls. Parton's voice remains a thing of wonder, whether it's on the haunting Smoky Mountains soul of the title cut, the aching 'My Blue Tears,' or the backwoods waltz 'Bluer Pastures.' 'Mountain Angel' is spooky, 'Marry Me' is a hoot, and both pay homage to the singer's mountain roots. Parton is still writing killer songs (half the 14 cuts), and the covers are lightning in a jug, including rousing takes on Collective Soul's 'Shine,' the Eagles' 'Seven Bridges Road,' and Cole Porter's 'I Get A Kick Out Of You.' Production is of the back-porch variety, with bluegrass instrumentation mostly carrying the load. The pickers are top shelf, the harmonies are to die for, and Dolly rules. An instant classic. " Read it again on their site here!
Country.com's main story on their Web site Monday was also about Little Sparrow, with a great Jay Orr interview. Read it here.Jan. 22: The Entertainment News Wire had an excellent story by Michael A. Capozzoli Jr. Friday about Little Sparrow published in The Boston Globe. It quoted Dolly characterizing the album as: ''It's a great feeling. 'Now I'm in a position to do the music I've always wanted to record. It's like I'm finally starting to do my own thing. I love it. I'm calling my own shots and things finally feel right. I love it! No managers, record labels or publicists telling me what to do. That's a really good feeling . . .''It's like bluegrass and mountain music mixed in with some of that old sound brought over from the old world. The only term I know how to explain the new direction I'm going with this music is `Blue Mountain music.' There's more depth, breadth, and soul than any of the other albums I have done. It restores me to do this. Now I feel complete." You can read the full article here.
The Jan. 29 issue of U.S. News and World Report lists Little Sparrow as one of its two Top Picks of the week in music, noting: "No high-gloss country here. In her second return-to-roots recording, Parton sings purely and simply (and beautifully), interweaving bluegrass and Appalachian folk. Her distinctive vocals brand each song as her own, from heartfelt old-time gospel to a buoyant 'I Get A Kick Out of You.'"
Not to be left out of the praises for the CD, two Canadian papers on Saturday put their two cents in. Fish Griwkowsky of The Edmonton Sun wrote: "How could a cover of Collective Soul's 'Shine' be this good?" (Read his full review here.) And Mike Bell of The Calgary Sun agreed, noting: "blissful . . . wonderfully cut, traditionally arranged . . . All of this is merely a field for Parton's vocals and their inherent timeless Appalachian honesty to romp inside." (Read his full review here.)
British music site Dot Music calls Little Sparrow "a fantastic album . . . effortlessly meld country and bluegrass into moments of virtual pop perfection. And if there's been a better version of Cole Porter's 'I Get A Kick Out Of You' than the Parton jazz-grass treatment, I've never heard it." Read it here.
The Washington Post on Sunday called it "fabulous." Read that one here.
And a great article in Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer notes its "gorgeous vocals . . . Besides her clear, ringing voice, which has lost little power or range over the years, what makes Parton a great singer is her ability to express the pure anger or pain her protagonists are feeling," calling "Bluer Pastures," dedicated to her late father, the best cut on the CD. (It also throws in that she has been cast as Mae West in an upcoming television movie!) Read that one here. Jan. 19: Sugar Hill has updated its Web site to include tons of information on next week's release of Little Sparrow, including new cover art (to the left). For the main site, with a great story about the CD, click here. For photos, click here. For a track-by-track commentary by Dolly, click here. And for a high-resolution version of the new cover, click here. Jan. 18: The Associated Press on Wednesday released a great article on Little Sparrow saying that advance copies of Little Sparrow have brought positive responses from Nashville radio, suggesting it may actually get some airplay. "I've had so many good years in country music," Dolly told the AP. "Why would I think that I had to stay there forever, when I need to make room for other people? Some of us have to step aside, and if there's not a place for me, I'll make a new one. And that's basically what I'm doing." Producer Steve Buckingham noted: "Her persona, her character that she has created I think has sometimes overshadowed the artist. People sometimes see that but don't see what's underneath all that because she's a true deep artist." He added that her mood is "the best I've ever seen it." Dolly said she will continue to record folk and bluegrass now that there's an audience for it, but she won't rule out pop, film soundtracks, dance music or country music in addition to it. For the full story, click here. Jan. 17: The London Evening Standard on Tuesday chose Little Sparrow as one of only eight CDs to highlight as the best new releases in coming weeks in its Pop CD Choice column by Max Bell and Claire Allfree. The review reads: "Mock not, ye who believe Dolly Parton is some weird Barbie doll who remains country music's biggest stumbling block in the fight to rid itself of the rhinestone and haystack image. Not only does this latest album, on which she mixes new songs with cover versions and revivals of old material, showcase the peculiar rough tenderness of her voice but a subtle gospel undercurrent adds a dash of Southern-fried soul to these rollicking bluegrass songs and traditional lovelorn laments. There are dire moments (including a version of Cole Porter's 'I Get A Kick Out Of You') but when Parton really kicks her shoes off it makes you want to do the same. With the curtains drawn, naturally." Jan. 4: Little Sparrow debuts on the CDNow country album charts at No. 18 nearly three weeks before its release. Dec. 22: Sugar Hill Records and DJ Wes will treat California Dolly fans with the official West Coast CD release party at Oasis Nightclub for Little Sparrow in Upland, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 18. The party will feature a $200 first prize in a Dolly-Look-A-Like contest. Cover is $5 for 21 and up, $10 for 18-20. It is recommended that partiers show up before 10:30 to beat the rush! Dec. 15: Little Sparrow got some press yesterday, with Billboard Online choosing Dolly as their Artist of The Day feature with a review of the upcoming CD. The reviewer lauded last year's The Grass is Blue, noting: "Parton is at her best when she returns to her Appalachian roots. She does so again on Little Sparrow." The CD is called "authentic, heartfelt," and the reviwer noted Dolly's cover of The Eagles' "Seven Bridges Road" is "stunning." For the full review, click here. (The review was also published Thursday in The Boston Globe and noted that Dolly's plans to appear on David Letterman, Rosie O'Donnell and Prarie Home Companion to promote the CD and will release a video, although the single has yet to be determined.) Dec. 7: Read Sugar Hill's press release on the CD here!
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