The Grass Is Blue

Last updated
The Grass Is Blue
Grassisblue.jpg
Studio album by
Dolly Parton
ReleasedOctober 26, 1999
RecordedAugust 1999
Studio
  • The Sound Kitchen (Nashville)
  • The Doghouse (Nashville)
Genre Bluegrass
Length44:59
Label
Producer Steve Buckingham
Dolly Parton chronology
Precious Memories
(1999)		The Grass Is Blue
(1999)		 Little Sparrow
(2001)
Singles from The Grass Is Blue
  1. "A Few Old Memories"
    Released: October 25, 1999
  2. "Silver Dagger"
    Released: February 2000

The Grass Is Blue is the thirty-seventh solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on October 26, 1999, by Sugar Hill and Blue Eye Records. The album won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album and "Travelin' Prayer" was nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

Contents

Background

Parton found herself without a record label for the second time in a year when Decca Records closed its Nashville office in early 1999, just months after the release of Hungry Again . Throughout the 1990s, she had been losing ground with country radio, though her album sales had remained strong for much of that time. The idea for the project was brought to Parton's attention one night in July 1999 when she was having dinner with Steve Buckingham. He mentioned to her that bluegrass fans, when asked which artist they would most like to make a bluegrass album, overwhelmingly cited her. Parton told Billboard , "We were both shocked, but then I thought, since I manage myself now and have my own label and can do what I want, why not do it?" By the end of August 1999, Parton had recorded the album in Nashville with Buckingham producing and top musicians such as Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Alison Krauss, and Rhonda Vincent accompanying. Speaking about the song selection, Parton said, "I've always loved bluegrass, having grown up in and around mountain music and bluegrass, so I chose some songs I've been singing all my life." Parton said of the recording process, "It went really fast because these are the world's best bluegrass pickers and singers, who've been doing these songs forever!" [1]

Content

The album includes a mixture of Parton originals and folk and bluegrass standards, as well as a Billy Joel cover. "Silver Dagger", a late nineteenth century ballad, had been popularized by Joan Baez during the early 1960s. Parton had originally written "Steady as the Rain" for her younger sister Stella Parton, who had a top 40 country hit with the song in 1979. "Will He Be Waiting for Me" is an updated version of a song which Parton originally recorded for her 1972 album, Touch Your Woman . The album also includes a cover of the Blackfoot song "Train, Train".

Release and promotion

The album was announced by Sugar Hill Records on August 24, 1999. In the press release, Parton was quoted saying,

"It's perfectly natural for me to do a bluegrass album as I have loved that style of music all my life. So much of my own music, the songs I write and sing, have so many of the same colors. For years I have looked forward to doing a bluegrass album. Although I have done some bluegrass songs scattered around in shows and in certain albums, this is one of the most exciting things I have done in years and one of the most exciting things ever." [2]

Parton made several television appearances to promote the album. The day of the album's release she made an appearance on Live with Regis & Kelly . [3] She appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on November 2 and performed "Train, Train". [4] Television appearances continued in February 2000 to promote the album's second single, "Silver Dagger". Parton performed the single February 28 on the Late Show with David Letterman [5] and February 29 on Live with Regis & Kelly. [6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [7]
Austin Chronicle Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
Robert Christgau Five Pointed Star Solid.svg Five Pointed Star Solid.svg [9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]

Upon its release, the album received much praise among music critics. James Hunter of Rolling Stone gave a positive review of the album, saying, "On recent recordings like Trio II, with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, Parton has gone home, but not with the curled-tongue abandon she brings to The Grass Is Blue, where she re-tackles bluegrass, country and traditional songs with brio...it leaves the earth often...Without that almost punk-style independence, you can't have new legends, country or otherwise." [11] Writing for AllMusic, Philip Van Vleck gave to album 4.5 out of 5 stars and said that Parton has "always followed her own muse; this time it has led her to a singular interpretation of bluegrass that is one of the important bluegrass releases of 1999." [7] Jerry Renshaw reviewed the album for the Austin Chronicle and gave the album 3 stars, saying that "Parton's familiar vibrato soars over the mountain-music instruments like it was born to do just that." [8]

In addition to rejuvenating Parton's career, the album, along with the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and the work of Alison Krauss, is credited with making bluegrass a hugely popular musical genre during the early 2000s.

Commercial performance

The album peaked at No. 24 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 198 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album peaked at No. 8 on the UK OCC Country Albums chart. As of December 2003, the album has sold 195,000 copies in the United States. [12]

The first single, "A Few Old Memories", was sent to country radio stations in October 1999 [13] and did not chart. "Silver Dagger" was sent to folk stations as the album's second single in February 2000 [14] and did not chart.

Accolades

At the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards, the album won Best Bluegrass Album and "Travelin' Prayer" was nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. [15] The album won Album of the Year at the 2000 International Bluegrass Music Awards.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Travelin' Prayer" Billy Joel 4:16
2."Cash on the Barrelhead"
3:08
3."A Few Old Memories"Hazel Dickens4:02
4."I'm Gonna Sleep with One Eye Open" Lester Flatt 3:05
5."Steady as the Rain" Dolly Parton 3:05
6."I Still Miss Someone"
3.38
7."Endless Stream of Tears"Parton2.40
8."Silver Dagger"Traditional4:55
9."Train, Train" Shorty Medlocke 2:50
10."I Wonder Where You Are Tonight" Johnny Bond 3:14
11."Will He Be Waiting for Me"Parton3:26
12."The Grass Is Blue"Parton3:45
13."I Am Ready" Rachel Dennison 2:45
Total length:44:59

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. [16]

Charts

Chart (1999)Peak
position
UK Country Albums (OCC) [17] 7
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [18] 38
US Billboard 200 [19] 198
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [20] 24

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
US & CanadaOctober 26, 1999
 [21]
EuropeMarch 1, 2000 [22]
VariousJanuary 3, 2006 Digital download [23]
US & CanadaApril 18, 2015 LP [24]

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References

  1. ↑ "Billboard - September 25, 1999" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. p. 34. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "The Grass Is Blue - Press release". www.dollymania.net. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "Live with Regis & Kelly - Episode #12.42" . Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Episode #7.186" . Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  5. ↑ "Late Show with David Letetrman - Episode dated 28 February 2000" . Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "Live with Regis & Kelly - Episode dated 29 February 2000" . Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  7. 1 2 Van Vleck, Phillip. The Grass Is Blue at AllMusic
  8. 1 2 Renshaw, Jerry. "Dolly Parton The Grass Is Blue (Sugar Hill)". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  9. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Dolly Parton". Robert Christgau.
  10. ↑ Colin Larkin (2006). "Parton, Dolly". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music . Vol. 6 (4th ed.). Muze, Oxford University Press. p. 435–6. ISBN   978-0-19-531373-4.
  11. ↑ Hunter, James (3 February 2000). "The Grass Is Blue". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  12. ↑ Gordon, Duane (December 26, 2003). "December 2003 Archive". Dollymania. Dollymania. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Dollymania October 1999 News Archive". www.dollymania.net. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  14. ↑ "Dollymania February 2000 News Archive". www.dollymania.net. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  15. ↑ "Dolly Parton". GRAMMY.com. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  16. ↑ "Dolly Parton - The Grass Is Blue". Discogs. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  17. ↑ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company.
  18. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  19. ↑ "Dolly Parton Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Dolly Parton Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Dolly Parton - The Grass Is Blue - Amazon.com Music". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  22. ↑ "Dolly Parton - The Grass Is Blue (Europe) - Amazon.com Music". Sugar Hill. 1 March 2000. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  23. ↑ "Dolly Parton - The Grass Is Blue (Digital Download) - Amazon.com Music". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  24. ↑ "Dolly Parton - The Grass Is Blue (LP)". Discogs. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
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