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Dolly Parton's America

  • The Vanishing of Harry Pace Trailer from the Creators of Dolly Parton's America

    6 JUL 2021 · Hi, Dolly Parton's America fans! We're sharing a new trailer for our new 6-part series The Vanishing of Harry Pace - from the creators of Dolly Parton's America, Jad Abumrad and Shima Oliaee - now premiering at Radiolab. It was Motown before Motown, FUBU before FUBU: Black Swan Records. The label founded 100 years ago by Harry Pace. Pace launched the career of Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, inadvertently invented the term rock n roll, played an important role in W.C. Handy becoming "Father of the Blues," inspired Ebony and Jet magazines, and helped desegregate the South Side of Chicago in an epic Supreme Court battle. Then, he disappeared.  The Vanishing of Harry Pace is a series about the phenomenal but forgotten man who changed America. It's a story about betrayal, family, hidden identities, and a time like no other. To listen to the the new series, click here or search "The Vanishing of Harry Pace" and "Radiolab," wherever you get your podcasts.
    2m 7s
  • The Vanishing of Harry Pace Trailer from the Creators of Dolly Parton's America

    28 JUN 2021 · Hi, Dolly Parton's America fans! We're sharing a new trailer for our new 6-part series The Vanishing of Harry Pace - from the creators of Dolly Parton's America, Jad Abumrad and Shima Oliaee - now premiering at Radiolab. It was Motown before Motown, FUBU before FUBU: Black Swan Records. The label founded 100 years ago by Harry Pace. Pace launched the career of Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, inadvertently invented the term rock n roll, played an important role in W.C. Handy becoming "Father of the Blues," inspired Ebony and Jet magazines, and helped desegregate the South Side of Chicago in an epic Supreme Court battle. Then, he disappeared.  The Vanishing of Harry Pace is a series about the phenomenal but forgotten man who changed America. It's a story about betrayal, family, hidden identities, and a time like no other. To listen to the the new series, click here or search "Radiolab" and "The Vanishing of Harry Pace," wherever you get your podcasts.  
    2m 7s
  • Dixie Disappearance

    17 DEC 2019 · This episode delves into the controversy surrounding Dolly Parton’s Stampede (formerly known as “Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede”)—a dinner theater that presents the Civil War as a friendly competition between neighbors. In the wake of the Charlottesville Riots in 2017, the Dixie Stampede was called out by the press, and then became embroiled in the larger national conversation about Civil War monuments and the white-washing of history. Dolly’s business conglomerate decided to eliminate “Dixie” from the name, which caused further uproar.  Dolly embodies “a quivering mass of irreconcilable contradictions” in a way very few other American figures do… but has America arrived at a place where such contradictions are no longer defensible or tolerable? 
    38m 52s
  • The Only One For Me, Jolene

    19 NOV 2019 · One of Dolly’s most iconic and successful songs is “Jolene,” a song that, at first listen, is about a romantic rival trying to steal her man: a prime example of the classic “cheating song.”  But some see it as flipping a popular country music trope on its head. This idea takes shape when Nadine Hubbs, a professor at the University of Michigan, writes a fourth verse to “Jolene," which makes us reimagine Dolly's songs in entirely new ways. 
    36m 19s
  • Dollitics

    12 NOV 2019 · Dolly Parton and politics have always had an interesting relationship. On the one hand, she wrote 9 to 5, the anthem for working women and the theme song for a movie inspired by a new labor union. On the other hand, she refuses to answer questions about President Trump, or any question on politics period. Her nephew calls this “Dollitics”: Dolly doesn’t take a position because she knows half her fans are on the right, half are on the left. In this moment in history, how should we think of this kind of fiercely apolitical stance?  Is it desirable, or even possible?
    44m 59s
  • Neon Moss

    5 NOV 2019 · In this episode, we go back up the mountain to visit Dolly’s actual Tennessee mountain home.  But, can you ever go home again?  Dolly tells us stories about her first trips out of the holler, and shares with us where she lives now. Back on the mountaintop, standing under the rain by the Little Pigeon River, the trip triggers memories of Jad’s first visit to his father's childhood home, and opens the gateway to dizzying stories of music and migration.
    41m 50s
  • Tennessee Mountain Trance

    29 OCT 2019 · We journey into the Dollyverse dimension: "Tennessee Mountain Home."Like all law abiding Tennesseans, Jad grew up with the song on a loop.  He hadn’t planned to talk with Dolly about it, but much to his surprise, he is drawn into a Tennessee Mountain Trance.  The trance opens a portal to many questions about country music, authenticity, nostalgia and belonging.  And to a place called Dollywood. We visit the replica of Dolly’s childhood cabin and find thousands of other pilgrims similarly entranced.  Along the way, we meet Wandee Pryor, who lived in a Dolly dreamworld as a girl.  And also, halfway around the world, Esther Konkara, the self-proclaimed “Kenyan Dolly Parton,” who sings "Tennessee Mountain Home" as an ode to the hills of Nairobi - hills she has not yet left.  The Tennessee Mountain home begins to seem like part of a Disney fairytale.But then, Jad and Shima get a call from Dolly’s nephew and head of security Bryan Seaver, who makes an irresistible offer. 
    40m 36s
  • Sad Ass Songs

    15 OCT 2019 · We begin with a simple question: How did the queen of the boob joke become a feminist icon? Helen Morales, author of “Pilgrimage to Dollywood,” gave us a stern directive – look at the lyrics! So we dive into Dolly’s discography, starting with the early period of what Dolly calls “sad ass songs” to find remarkably prescient words of female pain, slut-shaming, domestic violence, and women being locked away in asylums by cheating husbands. We explore how Dolly took the centuries-old tradition of the Appalachian “murder ballad”—an oral tradition of men singing songs about brutally killing women—and flipped the script, singing from the woman’s point of view. And as her career progresses, the songs expand beyond the pain to tell tales of leaving abuse behind. How can such pro-woman lyrics come from someone who despises the word feminism? Dolly explains.  
    57m 40s

In this intensely divided moment, one of the few things everyone still seems to agree on is Dolly Parton—but why? That simple question leads to a deeply personal, historical, and...

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In this intensely divided moment, one of the few things everyone still seems to agree on is Dolly Parton—but why? That simple question leads to a deeply personal, historical, and musical rethinking of one of America’s great icons. Join us for a 9-episode journey into the Dollyverse. Hosted by Jad Abumrad, creator of Radiolab and More Perfect. Produced and reported by Shima Oliaee. Dolly Parton’s America is co-produced by OSM Audio and WNYC Studios.
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Author Gabriel Duru
Categories Music History
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