What's the true story behind "Coat of Many Colors"? (1971)
The true story of the patchwork coat her mother sewed from rags, and of the schoolmates who laughed at it. She wrote it in one sitting on the back of a dry-cleaning receipt while touring with Porter Wagoner — capturing, in three verses, the entire economics and dignity of being poor and loved. The Library of Congress later placed it in the National Recording Registry.
Why did Dolly Parton write "I Will Always Love You"? (1974)
She wrote it in one night in 1973 as a professional goodbye — too honest for a conversation, perfect for a song — to her mentor Porter Wagoner when she left his television show. She recorded it in 1974, and it hit number one on the country chart twice on her own. But no one could have predicted that Whitney Houston's 1992 version for The Bodyguard would become one of the best-selling singles ever recorded. Elvis Presley had wanted to record it — until his manager demanded half the publishing, and she refused. That refusal kept every future royalty stream in her own hands, and is now taught in music-business courses as one of the great ownership decisions of the era.
Who was "Jolene" really about? (1974)
Two real things: a red-headed bank teller who flirted with her husband Carl Dean, and a young autograph-seeking fan named Jolene. She fused them into the pleading, urgent anthem of a woman negotiating with her own fear. It was recorded in one take, in the key she wrote it in — and its signature galloping rhythm was built on the sound of her acrylic fingernails tapping each other, which she used in place of a percussion track.
How was "9 to 5" written? (1980)
On the set of her first film, she watched the crew and cast interact with the studio executives and saw the whole machinery of workplace power — then wrote the theme song overnight, using her acrylic nails tapped on the desk to imitate a typewriter. The sound became the percussion track on the record. Two Grammys and an Oscar nomination followed, and the song became an enduring anthem of workplace rights.
