‘Blue Smoke’ tinged with Parton’s bluegrass
Dolly Partonwas a fireball of energy when she called for a quick chat about her new album, “Blue Smoke,” and the companion tour that took her to Australia in February and that will take her across Europe this summer, with someU.S. dates along theway.
“I can talk fast, sowe can cover a lot of ground,” the 68-year-old Tennessee native said out of the gate. Up first, the album, whichwas released this year in time for the Australia dates, but just came outMay 13 in theU.S. and the rest of theworld.
The title reflects the character of the SmokyMountains in Tennessee where she grew up, and the tone to an extent harks back to the rootsy, back-to-basics albums she put out at the turn of the 21st century, “The Grass Is Blue,” and its successor, “Little Sparrow.” Those albums earned her the two most recent of her sevenGrammy Awards, “The Grass Is Blue” for country album and the “Little Sparrow” track “Shine” for female country vocal.
“This album tends to have more of the bluegrass-country flavor,” she said.“We used all the bluegrass instruments. One of the reasons I called it ‘Blue Smoke’ is that it has a tinge of the bluegrass of the Smoky Mountains— a mountain music flavor. The ‘Blue Smoke’ song is about a heartbreak train called Blue Smoke.”
The majority of the songs are her own, but she’s also recorded a sweetly reflective duet with old palKenny Rogers on “You Can’tMake Old Friends,” and she’s included her versions of Bon Jovi’s “Lay YourHands onMe” and Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.”
Of the Bon Jovi song, she said, “I kinda countrified it, theway I do. I did it with more of a gospel flavor and added some newwords. When I first heard that, I thought, ‘Man, what a great title.’ It has a great feel, gospel sound and that message of ‘lay your hands on me’ for people who believe in prayer, it’s a good uplifting song.”
The first leg of herU.S. tour started Thursday in Tulsa, Okla., and includes only a handful of shows in the Midwest and South before she’s off to Europe for much of the summer. MoreU.S. dates are still to be announced.
Besides giving concerts in Australia, she continued rolling out her Dolly Parton Imagination Library program there, funded by her Dollywood Foundation, that puts free books into the hands of preschool children. UnitedWay has joined with the program to expand itworldwide.
She appeared as herself in the Lifetime movie “A Country Christmas Story,” which premiered last fall and is likely to be trotted out every holiday season.
After dropping in a goodword about her 30-year-old Dollywood Theme Park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., at which an accompanying resort is being built—“that’s new and exciting”— shewas ready to move on.
“Mostly, we’re promoting the newCD and theworld tour, and with the Imagination Library and Dollywood,” she said with her signature squeaky laugh. “That oughta be enough for a simple country girl.”