309: COAT OF MANY COLORS | DOLLY PARTON
Wiki: Coat of Many Colors is the eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on October 4, 1971, by RCA Victor.[1] The album was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1972 CMA Awards. It also appeared on Time Magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time and at No. 301 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Parton has cited the title track on numerous occasions as her personal favorite of all the songs she has written.
The album was reissued on cassette in Canada in 1985. It was reissued on CD for the first time in 1999. It was reissued on CD in Europe in 2001 with 1971's Joshua. The album was reissued on CD again in 2007 featuring four previously unreleased tracks. In 2010, Sony Music reissued the 2007 CD in a triple-feature set with 1973's My Tennessee Mountain Home and 1974's Jolene.
The album's title track, "Coat of Many Colors", tells of how Parton's mother stitched together a coat for her daughter out of rags given to the family. As she sewed, she told her child the biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. The excited child, "with patches on my britches and holes in both my shoes," rushed to school, "just to find the others laughing and making fun of me" for wearing a coat made of rags. "Traveling Man" involves an unusual love triangle between a traveling salesman, a woman, and her mother. The album was written entirely by Parton except for three tracks written by Porter Wagoner.
Over the years, Parton would re-record a number of songs from the album. "Traveling Man" was re-recorded in 1973 for Parton's Bubbling Over album. "My Blue Tears" was re-recorded in 1978 with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt for a Trio album project. The recording would eventually surface on Ronstadt's 1982 album Get Closer. Parton also cut the song for a third time, including it on her 2001 album, Little Sparrow. Parton re-recorded "Early Morning Breeze" for 1974's Jolene and again for inclusion as a bonus track on the Walmart edition of her 2014 album, Blue Smoke. The bonus track "My Heart Started Breaking" was later re-recorded and included on Parton's 1975 album, Dolly. Parton re-recorded "Here I Am" as a duet with Sia for the 2018 soundtrack album, Dumplin'.