"Coat of Many Colors" | ||||
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Single by Dolly Parton | ||||
from the album Coat of Many Colors | ||||
B-side | "She Never Met a Man (She Didn't Like)" | |||
Released | September 27, 1971 | |||
Recorded | April 1971 | |||
Studio | RCA Studio B, Nashville | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:05 | |||
Label | RCA Victor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Dolly Parton | |||
Producer(s) | Bob Ferguson | |||
Dolly Parton singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"Coat of Many Colors" on YouTube |
"Coat of Many Colors" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Dolly Parton. It was released in September 1971 as the second single and title track from the album Coat of Many Colors .
Parton composed the song in 1969, while traveling with Porter Wagoner on a tour bus. (She explained in her 1994 memoir, My Life and Other Unfinished Business, because she could find no paper, as the song came to her, she wrote it on the back of a dry cleaning receipt from one of Wagoner's suits; when the song became a hit, Wagoner had the receipt framed.) She recorded the song in April 1971, making it the title song for her Coat of Many Colors album. The song reached #4 on the U.S. country singles charts.
Parton performed this song in April 1970, and was recorded for her album, "A Real Live Dolly", though it wasn't released in the album. It was released as a bonus track on Parton's career-spanning box set Dolly in October 2009.
The song 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.
And oh I could not understand it, for I felt I was rich
And I told them of the love my momma sewed in every stitch
And I told 'em all the story momma told me while she sewed
And how my coat of many colors was worth more than all their clothes
The song concludes with Parton singing the moral of her story:
But they didn't understand it, and I tried to make them see
One is only poor, only if they choose to be
Now I know we had no money, but I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors my momma made for me
Parton has called the song "a world of things" and that "it teaches about bullying, about love, about acceptance, about good parents." [1]
On the original LP release of the 1975 compilation Best of Dolly Parton , the printed lyrics to the song appeared in the inner gatefold of the album, including a final verse that has never been included on any of Parton's recordings of the song:
Dolly says the original coat was used for various other purposes but her mother did make a new one to use on display in her Chasing Rainbows Museum at Dollywood. (Wagoner also donated the framed dry cleaning receipt - on which Parton composed the song - to the museum, where it now hangs.)
Shania Twain recorded a cover version of the song on the 2003 Parton tribute album Just Because I'm a Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton , with accompaniment by Alison Krauss and Union Station. This version peaked at #57 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart based only on unsolicited airplay. Other cover versions include a 1976 recording by Emmylou Harris on her Reprise Records debut Pieces of the Sky ; decades later, Harris performed the song live in 2017 for the getTV special A Nashville Christmas. A recording of the song by Eva Cassidy was released on the 2008 posthumous collection Somewhere . Scottish comedian Billy Connolly recorded a version in 1975 on his album Get Right Intae Him (Unicorn Artists). This was a serious version unlike his comical song "D.I.V.O.R.C.E." which parodied "D-I-V-O-R-C-E", made popular by Tammy Wynette and also covered by Parton. Melinda Schneider and Beccy Cole covered the song on their album Great Women of Country (2014). In 2022, Brandi Carlile and Pink performed the song together during Parton’s induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2005, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ranked "Coat of Many Colors" number 10 on its list of 100 Songs of the South. A 1996 children's picture book of the song, with illustrations by Judith Sutton, was published by Harpercollins Children's Books. In 2008, Kristy Lee Cook performed this song on American Idol during Dolly Parton Week.
In 2011, Parton's recording was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." [2]
A TV movie was broadcast in December 2015 by NBC, with Alyvia Alyn Lind as young Dolly. [3] Lind reprised her role as young Dolly in the 2016 television movie sequel Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love .
In 2021, it was ranked at No. 263 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". [4]
On a list of the 50 best Dolly Parton songs, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Coat of Many Colors" at number 2, saying "Had it been the only song she’d ever written, the expression of overwhelming pride and crushing anguish ... would have secured her indelible legacy." [5]
Chart (1971) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [6] | 4 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 15 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [7] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily for her decades-long career in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album debut in 1967 with Hello, I'm Dolly, which led to success during the remainder of the 1960s, before her sales and chart peak arrived during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Some of Parton's albums in the 1990s did not sell as well, but she achieved commercial success again in the new millennium and has released albums on various independent labels since 2000, including her own label, Dolly Records.
Jolene is the thirteenth solo studio album by American entertainer Dolly Parton. It was released on February 4, 1974, by RCA Victor. The title track, "Jolene", tells the tale of a housewife confronting a beautiful seductress who she believes is having an affair with her husband. It became Parton's second solo number-one country single; it also was a moderate pop hit for her, and also did well in the United Kingdom. Since the introduction of downloads to the Official Chart in 2005, it has amassed 255,300 downloads and 6.68 million streams. It has been covered by numerous performers.
Stella Mae Parton is an American country singer and songwriter widely known for a series of country singles that charted during the mid-to-late-1970s, her biggest hit being "I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonight" in 1975. She is a younger sister of singer-songwriter Dolly Parton and an older sister of the late Randy Parton and former actress Rachel Parton George.
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. 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. 257 on Rolling Stone's 2020 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.
"Light of a Clear Blue Morning" is a song written and recorded by American entertainer Dolly Parton. The song first appeared on her 1977 New Harvest...First Gathering album, and provided a top twenty country music hit for her as a single. As Parton has told interviewers over the years, "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" was her "song of deliverance," coming out of the pain from her break with longtime musical and business partner Porter Wagoner. Parton left Wagoner's band in 1974, to aim her career in a more mainstream pop direction; Wagoner responded by taking legal action, and the next couple of years were reportedly painful for both performers. According to the unauthorized 1978 biography, Dolly, by Alanna Nash, "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" was written as Parton felt the figurative clouds lifting, as the fruits of her sacrifices of the previous few years were becoming apparent.
Best of Dolly Parton was a 1975 compilation album of Dolly Parton's early 1970s work that has long been regarded by critics as the definitive representation of Parton's most influential period. The album reached # 5 on the U.S. country albums chart, and contained the title tracks to the previous six Parton albums, as well as the tracks "I Will Always Love You" and "Travelin' Man".
Porter & Dolly is the thirteenth and final collaborative studio album by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. It was released on August 4, 1980, by RCA Victor. The album is made up of previously unreleased material recorded during Wagoner and Parton's duet years (1967–76), with new studio overdubs. It was released as part of a settlement from legal action Wagoner took against Parton following her departure from his band and syndicated television series. Two singles were released from the album. "Making Plans" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and "If You Go, I'll Follow You" peaked at number 12.
Bubbling Over is the twelfth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on September 10, 1973, by RCA Victor. The album cover photo was shot by Nashville photographer Les Leverett near the fountain at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Just Because I'm a Woman is the second solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on April 15, 1968, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson. It peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The album's title track was the only single released and it peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy is the fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on September 8, 1969, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson. It peaked at number six on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, Parton's first solo top ten, and number 194 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album spawned three singles: "Daddy", "In the Ghetto", and the title track. "Daddy" was the most successful, peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad) is the third solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on February 3, 1969, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson. It peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The album's title track was the only single released and it peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
The Fairest of Them All is the fifth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on February 2, 1970, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson. It was the first of Parton's albums on which she wrote the majority of the songs. The Fairest of Them All peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The album's only single, "Daddy Come and Get Me", peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
A Real Live Dolly is the first live album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on June 29, 1970, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson and was recorded on April 15, 1970, at Sevier County High School in Sevierville, Tennessee. It peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and number 154 on the Billboard 200 chart.
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.
"Jolene" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Dolly Parton. It was produced by Bob Ferguson and recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee on May 22, 1973, then released on October 15, 1973 by RCA Victor as the first single and title track from her album of the same name.
The albums discography of American country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton includes 49 studio albums, four collaborative albums, nine live albums, six soundtrack albums, one extended play and approximately 222 compilation albums globally. Popularly referred as the "Queen of Country" by the media, she is also widely recognized as the most honored woman in country music history. She has charted 25 Number One songs, 41 Top 10 country albums and has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best selling female country artists in history. As of January 2022, Parton's catalog has amassed more than 3 billion global streams.
Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors is a 2015 American made-for-television drama film based on a true story by Dolly Parton, written by Pamela K. Long and directed by Stephen Herek. The film premiered on NBC on December 10, 2015. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.
Pure & Simple is the forty-fifth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released worldwide on August 19, 2016 by Dolly Records and RCA Nashville. "Pure & Simple" is Dolly Parton's seventh #1 country album. It is her first #1 country album in 25 years.
"Here I Am" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. The song was included on her 1971 album Coat of Many Colors. It was recorded on April 27, 1971, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and produced by Bob Ferguson.