Light of a Clear Blue Morning

Last updated

"Light of a Clear Blue Morning"
Light of a Clear Blue Morning.jpg
2004 re-release cover art
Single by Dolly Parton
from the album New Harvest...First Gathering
B-side "There"
ReleasedMarch 21, 1977
Recorded1976
Genre Country pop
Length4:53
Label RCA
Songwriter Dolly Parton
Producer Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton singles chronology
"Hey, Lucky Lady"
(1976)		"Light of a Clear Blue Morning"
(1977)		"Here You Come Again"
(1977)

"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. [1] 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[ citation needed ]. 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.

Contents

Parton has recorded "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" four times. It was released as a single in March 1977 from the album New Harvest...First Gathering. The song just missed the top ten on the U.S. country charts, peaking at number 11. Parton rerecorded the song to include in her 1992 film Straight Talk ; for this recording, she changed the lyrics of verse two. A third recording of the song appeared on an album of patriotic and religious songs Parton released in 2003 titled, For God and Country . Parton recorded the song a fourth time in January 2026, this time with fellow artists Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah, and Reba McEntire, to raise money for pediatric cancer research at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. [2]

Critical reception

Mark Deming of Allmusic declared that, "'Light of a Clear Blue Morning', is a sophisticated piece of adult contemporary songcraft". [3]

On a list of top 50 Dolly Parton songs, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" at number 4, calling it symbolic of a "new-era Dolly — luminous, independent, and on the verge of superstardom." [4]

Chart performance

Chart (1977)Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [5] 11
US Billboard Hot 100 [6] 87
Canadian RPM Country Tracks4

Covers and other appearances

Glen Campbell covered the song on his 1991 album Unconditional Love .

American professional choir, Conspirare, covered it in 2009 live and for their album "A Company of Voices: Conspirare in Concert." The group's director, Craig Hella Johnson, created the arrangement for a cappella choir with Tin whistle. The arrangement has been published and has since been performed by many choirs around the world. The arrangement omits verse 2.

The Wailin' Jennys covered the song on their 2017 album Fifteen .

Miley Cyrus covered the song on the May 8, 2021 episode of Saturday Night Live as a Mother's Day tribute. Cyrus honored her godmother, Parton, during the tribute along with her own and the cast member's mothers.

Morgan James covered the song in the May 14, 2021 airing of a PBS Special called We Are Family: Songs of Hope and Unity.

Waxahatchee included the song in an extended version of her 2020 album Saint Cloud , released to celebrate the album's one year anniversary with three cover songs added to the original tracklist. [7]

On January 16, 2026, Dolly Parton released a new version of the song featuring Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah, Reba McEntire, The Christ Church Choir and David Foster on piano. All net proceeds from this recording and music video will benefit pediatric cancer research at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN.

References

  1. ↑ Parton, Dolly; Oermann, Robert K. (2020). Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. Chronical Books. p. 211.
  2. ↑ Irvin, Jack (January 16, 2026). "Dolly Parton Teams Up with Miley Cyrus, Lainey Wilson, Queen Latifah and Reba McEntire for New Version of a 1977 Hit". People. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  3. ↑ Deming, Mark. Light of a Clear Blue Morning at AllMusic
  4. ↑ Betts, Stephen (April 5, 2023). "The 50 Best Dolly Parton Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Dolly Parton Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard .
  6. ↑ "Dolly Parton Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard .
  7. ↑ "Waxahatchee Shares Three New Covers for Saint Cloud Anniversary". pastemagazine.com. March 29, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2022.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.