50 albums: 1967 - Hello, I'm Dolly by Dolly Parton

There's this odd thing with country music that somehow despite it's perceived conservatism, it showed up rock and roll by having women writing and performing while, for the most part women were excluded from rock and roll.

This was Dolly's debut album and she had a hand in writing 10 of the 12 songs on it, and they're not songs about waiting at home for her hard-living husband to come home - no, mostly these are songs of a woman who has done the waiting at home and is frankly pissed off about it

From "Your Ol' Handy Man"

You're as helpless as a baby
But I love you, understand
I'm just gettin' tired
Of being your ole handy man
...
I've just made a decision
I've stood all I'm gonna stand
Your woman's gettin' tired
Of being your ole handy man

From "Something Fishy"

I guess some large mouth bass left that lipstick on your shirt
I don't think you're a fisherman, honey, I think you're a flirt
Well, if you're goin' fishin' then why don't you bring 'em home?
I think there's somethin' fishy goin' on

Dolly's voice is so beautiful, and I've really liked listening to this album, and look at her on that cover - she's just beautiful, and not the scary parody of herself that she's become.

The opening track, Dumb Blonde, is not written by Dolly but sets up her manifesto nicely:

Don't try to cry your way out of this
Don't try to lie or I'll catch you in it
Don't try to make me feel sorry for you
Just because I'm blonde, don't think I'm dumb
'Cause this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool

(play on YouTube)

These hilariously violent lyrics from "I Don't Want to Throw Rice" is sadly blaming a woman for her man's infidelity.

No I don't want to throw rice
I want to throw rocks at her
She took the only love I had
No, I don't want to throw rice
I want to throw rocks at her
It would be a way to hurt her 'cause she hurt me so bad

And here's Nancy and Lee doing Dolly Parton

(play on YouTube)