The music that made Dolly Parton a global icon

It was 1967 when country musician Porter Wagoner introduced a guest on his weekly TV show. The camera transitioned to a woman adorned with a large, blonde beehive hairstyle, sporting a magenta mini dress and matching lipstick. That woman was Dolly Parton, who went on to become the "Queen of Country" in the years that followed. Musicologist and professor of music at Hamilton College, Lydia Hamessley, discussed Parton's musical inspiration in a recent podcast episode with The Conversation Weekly.

Hamessley noted that Parton drew inspiration from various sources such as old-timey Appalachian or mountain music, her expressive singing style, and her heartwarming voice. As the author of a book on Parton's songs and a collaborator in her research, Hamessley found Parton's ability to tell a story to be her real gift. Parton herself described her songwriting as her "workshop," revealing her instinctual approach to writing melodies and phrases, and then refining them until the song was complete.

Hamessley described Parton as both an artisan and an artist, emphasizing her unique talent for crafting compelling narratives through her music. No relevant conflicts of interest were disclosed by Hamessley, who interviewed Parton as part of her research for the book.