Customer Reviews

Dolly Parton & Friends

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Back in 1976, Dolly Parton had her own syndicated variety show. It ran only for the 1976/77 season. The show is your typical 70's era variety show with popular music guest stars of day, although the budget for Dolly's show wasn't on par with say Sonny & Cher or Donny & Marie, as such the show does have a cheaper look to it. Every show started off the same, Dolly decends from the ceiling on a swing to her song "Love Is Like A Butterfly" she then goes into her opening song, which was usually a pop hit of the day. The guests come out and it's pretty much non-stop singing for the next half hour. Some of the concpets for the show are little odd, Dolly singing to a basset hound by the water, Kenny Rogers being locked in a crate on stage, or Billy Davis & Marilyn McCoo dancing with life preservers while singing "Proud Mary" with Dolly.
The show is vintage Dolly though, she's got the big hair, the big ear rings, the bell bottoms and lot's of polyester and rhinestones. Her later series from 1987 was slightly better, but this is Dolly at a time in her career when she was just starting to become a household name. The songs are great and the jokes are corny. Dolly fans will undoubtedly love this, fans of 1970's music will most likely enjoy this as well.

Let's start with the good stuff. First of all it's great to actually see some of her first TV show surface on DVD. And there are some very good performances from Dolly and all of her friends. If you didn't get to see these when they were originally aired and you're a Dolly fan you're in for a treat. Now for the bad part, these are edited musical performances mostly. I think there is maybe one skit from the show actually on the dvds. Basically the format is Dolly's entrance to the show with a song, then she introduces her guest, the guest performs a song, then usually there's a Dolly number then she teams up with the guest for a song then it's Bye Bye. I really would LOVE to have seen this collection actually use the ENTIRE broadcast the way it was originally aired. If you're a Dolly Parton Fanatic like I am, it's definitely worth the money, if you're just a casual fan or a fan of one of her guests you might want to reconsider your purchase.

I can give this DVD 5 stars even before viewing it because I taped every one of Dolly's 1976-77 shows on my trusty ol' Betamax and played them over and over until that Betamax eventually croaked. In fact, I'd happily pay the asking price for this DVD just for the show that featured Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. For those who've already heard their soaring harmonies on their two "Trio" CD's, you already know you're in for a treat but hearing Dolly, Emmylou and Linda do "The Sweetest Gift" is guaranteed to give you goose bumps. The other guests featured on this CD are also fine choices and highlight Dolly's ability to effortlessly slip into any musical style. I've been waiting YEARS for Dolly's 1970's TV show to be released on DVD ... here's hoping this DVD is just the first in a series!

Not to be confused with Dolly Parton's 1987 variety show on ABC; this is Dolly, her Nashville-produced syndicated music show from 1976-77. I remember watching this on WFLD-TV (channel 32) in Chicago at 10 or 10:30pm, and it's nice to see six of these shows again after all these years. Dolly's down-home personality really shines with these performances and in her interactions with her guest stars. Her voice is in fine form and it's a treat to see her perform many of her earlier favorites. There are plenty of throw-away comedy bits involving her guests, but that was pretty much par for the course when these shows were produced. Fans will especially enjoy seeing Dolly perform with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt (hinting at what they would eventually strike gold with their "Trio" recordings), not to mention Kenny Rogers, Anne Murray, Ronnie Milsap, Rod McKuen, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. Although I was hoping to see McCoo/Davis sing their big hit "You Don't Have To Be a Star", I really enjoyed their performances of "I Hope We Get To Love In Time" and "You Can't Change My Heart", and I'll have to seek out their album featuring those songs. Big pluses for this DVD include a clear, crisp picture, especially when considering these shows are over 30 years old (they didn't even look THIS good on Channel 32 when they originally aired!), and each DVD has a bonus musical performance from when Dolly appeared on Porter Wagoner's show. This DVD set is a MUST for all Dolly fans, and since this set features only six episodes, here's hoping this is merely the first of more to come.

I first purchased a VHS set of Dolly Parton's entire 1976 show, "Dolly". There were 26 delightful episodes, that were entertaining, fun, sometimes cheesy, always over the top, and very fascinating. Even though the tapes are worn and the print wasn't good, since it was from an original 1970's VCR recording, I loved the episodes and paid a great deal of money for them.

When I heard that they were putting part of that variety show on DVD I was excited. I got my copy and I LOVE IT!!! Dolly looks absolutely stunning and so incredibly different in a remastered DVD than a 25 year old copy. I was almost startled at the clarity of both sound and picture. It is a nice taste of what the series has.

What is disappointing is that it is missing SOOOO much of the series. She had many amazing and sometimes bizarre guests during it's run. We only get to see a bit of the magic of Dolly in the '70s. It would be nice if this company would put out a DVD set of her show from 1976 because her fan base practically NEEDS it. Every episode has the viewer wanting to know what she is going to wear next, as she floats down from the ceiling on her red velvet swing, all rhinestoned jumpsuits, unbelievably engineered outfits, and immaculately coiffed, bouffant, platinum hair. She smiles and has the flash and dimples we have come to love from her. She easily sings all kinds of material. THere are cute comedy sketches and little gems throughout. But we don't get to see all of that on here.

Hopefully they will realize that Dolly fans will buy a DVD boxed set of this series. When I bought my VHS copies, almost 10 years ago, people were paying upwards of $300. I think there is a market. I hope they see that, since this is such an amazing period in Dolly's career, right after leaving Porter Wagoner, right before super stardom. MPI needs to make this happen!

Get it, because Dolly is always stunning, always entertaining, and always a joy to enjoy!

Just before she went "pop" and out to reach the mainstream American public, Dolly Parton starred in a single season half-hour syndicated music show out of Nashville in 1976 called DOLLY. Clearly laying the foundation for a crossover, this musical series found Dolly with a number of non-country guests and performing several pop songs. Here is probably your only chance to hear Dolly sing I BELIEVE IN MUSIC, FEELINGS, LET ME BE THERE, DRIFT AWAY, BLUE EYES CRYING IN THE RAIN, PROUD MARY, and THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS as well as a number of her famous hits. She also sings with each of her guests.

This two DVD set has six of the 26 episodes gathered together on two DVDs. The episodes are: (1) Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris (2)Anne Murray & Randy Parton (3) Ronnie Milsap (4) Rod McKuen (5) Kenny Rogers (6) Billy Davis Jr & Marilyn McCoo.

30-year-old Dolly is at the peak of her beauty and radiates the star charisma that had already bewitched the country audience for almost a decade and was about to reach far beyond those borders. Although bubbly and dressed colorfully, she's still a bit more conservative than she would be in Hollywood. The music is great and some of it is live, some of it lip-synching to recordings (mostly her guests) or tracks recorded for the show (like location shoots which are obviously not sung live). Even with just six episodes there is a little song repitition - Dolly sings BAD BAD LEROY BROWN and RHINESTONE COWBOY each twice but the settings are different. Presumably there are only six episodes here due to the high costs and problems with music licensing, one certainly hopes there will be additional DVDS of this show which despite it's brevity was an excellent showcase for the talents and appeal of Dolly Parton. Each episode runs approximately 24 minutes. As extra features, each disc contains a performance by Dolly from THE PORTER WAGONER SHOW, the gospel COMIN' FOR TO CARRY ME HOME and a sensational cover of the Carter Family's FOGGY MOUNTAIN TOP.

I enjoyed the dvd greatly. I have always been curious about her show and I was so happy when I heard it was being released on dvd. I wish that she would've kept going with the show because it would've only gotten better. I liked how in most of the episodes she started with a song not of her own. She did a great job on others songs as well as her own. She was just typical Dolly throughout the whole program.

HI THERE
I WOULD LIKE BUY THE SECOND OF DOLLY DVD 1977-1976.I WISH WOULD BE OUT
CHRIS TOME.. I BIG DOLLY FAN.
PLEASE EMAIL BACK RIGHT AWAY
YOUR FRIEND DAVID SCHMIDLI

I have loved Dolly's 1987 variety show since I was a child. I had never seen this one though (from the 1970's), and as a huge Dolly fan I purchased it as soon as it was available. I found a lot of the musical numbers to be corny and over the top. Dolly always shines though. She's best when she's herself, and when her guests are people that she clicks with. I felt that the standout episodes on this set were the episode with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt and the episode with Kenny Rogers.

That being said, I think this set has something for a lot of people. The guests are an eclectic bunch, but the shows are entertaining. Dolly is adorable, and you can tell that she's on the verge of superstardom while you watch this set. It's just too bad MPI didn't go ahead and release the whole series (since it was just one season).

Great - Enjoyable and with great music and songs.