Dolly Parton is the most famous person ever to have emerged from the American country music scene with her iconic cartoon image mountainous blonde wigs, pumped up breasts and dazzling outfits. The first new and substantial biography for over 15 years. Interviews with family members, musicians and producers who have worked with her over the years. A detailed assessment of her music, as a songwriter and singer over the last forty years. How she shrugged aside the male dominated world of Nashville in the 1960s, to take hold of her career, sell millions of albums and appear in films with Jane Fonda, Burt Reynolds and Sylvester Stallone. It will throw new light on her private life her mysterious and closely guarded relationships with her husband Carl Dean and her lifelong friend Judy Ogle and her obsession with cosmetic surgery.
Smart Blonde: Dolly Parton: 0 (Omnibus Press)
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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' A balanced, often absorbing study of an ultra-talented country music icon.' Mojo
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
Stephen Miller practiced as a lawyer until the early nineties when he retired in order to pursue other interests, including his passion for most forms of popular music, in particular his interest in the culture and characters of American country music. For six years he reviewed albums, books and concerts, and interviewed a variety of artists for a weekly country music show on commercial radio station Scot FM. His acclaimed biography, Johnny Cash - The Life Of An American Icon, was published in 2003. He lives in Edinburgh and is married with four children.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dolly's dreams started when she woke up ...,
This review is from: Smart Blonde: Dolly Parton (Paperback)
Little girls often dream of fame and glory at night, but Dolly had bigger dreams than most. It must have been difficult to dream when life itself was almost crowded out by eleven siblings, a father who enjoyed taking a nip now and then and a mother who certainly had little time to nurture the fantasy life of a precocious youngster. Sevierville County, Tennessee wasn't exactly a thriving metropolis and no one was going to come knocking at the Parton's door to listen to a little whippersnapper sing her heart out, but there were people who did believe in her and one of them was her uncle, Bill Owens. Dolly's dreams would take her far beyond the Smoky Mountains and, as she later maintained, "her dreams started when she woke up."
Stephen Miller, author of the mesmerizing new biography of Dolly, Smart Blonde: Dolly Parton, struggled to look beyond the glitz and the gaudy to discover an intelligent and extremely talented woman. As a young girl many children shunned her and their parents, naturally, didn't want their children hanging around with someone with such loose morals. Childhood wasn't easy for her. As she later claimed, "I was the most popular girl in the school for all the wrong reasons . . . I had a foxy personality." She neglected to add the word "brains," but the combination of all her assets later dropped her into the world of country music like a ten-ton atom bomb. After meeting her future husband Carl Dean and the Wishy-Washy Laundromat her life started moving faster than the spin cycle on a Maytag. Her talent began to blossom and Dolly began to leave them all in the dust, including the talented Porter Wagoner. Not all that glitters is gold and this intensely private woman began to experience some problems associated with fame. Why did Porter want to sue her? Was there anything to the rumor that her pal Judy Ogle was more than just an assistant? Did her purported abandonment of her family lead to animosity later on? The infamous sister Stella had a few things to say about her sister . . . According to Steve Buckingham, "If you like Dolly you have to take the deep thinking Dolly, the great musician Dolly, the incredible songwriting Dolly, along with the glitzy Dolly, the corny Dolly, the showgirl; I mean it's all her." As a Dolly Parton neophyte, I found this book extremely fascinating, well written and found myself thinking if this book were an authorized biography it would be an excellent choice. Miller was able to glean tidbits from Dolly's sister Stella that would interest even the most skeptical know-it-all. The star stalkers of the world may find little in this book they don't already claim to know, but the average reader will come away with a sense of awe, wonder and respect for one of the century's most talented musical icons. My own journey through the book was complimented and enjoyed by several trips to youtube to watch numerous clips of Dolly throughout the years. I used to race quickly between radio dials to avoid country music, but artists like Dolly Parton gave pause to this habit and books like this one can make anyone stop and take note. This book is well worth the money and will provide many hours of affordable entertainment. Deb Fowler - Roundtable Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Looking at An American Original!,
By
This review is from: Smart Blonde: Dolly Parton (Paperback)
Think what you will of Dolly Parton but she is definitely an American original. Born into abject poverty in Tennessee, she had the soul of a poet and vocal cords to match. Her driving ambition and saavy helped her climb the entertainment ladder and become a major figure not just in country music but in American life. Stephen Miller details the life and career of this smart, talented and altogether unique woman in this 2008 Omnibus Press release.
In some 380-odd pages, author Miller examines all aspects of the Dolly phenomenon. He does a fine job of relating her early life, her marriage to Carl Dean, her country music breakthrough with Porter Wagoner, her solo career and subsequent success in music, movies and other venues. Like certain other celebrities - Johnny Carson comes to mind - Parton has created a bubble of privacy over certain parts of her life. This means, among other things, that close friends and business asssociates would not talk to Miller nor the lady herself. For a 'Tennessee hillbilly,' Parton really has done an amazing job of manipulating the media machine over the past 40 years and continues to do so. And, because of that, Miller's portrait of Dolly Rebecca Parton, while insightful and fascinating, is incomplete. In the end, the reader feels admiration for Parton who has created so many beautiful songs, touched so many hearts and been so successful in the music business yer has endeared herself to legions of fans. She's easily one of the most successful self-made women in America. Yet, you wonder about the price of that success. She offers no apologies about feeling the need for and having various plastic surgery procedures. Viewing photographs of her over the years however leaves a feeling of sadness. In her early days Parton was a lovely woman, a natural beauty. Now her face is an advertisement of the dangers of plastic surgery. Was all that pain worth it? In any case, SMART BLONDE is an informed and insightful look at an American musical treasure. Long after people stop talking about her wigs or breasts, they'll remember the touching songs sung by that one-in-a-million voice. Recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Skeptical at first.,
By julie (NY) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Smart Blonde: Dolly Parton (Paperback)
I read Smart Blonde immediately after reading Dolly's autobiography, My Life and Other Unfinished Business. I felt Steven Miller
simply used the Dolly Parton book to tap into the money base of the Dolly fans all over the world. In part, this is correct, however the book is factual with references to its numerous sources. Mr. Miller states in the beginning that very few people close to Dolly would talk to him. It seems there is always one relative willing to speak up for their own advantage and Miller leans on Stella Parton's comments and point of view frequently. It also relies on Dolly's autobiography, which weakened the book and again capitalized on the Dolly label. There were other more comprehensive and informative articles that were not included in this book. Further research on the making of the Trio II album had a much clearer picture of the conflict involved between the three artists and how this affected the actual construction of the music. This book does emphasize Dolly's business smarts and acheivements in an objective way. Dolly Parton is an amazing, creative woman with great business instincts and foresight that has set her apart from any musician on the planet and paved the way for other women to follow. This book will show you how this came about. With that, I would still recommend to read Dolly's autobiography with it.
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