NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� musical story starts further back than most might expect 鈥� to the British Isles of the 1600s. That's where her ancestors hail from, eventually landing in the hollers of East Tennessee and its familiar mountain ranges, bringing their songs with them. A new album out Friday, 鈥淪moky Mountain DNA: Family, Faith & Fables鈥� credited to Dolly Parton and Family, explores the great legacy of the Partons and the Owens, her maternal family, as she performs alongside five generations of family members.
鈥淢y grandpa used to say when I got famous, he said, 鈥榃ell, she came out crying in the key of D,'鈥� she told The Associated Press. 鈥淚 think we all did.鈥�
鈥淪moky Mountain DNA鈥� was an inevitable labor of love, one that taught Parton more about her family line.
鈥淲e're kind of like We go back generations,鈥� Parton said. (The Carters are widely considered the first family of country music.)
鈥淚 would imagine this will be my favorite album,鈥� Parton said. 鈥淭his really involves, you know, my grandmas and my grandpas, my uncles and my aunts and all the people going all the way back that had the biggest influence on my life. The ones that I remember from being little, and it even goes on farther back from there.鈥�
Richie Owens 鈥� Parton's cousin, who she describes as 鈥渢he family historian鈥� 鈥� produced 鈥淪moky Mountain DNA." He says that the family has long been archivists, but the idea to curate a record started around 2010 and 2011, delayed by a few deaths. Then, right before the pandemic, Parton approached Owens and said, 鈥渨e need to get together and start trying to get all this information (and) material together,鈥� he recalls. Because Owens had already been working on a family story, specifically tied to his grandfather's fiddle, they teamed up for what is now 鈥淪moky Mountain DNA.鈥�
For some of the new songs, Owens utilized digital technology 鈥� what he compares to last new Beatles song, 鈥淣ow and Then,鈥� used to from an old demo for a new composition 鈥� for 鈥渞estoration work.鈥�
鈥淲ith the technology that鈥檚 been available, we were able to achieve wonderful, miraculous situations where we were able to go in and build new music tracks" from previous vocal recordings of deceased family members, he says. It was about cleaning up the crackles and noise 鈥� not about creating doctored recordings.
鈥淚 got very, very emotional many times when I was singing, especially with the ones that have already passed and just remembering their voices, hearing them," Parton says. "It just kind of threw me in to a deep emotional place, just like I had them back again. So, the whole thing was very heart wrenching. But it was really amazing and very restoring. It had so many colors of emotions in it.鈥�
Parton and Owens started curating the album by finding songs that she had co-written with deceased family members 鈥� or those of deceased family members that she had recorded previously. Others were hits and integral to the story of their heritage, and the songs recorded with younger members of the family 鈥� including those born in the 21st century 鈥� included more Parton co-writes, but with styles that felt true to each person.
That's one of the many reasons the album, which is centered in country, folk, hymns and bluegrass, spans a wide swath of genres, including a kind of soulful R&B performance (like on "Not Bad" with Shelley Ren谩), swamp pop ("I Just Stopped By" with Parton's late uncle Robert 鈥淛ohn Henry鈥� Owens), (鈥淲here Will We Live Tomorrow鈥� with Rebecca Seaver and 鈥淐razy in Love with You" with Richie Owens' daughter Estelle).
The album revisits Parton's own career, too: There is a delightful cover of 鈥淧uppy Love,鈥� originally recorded when she was 13, now sang with some of the youngest members of her family.
鈥淪ome of the little ones,鈥� she says, 鈥渞emind me so much of myself when I was young and playing the guitar.鈥�
鈥淪moky Mountain DNA鈥� could only end with one song: 鈥淲hen It's Family,鈥� originally co-written by Parton and released as 鈥淔amily鈥� on her 1991 album 鈥淓agle When She Flies.鈥� It's a moving song about acceptance, Parton singing: 鈥淪ome are preachers, some are gay / Some are addicts, drunks and strays / But not a one is turned away / When it鈥檚 family.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 condemn nor condone anything. I just love and accept people where they are for who they are,鈥� she explains. 鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 judge because I鈥檝e said before, I鈥檝e got some of everybody in my immediate family, whether they be trans, whether they be gay, whether they be drag queens or whatever. I mean, we鈥檝e got drunks, we鈥檝e got strays, we've got drug addicts 鈥� you always have that when you got a family as big as ours. And you love them all.鈥�
So, what about all the material that isn't included here? 鈥淚'm sure we'll be doing compilation albums,鈥� says Parton. 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing a docuseries as well, taking all the music back to the old country with a lot of our relatives over there that are still singing all those old songs that got brought over here... It's really moving."
In the meantime, she's working on a musical based on her life, scheduled to hit It, like 鈥淪moky Mountain DNA,鈥� is an opportunity to reflect on her career, and maybe even what her legacy will become five more generations down the line.
鈥淚 hope that a lot of my songs may last that long," she says. 鈥淎nd I hope I鈥檒l be remembered as somebody that in the world and left, you know,
Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
