Songteller by Dolly Parton

 "I am a singer, an entertainer, and a businesswoman. But if I had to choose just one thing to be, I would choose to be a songwriter. I could happily just sit in my house forever, enjoy life, and write songs. The songs lead to everything else. Everything that I am starts with that song. No matter who you are as an artist, if you don't have a great song, you're not going anywhere. I decided to call my book Songteller because that pretty much sums me up. I love songs. I love to tell stories, and most of all, I just love to write. It's just who I am. I am a 'song teller.'

           -Dolly Parton, from the Introduction 

I have long been a fan of Dolly Parton and when I recently read an article about her in Parade magazine, I noted she had released a new book. I ordered it from the library having no idea what it would look (or feel) like. It is a tome, about 9"x 12" and weighing almost 5 pounds! The subtitle is My Life in Lyrics which is appropriate since 175 song lyrics are included of almost 3000 she has written. Some of the songs were favorites of mine: "Coat of Many Colors," "Jolene," "9 to 5" and "I Will Always Love You," a blockbuster hit recorded by many including Whitney Houston. Of course there were many songs I was unfamiliar with, although if I heard her sing them, I would maybe recognize them. Oddly I have only two CDs of Dolly's music, one I purchased at a Cracker Barrel and the other at Target a few weeks ago, "Holly Dolly Christmas." A favorite duet with Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" was not in the book and when I looked it up, I found it was written by the Bee Gees, one of my favorite groups.

I have a few things in common with Dolly. I was born in East Tennessee, just under two months after Dolly. I have great memories of summer days in the Smoky Mountains in my youth. My husband went to college in the area and I have relatives there so we have visited the Smokies a number of times and feel an emotional connection. We have been to Dollywood more than once and loved it. I have enjoyed country music for many years, even though I grew up on Rock and Roll. 

As a retired elementary school teacher I can fully appreciate Dolly's Imagination Library which she began in 1995. Over 150 million books have been given to children. She says the first book was The Little Engine That Could. I remember a very special principal who used that book as a theme one school year. It has such an inspiring message. Dolly says her proudest accomplishments are her songwriting and her Imagination Library.

I loved reading about Dolly's early history. Her mother was a singer and Dolly says she has "Smoky Mountain DNA." It seems as if most of her family was musical, many of her 11 siblings and extended family, too. She "wrote" her first song at age 6, debuted on the Grand Ole Opry at age 13, moved to Nashville at 18 years and became known for her part on The Porter Wagoner Show before going on to a stellar solo career. She has earned the nickname "Iron Butterfly" for her many lucrative business interests and has won innumerable awards over the years!

There are beautiful photos in the book, some full-page. And Dolly's commentary is so much her "voice" and quite endearing. I will rate Songteller a 4. I enjoyed it but I wish it had not been so HEAVY, literally!