IOWA STATE FAIR

From the archives: Dolly Parton wows Iowa State Fair crowd during 1977 Grandstand concerts

Des Moines Register

Editor's note: This review by Des Moines Register reporter Jim Healey was first published on Aug. 19, 1977, the day after Dolly Parton's two-show booking on the Iowa State Fair Grandstand. 

Imagine your favorite dessert.

Picture yourself eating a perfectly sized, perfectly prepared portion following your favorite meal. Scrumptious, delicious, satisfying. But certainly not surprising. It is just right; just what you expected.

That was the dolly Parton show at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday (Aug. 18, 1977).

Dolly sang an effortless and near-perfect repertoire of her best – “Jolene,” “Tennessee Mountain Home,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “Apple Jack.”

More from the Grandstand:

From 1977: Dolly Parton picks her banjo during her 1977 Iowa State Fair Grandstand concert and sings about a moonshiner with whom she claimed to have smoked, drunk whiskey and chewed tobacco when she was 8 years old. "I don't chew much anymore," she joked. "Apple Jack" was the moonshiner's name and the song's title.

The sound crew mixed her voice and the eight-piece band, Gypsy Fever, superbly. The aural finesse was most evident on “I Will Always Love You,” her wrenching and breathless declaration of loyalty. Her fine crystal voice and the craft of her sound crew crossed paths to create a rarity – a studio-perfect outdoor performance.

Drummer Tom Jones used a spiffy trick on “I Am A Seeker,” a gospel number that Dolly sang with mighty fervor. Jones used the snare drum, not the bass, to supply the basic beat. The resulting snappy sound, blended with a driving rhythm from the guitars and bass guitar, made some exciting music.

And, wonder of wonders, the piano was audible. Pianist Gregg Perry, who co-produced the latest album with Dolly, tinkled, zipped and pounded the keyboard with fine style, something that could have gone unnoticed had the technicians been exercising what seems to be a universal anti-piano bias amongst sound crews. 

From the archives:Jackson 5 charms Iowa State Fair crowd during 1971 Grandstand show

A complete review of Dolly’s show – the first of two Thursday night, played before a sparse crowd of some 2,500 – would be a total bore and would sound as if it were the product of an ad agency. The set was so smooth and so nearly perfect that it was almost unexciting.

From 1977: Dolly Parton talks about her new album and about a proposed tour with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. She was waiting in her bus to go on stage to give her second show at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Aug. 18, 1977. She dubbed the bus "Coach of Many Colors," a play on her song, "Coat of Many Colors."

As a big bonus, both Larry Gatlin – the night’s opener – and Dolly had affable stage managers. Both spoke to the audience often, joked with band members, and acknowledged their own slight mistakes in good humor. Both managed to do so without the patronizing, play-to-the-crowd ambience that radiates from so many country and popular music performers. 

The most exciting moments came after the show, during a backstage chat with Dolly in her bus. She mentioned that she and Emmylou Harris will be guests on a Linda Ronstadt network television special, to be filmed in October at Ronstadt’s home in California. 

“Me and Emmy are going to Linda’s house and just sit in the living room and be casual,” she said. 

More from the fair:

As if that weren’t enough to get the juices flowing, she added, “We’re talking about doing an album together later and if that works, maybe we could tour together. We’d pick the best from our three bands to back us up.”

A staggering thought, that.

Some of her hardcore country fans are accusing her of going “pop” with her music, but Dolly doesn’t see it that way: “I’m trying to maintain my country roots and add just a little bit of class so I’ll be played on stations that won’t touch country.”