Dolly Parton completed her return to the country music fold with 1991’s Eagle When She Flies, a sturdy, charming album that would have fit neatly alongside her early 70s output.
Fans responded, delivering Dolly her first (non-compilation) Platinum album and giving her what would be her last #1 hit on the Country chart in ‘Rockin’ Years,’ a duet with Ricky Van Shelton. That track was written by Foyd Parton, Dolly’s brother.
Throwing back to the week of Oct. 11, 1986, we find Janet Jackson atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘When I Think of You,’ the third single from her blockbuster album Control.
This dance-pop song gave Jackson her very first #1 hit (of an eventual ten). It also made her and brother Michael the first (and to date, last) siblings to have #1 hits as solo artists. Plenty of siblings have topped the charts together (including The Bee Gees, The Jackson 5, The Jonas Brothers, Dire Straits, The Beach Boys, and Hanson) but only these two apart.
Back in March, in a Throwback Weekends post about Johnnie Taylor’s ‘Disco Lady,’ I noted that it was the first #1 hit with the word “disco” in its title. I went on to write that only one other such song reached #1 in the future… and here we are.
‘Disco Duck,’ a novelty track by Memphis disc jockey Rick Dees, spent a single week atop the Billboard Hot 100 exactly 60 years ago.
Dolly Parton kicked off the 90s with a staple that seems to show up in every artist’s catalog — a Christmas album.
Parton had actually recorded her first Christmas release in 1984 in collaboration with Kenny Rogers. Their Once Upon a Christmas was a double Platinum smash. But 1990’s Home for Christmas was Dolly’s first solo holiday effort.
Following 9 to 5, the rest of Dolly Parton’s 80s output was a mixed bag. She released a well-received country album (1982’s Heartbreak Express), a pop/country crossover (1983’s Burlap & Satin) and an album of synth-pop covers (1984’s The Great Pretender).
Real Love (1985) and Rainbow (1987) chased the era’s production trends with little success, trying to shoehorn Parton into a pop formula that was only occasionally successful. The failure of Rainbow, in particular, pushed her back toward her country comfort zone.
