Dolly & Carol in Nashville
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Written byRoger Beatty
Ken Welch
Mitzie Welch
Directed byRoger Beatty
StarringDolly Parton
Carol Burnett
The Joe Layton Dancers
Music byKen Welch
Mitzie Welch
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerJoe Hamilton
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseFebruary 14, 1979 (1979-02-14)

Dolly & Carol in Nashville is a television special starring Dolly Parton and Carol Burnett that was shot at The Grand Ole Opry and broadcast on CBS on Valentine's Day in 1979. It was part of a promotional campaign for Parton's recent album, Heartbreaker.[1]

Program

The show opens with Dolly and Carol singing "What Am I Doing Up Here?"[2] (frequently referred to as the "Pedestal Song")[3][4] a comical number in which each declares the other belongs on a pedestal. As they sing, the boxes that they're seated on each rise into the air.

The next scene begins with a rendition of "Orange Blossom Special", but Carol fumbles with the banjo and proclaims, "No one picks like a Nashville picker picks." Seizing the opportunity, Dolly turns this line into a rousing song, and they soon find accompaniment from various musicians who are planted in the audience.

Next, Parton performs a gospel medley in the empty Ryman Auditorium, bookended by performances with Carol and a choir at the newer Opry house.

The show's only sketch features the stars as little girls. Trudy (Parton) is whiny and ignored by the boys, Marcy (Burnett) is a tomboy. The music of the Grand Ole Opry on the radio provides transitions through time as the girls age, featuring a few vintage radio introductions (Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Marty Robbins) as the dancers pantomime to old country hits. Once they reach puberty, the children's roles suddenly reverse, as all of the boys lavish affections upon the busty Trudy. Eventually, we’re introduced to Trudy's daughter, Bonnie (Lindy Speight), and Marcy's daughter, Ellie (Erin Hamilton), who are just like their mothers. Trudy and Marcy then perform "Turn Around (Where Are You Going, My Little One?)."

The duo then performs a 9-minute medley of "heart" songs, which includes Parton's "Heartbreaker".

Dressed in frilly gowns, Carol and Dolly do a little song and dance routine, "It's a Kick (Kickin' Around with You)". They're soon interrupted by The Joe Layton Dancers, which segues into "No One Kicks Like a Nashville Kicker Kicks." As the number ends, the dancers surround the ladies with bouquets as members of the audience pelt the stars with flowers.

The ladies sing a brief reprise of "What Am I Doing Up Here?" and the credits roll.

Production & Release

Production occurred in January 1979 at the Grand Ole Opry House and Ryman Auditorium, with the bulk of filming occurring on the 9th and 10th.[2][5] In a 2016 interview, Burnett misremembered that filming occurred around Thanksgiving, remarking that Parton had generously cooked a feast.[6] It was Burnett's first special following the cancellation of her long-running variety show (although between, she starred in the feature-length pilot The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank), and real-life daughter Erin Hamilton portrayed her child in the Girl Friends sketch.[2]

The show was strategically timed to tie into a Valentine's Day promotional campaign for Parton's latest album, Heartbreaker. RCA Records provided over 3,000 American radio stations copies of the album and heart-shaped candy boxes for giveaways.[7] Participating stations designed their own contests, which included drawings, call-ins, poetry competitions, and more.[1]

Cast

  • Dolly Parton (Self/Trudy)
  • Carol Burnett (Self/Marcy)
  • Erin Hamilton (Ellie)
  • Lindy Speight (Bonnie)
  • Tony Lyons (Grand Ole Opry Announcer)
  • John Faulk (Johnny)

Dancers

  • Dennis Botitis
  • Gene Castle
  • Ron Chisholm
  • Tom Fowler
  • Edward J. Heim (Don Gibson)
  • Don Johanson
  • Birl Jonns
  • Doug Okerson

Nashville Pickers

Songs

Originals

By Ken and Mitzie Welch.

  • "What Am I Doing Up Here?"
  • "No One Picks Like a Nashville Picker" (/"Orange Blossom Special")
  • "It's a Kick (Kicking Around With You)"
  • "No One Kicks Like a Nashville Kicker"

Gospel Medley

Girlfriends Sketch

Heart Medley

References

  1. 1 2 "RCA Promo 'Sweet' on Dolly". Cashbox. Feb 24, 1979.
  2. 1 2 3 "Rare Script DOLLY PARTON Carol Burnett NASHVILLE Grand Ole Opry 1979 TV SPECIAL". Archived from the original on 2021-05-05.
  3. ↑ "Nashville Then: Dolly Parton and Carol Burnett's TV special in Jan. 1979". The Tennessean. 2016-09-26. Carol Burnett and Dolly Parton perform the "Pedestal Song" skit during the taping of the "Dolly and Carol in Nashville" television special before a packed audience at the Grand Ole Opry House Jan. 10, 1979.
  4. ↑ "Dolly Parton and Carol Burnett "Pedestal Song"". YouTube. 2006-06-16.
  5. ↑ "Nashville Then: Dolly Parton and Carol Burnett's TV special in Jan. 1979". The Tennessean. 2016-09-26. Six-year-old banjo wizard Lewis Phillips, right, offers to teach Carol Burnett to play the banjo during the "No one picks like a Nashville picker" skit during the taping of the "Dolly and Carol in Nashville" television special before a packed audience at the Grand Ole Opry House Jan. 10, 1979.
  6. ↑ Juli Thanki (2016-09-26). "Carol Burnett announces second Ryman show". The Tennessean. It was around Thanksgiving, we were staying in a hotel, and Dolly cooked Thanksgiving dinner for us and brought it to the hotel," Burnett remembered. "She said, 'You've got to have some home cooking on Thanksgiving.' It was just so darn sweet of her.
  7. ↑ "RCA Stages Parton Valentine Day Promo" (PDF). Record World. 1979-02-24. The saturation effort in which RCA provided boxes of Valentine's candy and Dolly Parton albums for giveaway was timed to coincide with the CBS television network's Valentine's Day broadcast of the "Dolly And Carol In Nashville" special. More than 3000 boxes of candy and "Heartbreaker" albums were distributed to radio stations for the promotion.
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