Stella Parton - Mountain Songbird: A Sister's Tribute (2016)

It is an honor to record a tribute album to my sister Dolly. She is the greatest songwriter and I selected songs that she has written that touched my heart the most. Songs like I will Always Love You and Jolene.

Dolly has always been my favorite songwriter, although I grew up in a family chocked full of them. It was indeed a daunting task to choose eleven of my favorite songs from a catalog so vast. At last count, she has written over three thousand songs, all of which are equally superb. There in was my dilemma, to select the ones that spoke to my emotions and attempt to sing them with as much authenticity and sincerity as they deserve.

I have been asked many times throughout my career to record an entire album of her music, but in my heart and mind, I never felt I could ever do her music or performances justice. So in the end, while making the decision to record this tribute album of eleven of my favorites, I decided to sing the story songs because they resonated with me the most.

I grew up singing harmony with my sister, so this is the way they would sound with our sister harmonies and the family blend we created as kids. I haven’t tried to expand the arrangements or to reinvent them. They were always perfect as she wrote them. I have chosen to sing them as sincerely and respectfully as possible and I hope you can hear that in my humble and honest approach to my sister’s beautiful songs. I am pleased and honored to share my sister tribute, “Mountain Songbird”.