Little Sparrow

Little Sparrow is the thirty-eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on January 23, 2001, by Sugar Hill and Blue Eye Records. The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album and "Shine" won Best Female Country Vocal Performance. The album is dedicated to Parton's father, Lee Parton, who died in November 2000.

Little Sparrow
Studio album by
Dolly Parton
ReleasedJanuary 23, 2001
Recorded2000
Studio
  • Oceanway (Nashville)
  • The Doghouse (Nashville)
  • Schnee Studio (Los Angeles)
GenreBluegrass
Length52:41
Label
  • Sugar Hill
  • Blue Eye
ProducerSteve Buckingham
Dolly Parton chronology
The Grass Is Blue
(1999)		 Little Sparrow
(2001)		 Halos & Horns
(2002)
Singles from Little Sparrow
  1. "A Tender Lie"
    Released: April 2, 2001
  2. "Bluer Pastures"
    Released: April 2, 2001
  3. "Seven Bridges Road"
    Released: April 2, 2001
  4. "Shine"
    Released: July 9, 2001

Content

While the album's predecessor, The Grass Is Blue, featured straightforward bluegrass, Little Sparrow features a blend of Appalachian folk, bluegrass and country gospel styles. Each of the musical styles is a notable part of the culture from Parton's East Tennessee upbringing. In addition to a number of traditional songs and Parton's own compositions, the album features a reworking of the Collective Soul hit, "Shine", and the Restless Heart hit, "A Tender Lie", as well as a bluegrass version of Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You". Among the backing musicians were members of the alternative bluegrass band Nickel Creek, Alison Krauss, and members of Irish folk music band Altan.

Parton had previously recorded two of the tracks featured on the album. "Down from Dover" had originally been recorded by Parton in 1969 and included on her 1970 album, The Fairest of Them All. "My Blue Tears" was originally recorded in 1971 and included on Parton's Coat of Many Colors album. Parton also recorded the song with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt in 1978 for an ill-fated Trio project. This recording would eventually surface on Ronstadt's 1982 album, Get Closer.

Release and promotion

The album was announced by Sugar Hill Records on December 6, 2000. In a press release, Parton said,

I believe Little Sparrow has more depth, breadth, and soul than all of the other albums I have done. Hopefully it captures the best of everything I've ever lived or felt, written or sung. I also think this is Steve Buckingham's best work as a producer. I hope you enjoy it. You know how every parent thinks their kids are the prettiest, how every person thinks their hometown and their home team is the best and how every singer/songwriter thinks that the album they just finished is the best they've ever done . . . well, I think that too.[1]

On the day of the album's release Parton appeared on NBC's Today. She appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on January 29, performing "Shine".[2] She also made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on February 1, where she performed "A Tender Lie" and "I Will Always Love You".[3] On February 27, Parton was interviewed and performed "Little Sparrow" on theTonight Show with Jay Leno.[4]

Parton also made television appearances in Europe. She appeared on Parkinson on February 17[5] and So Graham Norton on February 23, where she performed "Marry Me".[6]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA[9]

Upon its release, Little Sparrow received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 86, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 10 reviews.[7] The review published in the January 27, 2001 issue of Billboard said, "Recognizing that mainstream country radio is pretty much off limits, Dolly Parton has wisely followed her muse of late rather than try to gauge commercialism, and God bless her for it. Little Sparrow is among Parton's best work ever, a stellar collection that peels the paint off the walls. Parton's voice remains a thing of wonder, whether it's on the haunting Smoky Mountains soul of the title cut, the aching "My Blue Tears", or the backwoods waltz "Bluer Pastures". "Mountain Angel" is spooky, "Marry Me" is a hoot, and both pay homage to the singer's mountain roots. Parton is still writing killer songs (half the 14 cuts), and the covers are lightning in a jug, including rousing takes on Collective Soul's "Shine", the Eagles' "Seven Bridges Road", and Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You". Production is of the back-porch variety, with bluegrass instrumentation mostly carrying the load. The pickers are top shelf, the harmonies are to die for, and Dolly rules. An instant classic."[10]

Rolling Stone gave a positive review of the album and said, "Throughout Little Sparrow, Parton’s silvery, force-of-nature voice cuts to the heart of the matter, convincingly making the case that — famous literary dictum aside — you can go home again."[11] Writing for PopMatters, Charlotte Robinson gave a positive review, saying that the album "contains some of the most beautiful and affecting music Parton has ever made, and the fact that she is doing it in her fifth decade makes it all the more dazzling an achievement."[12] Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A and said the album "proves a sequel can surpass the original."[9] Barry Weber of AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and said that the album's title track is "an ingenious metaphor that, along with a slow, aching melody, and a flawless production and performance, helps round out what is truly one of the best songs Dolly Parton has written in years."[8]

Commercial performance

The album peaked at No. 12 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart, No. 97 on the US Billboard 200 chart, No. 12 on the US Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart and No. 3 on the US Billboard Independent Albums chart. In the UK the album peaked at No. 1 on the OCC Country Albums Chart and No. 30 on the OCC Albums Chart. The album peaked at No. 27 in Sweden No. 39 in Denmark. The album was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry in April 2001. As of December 2003 the album has sold 212,000 copies in the United States.[13]

In April 2001, "A Tender Lie", "Bluer Pastures", and "Seven Bridges Road" were released as singles simultaneously to country, bluegrass, and Americana radio stations, respectively.[14][15] None of them received enough airplay to chart. "Shine" was released as the fourth and final single in July 2001. Its music video premiered June 13 on CMT Most Wanted Live.[16]

Accolades

At the 44th Annual Grammy Awards the album was nominated for Best Bluegrass Album and "Shine" won Best Female Vocal Performance.[17] The "Shine" music video was nominated for Female Video of the Year at the 2002 CMT Music Awards.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Little Sparrow"Dolly Parton4:14
2."Shine"Ed Roland5:11
3."I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby"Autry Inman3:02
4."My Blue Tears"Parton3:03
5."Seven Bridges Road"Steve Young3:29
6."Bluer Pastures"Parton4:10
7."A Tender Lie"Randy Sharp3:44
8."I Get a Kick Out of You"Cole Porter2:31
9."Mountain Angel"Parton6:51
10."Marry Me"Parton3:18
11."Down from Dover"Parton5:09
12."The Beautiful Lie"David "Butch" McDade2:34
13."In the Sweet By and By"
3:54
14."Little Sparrow" (Reprise)Parton1:37
Total length:52:41

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.[18]

  • Greg Allen – musician photos
  • Monty Allen – drones
  • Barry Bales – bass
  • James Bauer – assistant engineer
  • David Blair – hair
  • Becky Isaacs Bowman – harmony vocals
  • David Bryant – assistant engineer
  • Steve Buckingham – producer, autoharp, dulcimer
  • Candy Burton – makeup
  • Dermot Byrne – accordion
  • Marcia Campbell – clog dancer
  • Neal Cappellino – additional engineering, digital editing
  • Jennie Carey – production assistant
  • Ciaran Curran – bouzouki
  • Chip Davis – drones
  • Richard Dennison – drones
  • Jerry Douglas – resophonic guitar
  • Stuart Duncan – fiddle
  • Koji Egawa – assistant engineer
  • Barry Etris – Little Sparrow illustration
  • Good & Evil Design - album design
  • Robert Hadley – mastering
  • Terry Herd – musician photos
  • Jim Herrington – photography
  • Peyton Hoge – musician photos
  • Rebecca Lyn Howard – harmony vocals
  • Byron House – bass
  • Sonya Isaacs – harmony vocals
  • Carl Jackson – bass vocals, harmony vocals
  • Thomas Johnson – assistant engineer
  • Mark Kelly – guitar
  • Alison Krauss – harmony vocals
  • Kimberly Levitan – art direction
  • Keith Little – harmony vocals
  • Claire Lynch – harmony vocals
  • Pat McInerney – percussion
  • Jim Mills – banjo
  • John Mock – harmonium, whistle
  • Marshall Morgan – assistant engineer
  • Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh – Irish verse ("In the Sweet By and By")
  • Maura O'Connell – harmony vocals
  • Proinsias O'Maonaigh – Irish verse translation ("In the Sweet By and By")
  • Gary Paczosa – recording, mixing, musician photos
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals, harmony vocals
  • Bubba Richardson – clog dancer
  • Doug Sax – mastering
  • Mike Snider – clawhammer banjo
  • Daithi Sproule – guitar
  • Bryan Sutton – guitar
  • Chris Thile – mandolin
  • Ciaran Tourish – whistle, low whistle
  • Dan Tyminski – harmony vocals
  • Darrin Vincent – harmony vocals
  • Rhonda Vincent – harmony vocals
  • Mary E. Yeomans – musician photos

Charts
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Charts)[19] 136
scope = "row"Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[20] 39
scope = "row"Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 27
scope = "row"UK Albums (OCC)[22] 30
scope = "row"UK Country Albums (OCC)[23] 1
scope = "row"US Billboard 200[24] 97
scope = "row"US Independent Albums (Billboard)[25] 3
scope = "row"US Top Bluegrass Albums (Billboard)[26] 12
scope = "row"US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[27] 12

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Silver 60,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various January 23, 2001
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References
  1. "Little Sparrow press release". www.dollymania.net. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  2. "Late Show with David Letterman - Episode dated 29 January 2001". Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  3. "Late Night with Conan O'Brien - Episode #8.70". Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  4. "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - Episode #9.41". Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  5. "Parkinson - Episode #15.1". Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  6. "So Graham Norton - Episode #4.16". Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  7. "Little Sparrow by Dolly Parton". Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  8. Weber, Barry. Little Sparrow at AllMusic
  9. "Entertainment Weekly's EW.com | Music Review: (Little Sparrow, Dolly Parton, )". 8 February 2001. Archived from the original on 8 February 2001. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  10. "Billboard - January 27, 2001" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. p. 27. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  11. Puterbaugh, Parke; Puterbaugh, Parke (20 February 2001). "Little Sparrow". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  12. "Dolly Parton: Little Sparrow - PopMatters Music Review". 19 April 2001. Archived from the original on 19 April 2001. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  13. Gordon, Duane (December 26, 2003). "December 2003 Archive". Dollymania. Dollymania. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  14. "February 2001 News Archive". Dollymania. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  15. "Going for Adds 4/2/01" (PDF). American Radio History. Radio & Records. March 30, 2001. p. 72. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  16. "Going for Adds 7/9/01" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. July 6, 2001. p. 61. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  17. "Dolly Parton". GRAMMY.com. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  18. "Dolly Parton - Little Sparrow". Discogs. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  19. "Dolly Parton ARIA chart history, received April 29, 2019". ARIA. Retrieved April 1, 2020 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  20. "Danishcharts.dk – Dolly Parton – Little Sparrow". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  21. "Swedishcharts.com – Dolly Parton – Little Sparrow". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  22. "Dolly Parton | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  23. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company.
  24. "Dolly Parton Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  25. "Dolly Parton Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  26. "Dolly Parton Chart History (Top Bluegrass Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  27. "Dolly Parton Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  28. "British album certifications – Dolly Parton – Little Sparrow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 12, 2014. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Little Sparrow in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  29. "Dolly Parton - Little Sparrow - Amazon.com Music". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
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