Joshua (album)

Joshua is the seventh solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on April 12, 1971, by RCA Victor.[1] The album's single, "Joshua", was nominated for a Grammy and was Parton's first song to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Joshua
Studio album by Dolly Parton
Released	April 12, 1971
Recorded	October 31, 1969–February 11, 1971
Studio	RCA Studio B (Nashville)
Genre	Country
Length	27:36
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Bob Ferguson
Dolly Parton chronology
The Golden Streets of Glory (1971) Joshua (1971) The Best of Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton (1971)
Singles from Joshua
"Joshua" Released: November 9, 1970

The album was reissued on CD in 2001 with Parton's 1971 album, Coat of Many Colors.[2] It was released as a digital download on December 4, 2015.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]

The review published in the April 24, 1971 issue of Billboard said, "Dolly Parton took "Joshua" right to the top of the country singles chart, and she should now take him right to the top of the LP chart as well, with this exceptional album followup. Most of the tunes are originals, and there are many standouts, among them "You Can't Reach Me Anymore", "The Last One to Touch Me", and "Chicken Every Sunday"."[5]

The April 10, 1971 issue of Cashbox featured a review that said, "Dolly Parton's "Joshua" has to be one of the all-time best country records ever recorded. Now the title tune of her latest album, it enables those who missed it the first time around to hear it along with nine other fine selections. Always a best seller, this LP containing "The Last One to Touch Me", "Walls of My Mind", "Chicken Every Sunday", "Letter to Heaven", and "J.J. Sneed", which are outstanding tracks, is sure to top the charts shortly.[6]

Commercial performance

The album peaked at No. 16 on the US Billboard Hot Country LPs chart and No. 198 on the US Billboard Hot LPs chart. The album peaked at No. 24 in Canada on the RPM Country Albums chart.

The album's single, "Joshua", was released in November 1970[7][8] and peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and No. 108 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart. The single peaked at No. 2 in Canada on the RPM Country Singles chart.

Accolades

The album's single, "Joshua", was nominated for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, at the 14th Annual Grammy Awards.[9]

Recording

Recording sessions for the album began at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 20, 1970. There additional sessions followed on October 21, 1970; January 26 and February 11, 1971. "Walls of My Mind", "You Can't Reach Me Anymore", and "The Fire's Still Burning" were recorded during the October 31, 1969 session for 1970's The Fairest of Them All.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date	Length
1.	"Joshua"	Dolly Parton	October 21, 1970	3:02
2.	"The Last One to Touch Me"	Parton	February 11, 1971	3:04
3.	"Walls of My Mind"	Parton	October 31, 1969	2:32
4.	"It Ain't Fair That It Ain't Right"	Bob Eggers Janice Eggers	April 20, 1970	2:18
5.	"J.J. Sneed"	Parton Dorothy Jo Hope	January 26, 1971	2:53

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date	Length
1.	"You Can't Reach Me Anymore"	Parton Hope	October 31, 1969	2:38
2.	"Daddy's Moonshine Still"	Parton	January 26, 1971	3:29
3.	"Chicken Every Sunday"	Charlie Craig Betty Craig	October 21, 1970	2:35
4.	"The Fire's Still Burning"	Parton Hope	October 31, 1969	2:49
5.	"Letter to Heaven"	Parton	January 26, 1971	2:29

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.[1]

• Bobby Dyson – liner notes
• Bob Ferguson – producer
• Bill Meyers – cover art
• Al Pachucki – recording engineer
• Roy Shockley – recording technician

Charts

Album

Chart (1971)	Peak position
Canada Country Albums (RPM)[10]	24
US Hot Country LPs (Billboard)[11]	16
US Top LPs (Billboard)[12]	198

Singles

Title	Year	Peak position
		US Country [13]	US Bubbling [14]	CAN Country [15]
"Joshua"	1970	1	108	2

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Title	Label	Ref.
Various	April 12, 1971	LP 8-track	Joshua	RCA Victor	[1]
Europe	July 28, 2001	CD	Joshua & Coat of Many Colors	Camden Deluxe	[2]
Various	December 4, 2015	Digital download	Joshua	Sony Legacy	[3]

References

1. "Dolly Parton - Joshua". Discogs. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
2. "Joshua & Coat Of Many Colors". Camden. 28 July 2001. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
3. "Joshua by Dolly Parton on Amazon Music - Amazon.com". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
4. Joshua at AllMusic
5. "Billboard - April 24, 1971" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. p. 58. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
6. "Cashbox - April 10, 1971" (PDF). American Radio History. Cashbox. p. 40. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
7. "Billboard - November 21, 1970" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. p. 88. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
8. "Dolly Parton - Joshua". Retrieved 26 May 2019.
9. "Dolly Parton". GRAMMY.com. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
10. Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Results: RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
11. "Dolly Parton Chart History - Top Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
12. "Dolly Parton Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
13. "Dolly Parton Chart History - Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
14. "Billboard - February 20, 1971" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. p. 56. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
15. Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Results: RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 20 April 2019.