Dolly Parton - Holding On To You/The Seeker (LIVE Der Musikladen) Part 13/13 video free download

Read my blog post here: http://mynewboyfriend.com/2010/11/17/dolly-parton-legendary-sparrow/

Remove the glitz, de-glimmer the glamour, abandon the wigs, and disregard the tits (and forget the plastic surgery) and what you get in Dolly Parton is one of the singular greatest forces of nature in the history of Pop or Country -- not only a singer for the ages, but a songwriter nonpareil.

Of course the world recognizes Parton's unabashedly proud garishness. As Stephen Sondheim once wrote, "You Gotta Get A Gimmick". But unlike the siren strippers in GYPSY, Parton was never dependent on gimmickry as a pathway to mega-stardom - she merely sprinkled it on a little something extra. And, too, one cannot depend on such stratagem on the sojourn toward iconic status. It takes a helluva lot of genius and talent to back up such hosannas.

And for nearly 5 decades and going strong, Parton has made a comfortable home upon the mountaintop of Country Music and sustained where few have -- living immortality.

Country music is one of the purest of American art forms and Parton its Norman Rockwell, for few have been able, as Parton, to paint such archetypal songscapes that would require an elongated scroll utilizing the most reserved superlatives.

Already established as a Country Music icon, even in 1977, she was slowly penetrating Pop culturism (to the extent that "Pop Culture" existed in 1977) -- countless TV appearances, film, and even adding Pop and Disco to her musical oeuvre ("Here You Come Again" and "Baby I'm Burning" respectively, as e.g.'s). The force still hasn't stopped -- happy for us.

Parton's popularity has never waned across the world. In 1977, she appeared on the popular West German music show Der Musikladen (which was the continuation of the defunct Beat Club). The extraordinary thing about watching these clips -- over three decades past -- is how astonishing Parton's voice has remained almost exact. Her vocals have aged in knowledge only -- but that timbre, that soul, that range and that innate lovability, even in the face of adversary -- remain astonishingly clarion-like.

Enjoy this rare and enchanting concert~

*****

"Holdin' On To You"/"The Seeker" is a medley of two tracks from two Parton albums. "Holdin'" is taken from Parton's 1977 NEW HARVEST...FIRST GATHERING and "The Seeker" is a track from her 1975 DOLLY: THE SEEKER/WE USED TO.