Dolly Parton was a country singer-songwriter turned mainstream pop vixen turned movie star by the time of “9 to 5,” her biggest single and film. 
She could have pulled any old fluff out of her wig to fill this 1980 quasi-soundtrack. Instead, covering songs by everyone from Woody Guthrie to the Animals, she made her greatest crossover bid a concept album … about employment! Parton pulls off roles as wide-ranging as penniless bluegrass mother and a disco-pop prostitute with interpretive skills as sharp and specific as her songwriting: She rewrites the First Edition’s “But You Know I Love You” by never singing its title the same way twice, and her remake of Sly & the Family Stone’s “Everyday People” softens the funk but emphasizes Dolly’s homespun essence. She’s an ordinary, extraordinary working gal, and this is some of her most fully realized work. 


Download “9 to 5,” “But You Know I Love You,” “Working Girl”