- Published
In 1980, Dolly Parton was filming her first Hollywood movie, 9 To 5, and between scenes she had an idea for the tune that would become the movie's theme song.
But her guitar was banned from the set - so she made the beat by strumming her acrylic nails together.
asserted
she → publish → nails
The sound, she realised, was just like the typewriter used by her character, a married secretary who is constantly belittled and sexually harassed by her boss.
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who → realise → boss
Excited, she ran over and sang the song to her co-stars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, who was also the film's producer.
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who → run → stars
"Lily and I looked at each other and we had goosebumps," Fonda said.
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Fonda → look → goosebumps
"And we knew, this is not just a movie song, this is an anthem."
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this → know → ?
Released in November 1980, 9 To 5 became Parton's only US number one as a solo artist, and earned her an Oscar nomination for best song.
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9 → release → song
She loved to tell the fingernail story, but 9 To 5 has another legacy - for its powerful statements about working life and women's place in the corporate world.
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9 → love → world
You can probably sing the hook off the top of your head.
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You → sing → head
Work sucks.
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Work → suck → ?
But dig deeper and Dolly's expressing real fury.
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Dolly → dig → fury
"It's a rich man's game, no matter what they call it / And you spend your life putting money in his wallet," she sings.
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she → call → wallet
"They just use your mind and they never give you credit."
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they → use → credit
The lyrics tapped into real frustrations and gave working women a voice.
But there's a reason why you might not have noticed the anger that fuels Dolly's song.
uncertain
that → tap → song
She simply doesn't sing it that way - even though she had every right to, having navigated the sexism of the music industry from the age of 13.
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she → sing → 13
Her early breakthrough came in 1967 when she was hired as the "girl singer" on The Porter Wagoner Show, a TV showcase for country singer Porter Wagoner that reached millions of viewers each week.
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that → come → viewers
Together, they released 21 hit duets including Just Someone I Used to Know, If Teardrops Were Pennies and Please Don't Stop Loving Me.
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Teardrops → release → Me
But as Parton's star rose, she began to outshine her co-star.
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she → rise → star
Eventually, she realised she needed to strike out as a solo artist – writing I Will Always Love You as a letter of apology to her former mentor.
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I → realise → mentor
He responded by suing her for breach of contract in 1979, demanding $3m (£2,2m).
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He → respond → 3
Wanting to avoid a lengthy court battle, Parton settled for about $1m.
"I made up my mind that if he could live with it, I could live without it," she wrote in her autobiography.
uncertain
she → want → autobiography
"I suppose Porter has done all right with it.
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Porter → suppose → it
It was typical of the star's ability to radiate cheery goodwill that she never held a grudge against Wagoner, always crediting him with giving her a crucial career break, even after their relationship fell apart.
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relationship → radiate → break
Take, for example, the battle over the rights to I Will Always Love You.
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I → take → You
After it hit number one in the country charts, Elvis Presley called – he loved the song and wanted to record a cover.
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he → hit → cover
"You cannot imagine how excited I am about this," she told him.
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she → imagine → him
"This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me as a songwriter.
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that → happen → songwriter
But the night before the recording session, his notoriously hard-nosed manager, Colonel Tom Parker, called Parton and told her Elvis wouldn't record the song unless she handed over half of the lucrative publishing rights.
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she → call → rights
"I said, 'Well, that throws a new light on this.
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that → say → this
Because I can't give you half the publishing.
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I → give → publishing
I'm gonna leave that to my family,'" Parton told Reba McEntire's podcast in 2020.
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Parton → go → 2020
"And he said, 'Well, then we can't do it.'
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we → say → it
And I cried all night."
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I → cry → ?
"I mean, it was like the worst thing," she told Country Music Television.
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she → mean → Television
"People were saying, 'You're nuts.
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You → say → ?
Hell, I'd give him all of it.'
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I → give → it
"I said, 'I can't.'
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I → say → ?
I always wondered what it would sound like.
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it → wonder → what
I know he would have killed it [in a good way].
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he → know → way
"
But Parton had the last laugh.
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Parton → have → laugh
When Whitney Houston recorded her blockbuster version of I Will Always Love You for The Bodyguard soundtrack in 1992, the country star still owned the rights and earned "enough money to buy Graceland", Presley's mansion.
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star → record → Graceland
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
