Katana VentraIP

Coat of Many Colors

Coat of Many Colors is the eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on October 4, 1971, by RCA Victor.[1] The album was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1972 CMA Awards. It also appeared on Time magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time and at No. 257 on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Parton has cited the title track on numerous occasions as her personal favorite of all the songs she has written.

This article is about the album. For other uses, see Coat of many colors (disambiguation).

Coat of Many Colors

October 4, 1971

October 30, 1969–April 16, 1971

27:26

The album was reissued on cassette in Canada in 1985.[2] It was reissued on CD for the first time in 1999.[3] It was reissued on CD in Europe in 2001 with 1971's Joshua.[4] The album was reissued on CD again in 2007 featuring four previously unreleased tracks.[5] In 2010, Sony Music reissued the 2007 CD in a triple-feature set with 1973's My Tennessee Mountain Home and 1974's Jolene.[6]

Commercial performance[edit]

The album peaked at No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot Country LP's chart.


The album's first single, "My Blue Tears", was released in June 1971[16][17] and peaked at No. 17 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and No. 4 in Canada on the RPM Country Singles chart. The second single, "Coat of Many Colors", was released in September 1971[18][19] and peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and No. 15 in Canada on the RPM Country Singles chart. It peaked at No. 60 in Australia.

Accolades[edit]

The album was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1972 Country Music Association Awards.[20]


In 2006, the album appeared on Time magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2003 the album was ranked number 299 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, with the ranking dropping to number 301 in the 2012 update and climbing to number 257 in the 2020 reboot of the list.[21][22][23] In 2017, National Public Radio ranked the album No. 11 on their list of the 150 greatest albums made by women.[24]

Recording[edit]

Recording sessions for the album took place at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 16 and 27, 1971. Three tracks on the album were recorded during sessions for previous albums. "She Never Met a Man (She Didn't Like)" and "A Better Place to Live" were recorded during the October 30, 1969, session for 1970's The Fairest of Them All and "Early Morning Breeze" was recorded during the January 26, 1971, session for 1971's Joshua.