The Grass Is Blue
The Grass Is Blue is the thirty-seventh solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on October 26, 1999, by Sugar Hill and Blue Eye Records. The album won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album and "Travelin' Prayer" was nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
The Grass Is Blue
October 26, 1999
August 1999
- The Sound Kitchen (Nashville)
- The Doghouse (Nashville)
44:59
- Sugar Hill
- Blue Eye
Background[edit]
Parton found herself without a record label for the second time in a year when Decca Records closed its Nashville office in early 1999, just months after the release of Hungry Again. Throughout the 1990s, she had been losing ground with country radio, though her album sales had remained strong for much of that time. The idea for the project was brought to Parton's attention one night in July 1999 when she was having dinner with Steve Buckingham. He mentioned to her that bluegrass fans, when asked which artist they would most like to make a bluegrass album, overwhelmingly cited her. Parton told Billboard, "We were both shocked, but then I thought, since I manage myself now and have my own label and can do what I want, why not do it?" By the end of August 1999, Parton had recorded the album in Nashville with Buckingham producing and top musicians such as Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Alison Krauss, and Rhonda Vincent accompanying. Speaking about the song selection, Parton said, "I've always loved bluegrass, having grown up in and around mountain music and bluegrass, so I chose some songs I've been singing all my life." Parton said of the recording process, "It went really fast because these are the world's best bluegrass pickers and singers, who've been doing these songs forever!"[1]
Content[edit]
The album includes a mixture of Parton originals and folk and bluegrass standards, as well as a Billy Joel cover. "Silver Dagger", a late nineteenth century ballad, had been popularized by Joan Baez during the early 1960s. Parton had originally written "Steady as the Rain" for her younger sister Stella Parton, who had a top 40 country hit with the song in 1979. "Will He Be Waiting for Me" is an updated version of a song which Parton originally recorded for her 1972 album, Touch Your Woman. The album also includes a cover of the Blackfoot song "Train, Train".
Commercial performance[edit]
The album peaked at No. 24 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 198 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album peaked at No. 8 on the UK OCC Country Albums chart. As of December 2003, the album has sold 195,000 copies in the United States.[11]
The first single, "A Few Old Memories", was sent to country radio stations in October 1999[12] and did not chart. "Silver Dagger" was sent to folk stations as the album's second single in February 2000[13] and did not chart.
Accolades[edit]
At the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards, the album won Best Bluegrass Album and "Travelin' Prayer" was nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.[14] The album won Album of the Year at the 2000 International Bluegrass Music Awards.