Rare Recordings Of Dolly Parton Singing With Her Uncles Resurface After 60+ Years
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You could say that Dolly Parton’s passion for singing and songwriting was genetic. She once told American Routes that her mother’s relatives (the Owens family) were “very musical” people.
Dolly always spoke highly of her uncle, Bill Owens, who helped her find her footing in the music industry when she was a young teen. He was the one who taught her to play the guitar and helped her land her first job on the Cas Walker radio show.
When Bill passed away in 2021, Dolly said, “I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t been there.”
She added, “It’s really hard to say or to know for sure what all you owe somebody for your success. But I can tell you for sure that I owe Uncle Billy an awful lot.”
Bill and his brother, Louis, formed a duo, which they fittingly dubbed The Owens Brothers. During the ’60s, their songs blended elements of traditional country music and the emerging “Nashville Sound.”
Now, some of those recordings have been remastered and re-released on the new Owens Brothers album, Tomorrow’s Tears Today.
The album, which debuted on October 2, features 18 tracks, all recorded between 1961 and 1967. Dolly Parton fans will be thrilled to hear that some of her earliest recordings are included on the record.
These rare recordings, titled “Vagabond” and “It Seems Like a Lifetime,” were produced in Knoxville in 1961 and 1962. They feature a 14-year-old Dolly on backing vocals, alongside her younger sisters, Stella and Cassie. Together, they were labeled as the “Vocalaires.”
After 60+ years, you can finally hear those recordings again. Give them a listen below, and stream The Owens Brothers’ new album, Tomorrow’s Tears Today, here.
Can you pick out Dolly’s voice in the background of these songs?
Who Were Dolly Parton’s Uncles, The Owens Brothers?
The Owens Brothers emerged in the late ’40s, becoming one of the first musical acts from the eventually legendary Owens-Parton family. They began performing in their native region in East Tennessee, where they, like Dolly, had been raised in a musical family.
Later, Bill and Louis made incredible contributions to the country music community in Nashville. In addition to singing, they wrote songs and produced records for other acts, and also worked in publishing.
In 1967, Dolly, Bill, and Louis co-founded Owepar Music to help with the songwriting side of their careers. The company opened a recording studio in 1973 and published notable songs that were recorded by artists such as Olivia Newton-John, Porter Wagoner, and Linda Ronstadt.
The company remained active until 1981, when it entered a long hiatus before relaunching in 2019.
Louis Owens passed away in 2014, and his brother, Bill, died seven years later, in 2021. Their legacy lives on through the many recordings they left behind, including the re-released tracks included on Tomorrow’s Tears Today.
Listen to the album’s title track below.
