This is a hard read for me. I love Dolly, and I loved the facts that were included in this book. I realize this was meant for people with musical knowledge which isn’t me. So when the author started talking about the musical measures and all the other musical elements, I got lost. I loved the parts they talked about Dolly’s life, but because the focus was the musical elements. Often those facts got repeated, which was frustrating to me. I think this book is aimed at a very specific audience, and I suspect it will do great for them.
*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.

Unlikely Angel is an appreciative look at the songs of Dolly Parton but without the distraction of the Dolly image. It is a celebration of song writing talent and musicality that exudes from Dolly Parton and seems to be part of her core existence. You cant have Dolly without her music. They are inherent, intertwined.

Hamessley looks at Dolly and her Apalachian roots and heritage and how time and place play an important roll in her music and how even now many years after Dolly has become a success we still see these roots in her music.

Unlikely Angel is an interesting read for Dolly fans. The one area which I felt it may struggle to find an audience is when Hamessley talks about the build up of music. By this I mean that if you don't have a knowledge of music theory you can often become lost in the details. However, it was a good book that reveals more to Dolly Parton than the image might make you believe.

Unlikely Angel - The Songs of Dolly Parton by Lydia R. Hamessley is available now.

I'll blame myself for requesting this one without realizing exactly what it was. Like everyone else in the world with any sense, I'm completely smitten with all things Dolly. That being said, I was expecting her to at least be a contributor here and it not simply being an anthology of her songs.

The author who is a fan of her songs goes through them explaining where she came from and how each song not just told a story but shaped the woman as well. A very good book.

I love love Dolly Parton, and any book that talks about her masterfully and gives insight on her as an artist is something I have to read. This book highlighted her songwriting and showed how she was excellent at taking the environment around her and creating songs reflective of the circumstance. Dolly is a masterful songwriter and singer, and I am so glad to have read this book and learned more about her.

I just love Dolly Parton and it was wonderful to get to know her and her songwriting through this book. Dolly Parton has so much talent and an interesting life with a lot of struggle. This book is perfect for fans and newcomers alike. I highly recommend it.

Thank you netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. As a Dolly fan, I feel like this is a must read for fellow Dolly fans. This book tells of her songs/discography as well as stories from her life that have inspired the songs. I didn't know of all the various songs she had penned for other artists. Obviously, I am in awe of her success and all the various businesses that she also is involved in. I would highlighly recommend this book to any country music/Dolly fan.

Dolly Parton has such an amazingly rich backstory which she's reflected in her songs for decades.

I truly enjoyed reading about her process, her influences, and her songwriting techniques, but it's the woman behind the creative genius that I truly appreciated learning about.

The pain, the heartache, the struggles as well as her incredibly positive spirit and determination to bring a bit of sunshine to the world in small ways made me a bit teary at times.

Strong work. Beautifully done.

I received an ARC for an honest review of this book.

Unlikely Angel is a beautiful book about the songs of Dolly Parton. Lydia R. Hamessley gets into the technical aspect of writing and creating songs. I grew up knowing Dolly as a pop culture icon. Later in my twenties, I learned that she is an incredibly accomplished songwriter. I love how Hamessley covers Dolly's influences and dives into her scrappy childhood full of bluegrass music.

This is a wonderful book for fans of Dolly Parton or anyone who would appreciate her craft. I highly recommend this book. I learned so much about Dolly and Country music!

Thank you to #Netgalley for the read! #LydiaRHamessley #UnlikelyAngel

Dolly Parton is a remarkable and very private person. This book covers her music career and songwriting, as well as some of her personal life. Will appeal to readers who enjoy Americana, US history, music, and biography.

There's a lot to love here, as with everything by this living legend. What a treasure she is - we are honoured to be living in the same time as her.

I was a teen in the 1970s, when Miss Dolly was really gaining fame. In my social circle, such as it was, country music was not the first choice of listening on the car stereo. We ran to Rick Wakeman and Electric Light Orchestra and show tunes. (Drama fag here, if you're wondering.) As I, almost alone among my friends, had much-older sisters, I'd hear things overlooked by the pop-pups. Joni Mitchell wasn't big among them, but my sister gave me her old copy of Hejira when she moved, starting a love affair with Mitchell that's lasted to this very day. Then came the day she played "I Will Always Love You" and we laughed our snobby selves silly! "She sounds like a 45 played at 78," I commented, and got an approving laugh from the older audience. But that's a beautiful song, and if one is even a little bit susceptible to sentimental love poems, it's a gripping story. It's been remade and made into a hit in every decade since its first release in 1974.

Let's us have a come-to-Jesus about the parts of Miss Dolly you've been ignoring, were foolishly dismissive of (like me), or were unaware of. The lady acts and performs and sings. But she IS a songwriter. "I Will Always Love You", written to mark the end of her early and formative loving partnership with Porter Wagoner (man charted eighty-one singles in his life, betcha most people reading this blog never heard of him!), is in the American Songbook by virtue of it ubiquity and popularity with singers and audiences alike.

Author Lydia Hamessley is a musicologist, a scholar of Southern Appalachia's musical heritage. She is a thorough academic, and that is not bad thing because her subject here isn't the media star <b><U><I>Dolly Parton!!!</I></U></B> but the creative dynamo songwriter behind the entertainer. Many thousands of songs have come forth from Parton's pen. Many hundreds have been recorded by herself, and many other artists. (By the way, did y'all know Miss Dolly wrote a song called "Backwoods Barbie"?!
<blockquote>"Don't let these false eyelashes lead you to believe
That I'm as shallow as I look,
'cause I run true and deep"</blockquote>
This is the same smart businesswoman whose public persona uttered the deathless aperçu, "You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!" and variations thereon, in countless interviews.)

Oh, sorry. Anyway, Author Hamessley's text is academic in purpose and execution, so I won't lie and say it flowed past my eyes like limpid creek-water down a holler. Miss Dolly wrote an autobiography for you, if that's what you're looking for; I wasn't, and I asked for this book because I wanted to know about the creative, and also the businesswoman behind the persona.

And that is precisely what I got. Say hallelujah and bring the jubilee!

So, there's more, but I left it at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud: https://tinyurl.com/3f9a3jpn

I love consuming any sort of material about Dolly Parton, but for some reason the writing and structure of this book didn't click with me.

This is a great little book if you want to find out more about Dolly Parton and her collection of songs! Be warned, this is not a biography but a deep look at her music, from the background of each song to an exploration of its musical features and how it fits both into Dolly’s and the wider pop/country canon. All the classics such as ‘9 to 5’, ‘Jolene’ and ‘Coat of Many Colors’ are there alongside some other deep cut tracks.

Having previously read Dolly’s new book ‘Song Teller’, this is a good accompaniment book as like I say it does delve deeper as is perhaps a bit more scholarly (I personally had to skip a few bits about the music as I am not that way inclined or educated, haha!). It’s so great to see Dolly appreciated and written about as the accomplished musician and songwriter she is, rather than just the (very cleverly created) image she portrays.

This wasn't exactly what I thought it would be, as I was thinking it would be more of a biography! Even though it says it right in the title! I admire Dolly, and even though the only musical talent I have is pushing "play," this was an enjoyable read!

I liked this book on Dolly. Didn’t love, but liked. It does explain and tell the reader exactly what Dolly believes and who she is. It explains many of her songs in detail, how important they are to her. They are so important to her she calls them “her children.” I believe Dolly’s career and music was very important to her. I believe it was more important than anything to her. Though I don’t agree with Dolly on some things, I respect her work she puts into her songs, because it is truly obvious she is a great songwriter.

This book is well written and has good character development I just couldn’t personally get into the story and found it a little bit of a struggle to keep reading. Either way it just left a little lacking for me personally. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

If you don't like Dolly Parton there is something wrong with you. A truly beautiful giving woman who just happens to write and sing beautiful songs Highly recommend this book to not only Dolly Parton fans but also about-to-become Dolly Parton fans.

5 stars! I am a huge Dolly Parton fan and so is my daughter. We absolutely adored the stories behind the songs!

I love Dolly Parton, she's probably my favorite celebrity ever because she seems so down to earth and seems like such a fun person. I loved this book and learning more about her.