Dolly: The Biography

Excerpt from Chapter One

       Even before spring has officially arrived and all the buds have yet to make their seasonal debut, the trip south on I-75 from the Bluegrass region of Kentucky down through East Tennessee to Knoxville is a late-afternoon driver’s paradise. Once over the Tennessee border from the Old South gentility and respectability of the small Kentucky college towns of Berea and Williamsburg, the highway juts sharply off course from its flat, straight, monotonous predictability. Even if one has not felt particularly confined by the restful if unexciting layout of the Kentucky topography, the steep inclines and dips of the Cumberland Mountains produce an undeniable feeling of freedom and exhilaration, a gentle, lilting sensation of being rocked in nature’s cradle. Each bend and valley brings a visual treat more spectacular than the last—from the sight of the late-day sun filtering through scattered clouds in tones of butterscotch and honey, painting the farm houses and animals in impressionistic glow, to the way the heavy metal jaws of progress took the highway out of rock with uncustomary daintiness, leaving the banks and cliffs looking like three-tired limestone wedding cakes.

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“Pop music fans will flip over this in-depth study of the voluptuous blond singer- songwriter.”—Publisher’s Weekly

“Despite it all, the successes and disappointments, Dolly’s love and sparkle shine through. Alanna Nash’s portrait is like the lady, sheer magic.”—Macon [Georgia] Telegraph & News

“As an interrogator, Nash ranks among the best. Her questions are diplomatic, but pointed, accommodating the tastes of both fans and colleagues.”—Nashville Banner

“Alanna Nash understands the country mind, and this book proves again that she can write about it.”—Tom T. Hall