1972 | Peak: #6
This may be the very moment where Dolly Parton emerges as a masterclass singer.
Goosebump-inducing vocal trills elevate an already excellent composition. Listen closely, and you can hear the styles of Reba McEntire and Lee Ann Womack being born.
It’s just so, so good.
Written by Dolly Parton
Grade: A
Next: Lost Forever in Your Kiss (with Porter Wagoner)
Previous: Burning the Midnight Oil (with Porter Wagoner)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9pAPJArCIk
Lovely singing by the one and only…
This has always been one of my favourite Dolly songs from that era, so exquisitely simple and so beautifully sung, I always thought, if RCA had promoted it differently, it could have been successful crossover/pop hit.
After Whitney Houston blasted “I Will Always Love You” from the rooftops in the early ’90s, I was expecting there’d be slew of soul divas flocking to Dolly’s back catalogue to find more of her old songs to remake (surprisingly, given the success of the Houston cover of IWALY, that didn’t really happen), and always thought that “Touch Your Woman”, with its lovely, unique melody and its straightforward (and slightly erotic) lyrics would be the perfect song for some soul starlet to remake. (Actually, R&B artist Margie Joseph did do a gorgeous version in 1972, a few months after Dolly released her original version.)
Sorry, I know I am late to these retro reviews, but I am very glad they are here for us to read. This could possibly be my favorite Dolly vocal performance. So much more powerfull than all the POWER vocals used today. I think the simple vocal performance should be a lesson to new singers.