“Yellow Roses”
Dolly Parton
Written by Dolly Parton
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
November 25, 1989
Dolly Parton’s final solo No. 1 hit to date is fittingly self-penned, showcasing her ability to again adapt her songwriting style to the most popular sound of the moment.
That’s always been her pop star flex, even as she applies it to country music. Here, she updates her seventies sound to push the acoustic instruments to the forefront, allowing the string section to play second fiddle to the twang this time around. It’s a tight storytelling exercise, as a love affair’s beginning and ending are both marked by a single yellow rose.
It’s all so beautifully produced and perfectly sung, with a theatrical element that makes it all feel like a little movie. She gives a dynamite performance of one of her stronger compositions from this era, making it a little bittersweet that she’s yet to top the country chart with one of her own songs again, despite writing many fantastic songs in the 35 years since this hit’s sole week at the top.
Parton hasn’t topped the singles chart again yet as a solo artist – if anybody over 75 has a shot of still doing so, it’s her – but we’ll see her back on top in each of the next three decades, starting with “Rockin’ Years” with Ricky Van Shelton in 1991.
“Yellow Roses” gets an A.
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