My Tennessee Mountain Home cover art

  Studio Album · No. 6

My Tennessee Mountain Home Songwriting Credits by Dolly Parton

1973 10 tracks 31 min
Country
100%
Authorship
Complete Artist

Holds writing credit on 10 of 10 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 10 / 10 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 10 tracks with documented writers, by whether Dolly Parton carries a lyricist or composer credit.

100%
10 trackswritten by Dolly Parton 0 tracksoutside writers
Dolly Parton's roles on this album

Share of the 10 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist100%
Composer100%
Producer0%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

10
Tracks
1
Lyricists
1
Producers
1973
Released
Data Insight

My Tennessee Mountain Home is one of Dolly Parton's most fully realized acts of authorship, a concept album about her childhood in rural East Tennessee on which she wrote every song herself. The record opens with The Letter, a recitation of the actual first letter she sent her parents after moving to Nashville in 1964, and then works backward through fond memories of family, poverty, and place across tracks like Old Black Kettle, Daddy's Working Boots, and In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad). Even the tribute Dr. Robert F. Thomas, named for the country doctor who delivered her, came from her own pen. Bob Ferguson produced the sessions at RCA Studio A in Nashville, but the album is a showcase for Parton's writing rather than anyone else's.

Released April 2, 1973, on RCA Victor, the album was produced by Bob Ferguson and recorded at RCA Studio A in Nashville between September and October 1972. Every track was written by Parton herself, making it a fully self-penned effort reflecting her personal history. The record functions largely as a concept album about her childhood in rural East Tennessee, opening with her recitation of a first letter home after moving to Nashville in 1964 and closing with reflections on her early Music Row days, set to traditional country instrumentation. Although neither the album nor the title single achieved major chart success (peaking at number 19 on Billboard's Country Albums chart), the Tennessee General Assembly designated the title song an official state song in 2022, and Mojo ranked it fifth among Parton's best recordings in a 2024 feature.

Track Listing & Credits 10 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
The Letter
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton Bob Ferguson Dolly Parton (Lead Vocals)
2
My Tennessee Mountain Home #15
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton Bob Ferguson Dolly Parton (Lead Vocals)
3
Wrong Direction Home
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton Bob Ferguson Dolly Parton (Lead Vocals)
4
Apple Pie
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton Bob Ferguson Dolly Parton (Lead Vocals)
5
Old Black Kettle
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton Bob Ferguson Dolly Parton (Lead Vocals)
6
Daddy's Working Boots
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton Bob Ferguson Dolly Parton (Lead Vocals)
7
In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton Bob Ferguson Dolly Parton (Lead Vocals)
8
Dr. Robert F. Thomas
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton Bob Ferguson Dolly Parton (Lead Vocals)
9
Tennessee Mountain Home
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton Bob Ferguson Dolly Parton (Lead Vocals)
10
I Remember
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton Bob Ferguson Dolly Parton (Lead Vocals)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 3 contributors

DR
Dolly Rebecca Parton
Writer
On this album10 written
BF
Bob Ferguson
Producer
On this album10 produced
DP
Dolly Parton
Vocals
On this albumGuest

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1985 40%
Real Love
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Rainbow
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10 tracks
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White Limozeen
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10 tracks
1991 73%
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1993 75%
Slow Dancing with the Moon
12 tracks
1995 100%
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1996 0%
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1998 100%
Hungry Again
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12 tracks
1999 31%
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2001 50%
Little Sparrow
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30 tracks

Frequently Asked Questions My Tennessee Mountain Home

Did Dolly Parton write all the songs on My Tennessee Mountain Home?
Yes. Dolly Parton wrote every song on My Tennessee Mountain Home herself, making it one of her most personal albums. The record is built as a concept album about her childhood in rural East Tennessee, with each track drawn from her own memories of family and home.
What is the concept behind Dolly Parton's My Tennessee Mountain Home?
The album is an autobiographical concept record about Parton's upbringing in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. It moves through nostalgic scenes of her impoverished but loving family life, from kitchen kettles and her father's work boots to the doctor who delivered her. The framing device is her own move to Nashville, with the album reaching back to the home she left behind.
Is The Letter on My Tennessee Mountain Home based on a real letter?
Yes. The Letter is a spoken recitation of the actual first letter Dolly Parton wrote to her parents after she relocated to Nashville in 1964 to pursue her music career. It opens the album and sets up the homesick, backward-looking journey that follows.
Who was Dr. Robert F. Thomas, the subject of a song on the album?
Dr. Robert F. Thomas was a country physician and missionary doctor in the Smoky Mountains who delivered Dolly Parton when she was born. Parton wrote the album track Dr. Robert F. Thomas as a tribute to him and the role he played in her rural community.
What is the song In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad) about?
In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad) is Parton's candid look back at her family's poverty, in which she expresses gratitude for hard times that, in hindsight, were rich with love. The title captures the album's central tension between hardship and fond memory.
Was My Tennessee Mountain Home released as a single, and how did it chart?
Yes. The title track My Tennessee Mountain Home was released as a single on December 4, 1972, ahead of the album. It peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and later became one of Parton's best-loved recordings and the theme for her Dollywood theme park.
How did the My Tennessee Mountain Home album perform on the charts?
The album reached number 19 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and stayed on the chart for ten weeks. Neither the album nor its title single cracked the country top ten at the time, though both have since grown in stature.
Who produced My Tennessee Mountain Home and where was it recorded?
Bob Ferguson produced the album, which was recorded at RCA Studio A in Nashville between September 1 and October 3, 1972. It was released on RCA Victor on April 2, 1973.
Has the My Tennessee Mountain Home title song received any later recognition?
Yes. In 2022 the state of Tennessee designated My Tennessee Mountain Home as one of its official state songs. The album cover shows the actual house in Locust Ridge where the Parton family lived during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Sources

Wikipedia: My Tennessee Mountain Home Wikipedia - My Tennessee Mountain Home (song) The Dolly Parton Discography - My Tennessee Mountain Home Songfacts - My Tennessee Mountain Home MusicBrainz - My Tennessee Mountain Home release group Cover Art Archive - front cover Cover Art Archive: My Tennessee Mountain Home by Dolly Parton