A star par excellence, Dolly Parton is also one of country music's most likable personalities. Even a hard-rocking punk or orchestral aesthete can't help singing along with songs like "Jolene" or "9 to 5." More than a mere singer or actress, Parton is a true cultural phenomenon, immediately recognizable and beloved for her talent, tinkling laugh, and steel magnolia spirit. She is also the only female star to have her own themed amusement park: Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Every year thousands of fans flock to Dollywood to celebrate the icon, and Helen Morales is one of those fans. In Pilgrimage to Dollywood, Morales sets out to discover Parton's Tennessee. Her travels begin at the top celebrity pilgrimage site of Elvis Presley's Graceland, then take her to Loretta Lynn's ranch in Hurricane Mills; the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville; to Sevierville, Gatlinburg, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; and finally to Pigeon Forge, home of the Dolly Parton Annual Parade, featuring the star herself as Grand Marshall on a float. Morales' journey allows her to compare the imaginary Tennessee of Parton's lyrics with the real Tennessee in which the singer grew up, looking at essential connections between country music, the land, and a way of life. It's also a personal pilgrimage for Morales. Accompanied by her partner, Tony, and their nine-year-old daughter, Athena (who respectively prefer Mozart and Miley Cyrus), Morales, a recent transplant from England, seeks to understand America and American values through the celebrity sites and attractions of Tennessee. This celebration of Dolly and Americana is for anyone with an old country soul relying on music to help them understand the world, and it is guaranteed to make Dolly fans of anyone who has not yet fallen for her music or charisma.

About the Author
Helen Morales moved from Cambridge, England, to Santa Barbara, California, where she is the Argyropoulos Professor of Hellenic Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Reviews
"Under an aquamarine parasol, perched on a white cube atop a three-tiered, silver-sashed wedding cake of a float sprinkled with silver, blue and purple butterflies, was Dolly Parton. I fought to take in the shimmering lavender and silver lame dress, the silver fairy wings, silver high heels, and blonde wig. The blonde wig. Unmistakably Dolly Parton, smiling and waving at the yelling throng." (from chapter one)"



Book Information
ISBN 9780226536521
Author Helen Morales
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 369g
Dimensions(mm) 22mm * 15mm * 2mm