People across the United States and around the world are mourning country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton, who died on Tuesday at 80 years old. While she is known for her representation of the southern region, there are not too many ties to North Carolina in her backstory – but there is a prized possession tied to her career on UNC’s campus.
As part of the Southern Folklife Collection of UNC Libraries, the university keeps the master recording of Parton’s first ever record: a double-sided single of “Puppy Love”/”Girl Left Alone” recorded in 1957 and released in 1959 by Goldband Records. The open-reel tape recording was part of a broader collection of tapes and records acquired by UNC from the Lousiana-based recording studio, which was next door to where Parton’s uncle lived. The future county music star cut the songs when she was 12 years old and was 13 when they were release, with UNC also having original copies of the promotional headshots used to market the songs.
“This recording is a national treasure, and it’s just one amongst tens of thousands of recordings that document the culture of the American South,” Curator of the Southern Folklife Collection Steven Weiss said in a video shared by UNC on Wednesday. “[It] is a cultural touchstone. Dolly’s role in country music and American music is central to telling that story — and this recording being her first recording is really central to her story.”
Steven Weiss, curator of the Southern Folklife Collection, shows the master tape recording (on right) for 12-year-old Dolly Parton’s first record. (Photo via Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill.)
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The local work with “Puppy Love” does not stop at just preserving the masters: the university also helped reintroduce the music to the world. UNC partnered with Hillsborough’s Yep Roc Records label to digitize and re-release the song in 2017 as part of Record Store Day celebrations.
“We tried to create an accurate reproduction of both the 77 picture sleeve and the original single from [1959],” said Weiss.
Yep Roc Records shared a photo of the reissue on social media following the news of Parton’s death, saying their label was “grateful that we had the opportunity to help bring this piece of music history back into the world.”
“Even at such a young age, the record showed that she was already an unmistakable performer,” said the Hillsborough business’ post. “From that humble first record came a lifetime of songs and accomplishments that continue to inspire generations.”
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While the master recording tape is deep in UNC’s archives, a re-issued copy of the “Puppy Love” record is on display right now at UNC’s Wilson Library. It sits as part of its exhibit called “An Alphabet of Treasures: Special Collections from A to Z” — and sits in the letter “L” section, which represents “love” in the display.
Featured image via UNC-Chapel Hill/Jon Gardiner.
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