Dolly, Dolly, Dolly is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton.[1][2] It was released on April 14, 1980, by RCA Victor. The album's two singles, "Starting Over Again" and "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" both topped the BillboardHot Country Singles chart. The album peaked at number seven on the BillboardHot Country LPs chart. The album is generally regarded by critics, as well as Parton's fans, as one of the least satisfying albums of her career, partially because it does not include any of her own compositions.
Billboard gave a mixed review of the album, calling it "another set of varied Parton vocals," while noting that Klein's production puts emphasis on piano and percussion. They went on to say that "the frenetic up-tempo songs provide balance in pacing, but Parton's strength remains soft, powerful ballads—the type of song she used to write. Unfortunately, the LP carries no Parton-written songs." They closed by saying that they hope the lack of songs written by Parton is "only a temporary development in the career of this outstanding writer-performer."[5]
The album received a positive review from Cashbox, saying that "Parton comes out with a very smooth LP in a very slick and classy package." Although, they also noted that Parton "didn’t write a single tune," they felt that "every cut is high quality with a nice mixture of ballads and up tempo numbers." They concluded the review by saying, "There's something for everyone here."[6]