Unless you live under a rock, you probably know that Dolly Parton celebrated her 80th birthday recently. The musical icon took to Instagram to give fans an update and a song! In 1977, Dolly Parton released the song "Light of A Clear Blue Morning" on her album, New Harvest.
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On her Instagram, Dolly shared that she was giving a new version of the song to her fans. One that includes features from several of her collaborators. "I'm gonna give you the gift of a bunch of friends that stopped by to help me sing on a song called 'Light of a Clear Blue Morning,' a song I wrote years ago. In fact, it's 50 years old. We did a new version of it, Kent Wells producing it, and then I'm giving you the gift of Queen Latifah, Reba McEntire, Miley Cyrus, and Lainey Wilson, with David Foster playing the piano."
She also quipped at the end of her message, "Oh Lord, I've outlived so many plastic surgeons. Well, happy birthday to me!"
Hey, at least she's honest about it. On the Howard Stern Show in 2023, Dolly admitted that she uses "fillers, Botox," and "Juvéderm" from time to time. However, she acknowledged that it's better to be cautious when dealing with plastic surgery.
"You've just got to be very careful not to overdo it..." Parton shared. "You never know, anytime you go under the knife, you could come out looking not good."
The Story Behind "Light of a Clear Blue Morning"
At the time of its first release, "Light of A Clear Blue Morning" reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart. For Dolly, the song is a hopeful anthem she wrote while stuck in traffic on the way home from a very important meeting. One that would change the trajectory of her entire career.
In her autobiography, My Life and Other Unfinished Business, Dolly wrote about how she was feeling that day. She had just broken free of her contract with Porter Wagoner, with whom she starred on The Porter Wagoner Show from 1967 to 1974.
"As I left his office and began to drive toward my home... it began to rain," she wrote. "So did I. I cried, not so much out of a sense of loss, but from the pain that always comes from change. It was a sad kind of freedom."
Parton would also go on to release the iconic "I Will Always Love You", inspired by her relationship with Porter as well.
