30days30years

Jolene

Well, I can add recorded artist to my resume! I have in my hot little hand a CD featuring my cover of Dolly’s Jolene.

To say today was a wonderful day is an understatement. I was up at sparrows getting ready for my big performance. Remind me to allocate more than 10 minutes to restyle a wig if I ever become a Vegas showgirl BTW. Not nearly enough when you need the poofy hair  of Dolly Parton!!!!

I was in the makeup chair or should I say the toilet seat by 8.15am as Shannon, (Ruth’s nephew’s wife) suitably glammed me up with fake lashes and the latest from Estee Lauder. Thank you Shannon!

Back at Larry’s there was little time to get changed into my travelling outfit (read into that that my show dress was so tight I couldn’t sit down in it!) and don my wig.

I scored big time in the costume department thanks once again to Ruth. By chance we met her at her sister’s house the other day before we trekked to Dolly’s house and when we dropped her back she took a quick peak in her sister’s wardrobe. Bingo!! Tucked in the back was a simultaneously hideous and fabulous stonewashed denim dress/jumpsuit thing complete with ruffles and rhinestones! It is boofy at the top and narrows to a mini skirt at the bottom. I couldn’t have found a better number than if I had raided Dolly’s closet itself.

So we get to Pat’s recording studio – he has two, one at his house and one at his music store – and I was a bundle of nerves. Not so much because of the recording bit but because I was to sing in front of someone who is actually a good musician!

I changed into my dress and warned Pat that it might not be great given I couldn’t really breathe! He assured me the tightness of the dress would help me hit the high notes. Yeah right!

Last night while driving to Knoxville for my wig, I made the decision to sing Jolene and not Islands in the Stream as I had originally intended. Islands in the Stream is actually quite a hard arrangement despite how good I think I sing it in the shower. Plus neither Pat nor Larry would agree to sing Kenny Rogers’ bit so Jolene it was.

I spent the new two hours singing my little lungs out and I have to say it was one of the most fabulous things I have ever done. Just magic! I should to do this for a living! Lol

God knows what poor Pat thought! I don’t know whether he was smiling because he was mildly impressed or because it was the worst-pitched warble he had ever heard.

I actually think I got worse as I went along because you tend to over think it once you have heard the playback. I was a bit wobbly in parts (pay particular attention to the last “Jolene” in the chorus) and was clearly out of breath on occasions but you know what, I don’t care. Pat didn’t have time to mix it much and I kind of like the fact it is a bit rough around the edges… Just like me. He ended up using my first run thru for my CD.

Soooooo here it is, warts and all. My version of Dolly Parton’s Jolene. I must warn you Larry’s Cadillac spat out the CD half way thru when we played it on the drive home. Mmm….!!!!