"Coat of Many Colors", a TV movie based on the hit song by Dolly Parton is being filmed in Newton county this week. (Newton is the next county over from the county where I live, Rockdale.) Jennifer Nettles (singer from Sugarland, a Georgia native!) will play the part of Dolly's mother. And the little girl that has been chosen to play Dolly looks very much like the childhood photo of Dolly that is on her album, Coat of Many Colors. (I think that is the title, I will correct this if it is wrong!)
UPDATE: The movie was shown on TV the first week of December 2015 and I must say that for me, it was disappointing. This sweet remembrance from Dolly's youth was drawn out into a LONG two hour movie!
I made sure that my Dad knew this was on TV and he didn't like it either. "Why, I kept waiting for her to grow up and go to the Grand Old Opry!", is what he told me when I asked him what he thought of it. Yes, I know the story was only meant to be about this one thing from her childhood. It's just that my Dad and I both loved the film about Loretta Lynn so very much (Coal Miner's Daughter) that we both think that someone else should think about doing a movie along the same vein as that one about Dolly Parton. Are you listening, Michael Apted? (The British director of "Coal Miner's Daughter).
Do you know the song? Dolly Parton wrote the song as a remembrance of her childhood. She grew up poor in the hills of Tennessee and her mother made her a coat from scraps of different colored cloths. Of course, the kids at school made fun of her. Dolly Parton grew up and turned it into a hit song! And as I have just told you, they are now filming the story. Dolly Parton has the actual coat on display in her museum and it is really quite beautiful. Dolly has said that song is her favorite of all the songs that she has written. She remembers her mother telling her the biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors as she stitched this coat for Dolly...
You might remember that Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a musical of Joseph also. It was titled "Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.". I have mentioned in a post before how much I enjoyed the show on British TV...you might remember it, where the audience voted on the best "Joseph" by his singing voice, and the winner would be the one to play Joseph in the musical? At the end of it, the singer who was voted off would sing "Close Every Door"...I really liked that. I found a video for you!
The story of Joseph is found in the Book of Genesis, beginning in Chapter 37. If you have never read it or if you have not read it in a while, you should. It is a story of great love and forgiveness.
North Georgia is not too far from Tennessee!
I remember Dolly's song very well. I love Dolly Parton...and I look forward to seeing the movie.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people like to make fun of Dolly Parton but they really shouldn't, she is one smart cookie!
DeleteI'll be looking out for that Kay.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you see it!
DeleteSounds like a good movie to see. Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteI like true stories, don't you?
DeleteYes, I like that Dolly Parton song and I'm a fan of Dreamcoat too!
ReplyDeleteYou have good taste!
DeleteI saw that musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, but that was long ago and don't remember the songs.
ReplyDeleteI think "Close Every Door To Me" was a very good one.
DeleteJust got home from England and trying to get caught up on all my blogs. I remember the song and have always liked Dolly, a strong lady.
ReplyDeleteLucky you, I know you had a great time in England!
DeleteI love the story of Joseph! I also am very familiar with Dolly's song as I was always a fan of her singing. She certainly does have a rags to riches story and I believe she has a very generous heart. It should be a good movie. Your pictures are always so lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Connie! You know, Dolly Parton started a program of giving children's books away to each child in her home town from their date of birth until they entered kindergarten. She started this in 1995 and since that time, other cities in the USA and in other countries have adopted this same program, and now I think the figure is at 600 million books! Dolly has no children of her own, but she has been a positive force for many children!
DeleteWhen I hear her song I always think of the coat my mother made for me from my father's Navy pea coat. It was the warmest coat I ever had.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice memory! You have reminded me, my grandmother made a dress from one of my Daddy's uniform shirts when I was about 8 years old. I loved that dress! I wore it constantly and think I wore it out. Thanks for reminding me of that!
DeleteI loved my coat partly because it was warm, partly because Mom made it, and partly because it came from Daddy's pea coat. It was perfect.
DeletePerfect on several levels, lovely.
DeleteI love both songs in different ways and for different reasons, they both tell amazing stories don't they. xx
ReplyDeleteYou might notice that I almost always get some kind of English angle on every subject! I can't help it, being married to a Brit for 32 years will do that to you. xx
DeleteMy mum was a big fan of Dolly Parton and had several of her records. I liked Lady Mule Skinner from the early days with a yodeling section on it.( Mule Skinner Blues) Hard work to skin a mule or donkey apparently as the hide resists skinning so you have to be really strong and tough. Can't beat a history lesson from a record. Miley Cyrus recently adapted "the coat of many colours" theme at the MTV Vma though younger viewers might not get the connection. Still carrying on the family tradition. Thought you'd like to know that :o)
ReplyDeleteI will have to look up that Mule Skinner Blues song! I happen to like yodeling myself! You have reminded me of another of her songs, "Me And Little Andy", Dolly has described this song as "pitiful", and it is true, it is such a sad song! We had it on a record and my little sister loved it.
DeleteYes! I do know that Miley Cyrus is Dolly Parton's godchild, it is one of those kind of facts that I know but wish I did not!!