Burlap & Satin

Dolly Parton released Burlap & Satin on May 2, 1983, marking her twenty-fifth solo studio album. The record arrived through RCA Victor and signaled a deliberate shift back toward traditional country sounds after a stretch of pop-oriented releases. Parton co-produced the project with Porter Wagoner, continuing their decades-long creative partnership while writing most of the material herself. The fourteen-track lineup blends rootsy instrumentation with polished production values.

The album features several notable collaborations and recovered recordings. Linda Ronstadt provides backing vocals on "Ooo-eee," a cover of Nicolette Larson's track that opens the record. Willie Nelson joins Parton for a duet version of Eddy Arnold's "I Really Don't Want to Know." Two songs originally recorded for the film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas but left off its soundtrack, "A Gamble Either Way" and "A Cowboy's Ways", found their final home here after years in storage.

Commercially, the lead single "Potential New Boyfriend" reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. This track holds historical importance as Parton's first official music video. While the album did not achieve platinum certification like some of her earlier work, it maintained her standing in the genre during the early 1980s. A 2007 reissue by BMG Germany paired this release with her 1985 album Real Love, introducing the collection to new listeners during her European tour. [edit]