Retro Single Reviews: Dolly Parton, 1975-1976
Today is Dolly Parton’s 67th birthday. What better time to revisit and relaunch our ongoing feature that reviews every single that she’s released in her illustrious career?
This post will look at her four singles from late 1975 through the end of 1976. Three were solo efforts, while the fourth was her final release of the decade that was a collaboration with Porter Wagoner.
“We Used To”
1975
Peak: #9
Written by Dolly Parton
It was clear by this point that Parton had designs on the pop market, but she hadn’t yet found the right way to make her style work in that format. So we get overlong pop ballads like this, which ramble on forever because Parton’s restraining her vocal trademarks that would make the record too identifiably country.
Even long-time readers of Country Universe could be forgiven for getting to #2 on our 
This finely crafted gem of a country song was co-written by Country Universe staff favorite Ashley Monroe, and was released as a single in 2005 by Australian country artist Catherine Britt, whose own 
If you’re going to go for pure contemporary country escapist fun, I say this is the way to do it. 
Love it, hate it, or tolerate it, the one thing “Cruise” undeniably had going for it was a mighty hook. Not just a catchy one, either; as in all great sing-alongs, there was a universal quality to it; it captured a certain moment in the human experience. Yes, I really do think “Baby, you a song / You make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise” speaks to something substantial – kind of like “Oh, play me some mountain music / Like Grandma and Grandpa used to play” or “You and me goin’ fishin’ in the dark!” – or, to hew closer to Florida Georgia Line’s probable influences, “I don’t ever wanna feel like I did that day” and “You better lose yourself in the music, the moment, you want it, you better never let it go.” 
After narrowly missing the Top 10 with “The Wind,” Zac Brown Band returns to the summit of the country charts with “Goodbye In Her Eyes” – a release which fortunately shows the band able to get back into the good graces of country radio without stooping to compromise or pandering.
Something you probably already know about us here at Country Universe: We love country music. A lot. While truly great country music has become scarce on country radio, we are fortunate to live in an age in which modern technology has made great music more accessible than ever, regardless of whether Top 40 radio dares touch it.