The Golden Streets of Glory

Summary

The Golden Streets of Glory is the sixth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on February 15, 1971, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson. It peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. No singles were released from the album, but the title track was released as the B-side of the religious single "Comin' for to Carry Me Home" in May 1971. The album was nominated for Best Sacred Performance at the 14th Annual Grammy Awards. The album's liner notes were written by Parton's maternal grandfather, Rev. Jake Owens.

The Golden Streets of Glory
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 15, 1971
RecordedMay 11–13, 1970
StudioRCA Studio B (Nashville)
Genre
Length24:49
LabelRCA Victor
ProducerBob Ferguson
Dolly Parton chronology
Two of a Kind
(1971)
The Golden Streets of Glory
(1971)
Joshua
(1971)

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]

The review published in the February 27, 1971 issue of Billboard said, "Sacred music is an essential part of the country field, and with this album Dolly Parton shows her knowledge of this material. Her vocals are full of sincerity and include such standards as "How Great Thou Art", "Wings of a Dove", and "I Believe"."[2]

Cashbox published a review in the issue dated February 13, which said, "There has always been a tremendous similarity between country music and gospel music, and with this album, Dolly Parton closes the gap. Already one of the top female vocalists in her field, this new LP will practically immortalize her. It is honest, sincere, direct, and religious–all in one. "I Believe", "Yes, I See God", "Heaven's Just a Prayer Away", "Book of Life", "Lord, Hold My Hand", and "Wings of a Dove", are only a sampling of the selections that will make this new Dolly Parton album one of the all-time best sellers."[3]

Commercial performance edit

The album peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

Accolades edit

The album was nominated for Best Sacred Performance at the 14th Annual Grammy Awards.[4]

Awards and nominations received for The Golden Streets of Glory
Award Year Category Nominee/work Result
Grammy Awards 1972 Best Sacred Performance The Golden Streets of Glory Nominated

Recording edit

Recording sessions for the album took place at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 11, 12 and 13, 1970.

Reissues edit

The album was reissued on CD for the first time in 1993 as Golden Streets of Glory, with the track listing arranged in a different order, and again in 1997 under the title I Believe, using the 1993 track order. It was reissued again in 2010 as Letter to Heaven: Songs of Faith and Inspiration, with seven bonus tracks, including the 1971 single "Comin' for to Carry Me Home," which did not make the original album track listing, and an unreleased song from the original album sessions, "Would You Know Him (If You Saw Him)". The album was made available as a digital download on August 19, 2016.

Track listing edit

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."I Believe"
May 13, 19702:17
2."Yes, I See God"Dorothy Jo HopeMay 13, 19702:15
3."The Master's Hand"Dolly PartonMay 12, 19702:41
4."Heaven's Just a Prayer Away"Tommy TomlinsonMay 12, 19702:45
5."The Golden Streets of Glory"PartonMay 11, 19702:54
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."How Great Thou Art"Stuart K. HineMay 12, 19703:34
2."I'll Keep Climbing"Dorothy Jo HopeMay 12, 19702:41
3."Book of Life"Jake Robert OwensMay 13, 19701:44
4."Wings of a Dove"Bob FergusonMay 11, 19702:35
5."Lord, Hold My Hand"
  • Parton
  • Ginny Dean
May 13, 19702:03
Letter to Heaven: Songs of Faith & Inspiration bonus tracks (2010)
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
11."Would You Know Him (If You Saw Him)"
  • Parton
  • Hope
May 11, 19702:53
12."Comin' for to Carry Me Home"
  • Traditional
  • Parton
January 25, 19713:02
13."Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man" (with Porter Wagoner)
  • Parton
  • Hope
April 21, 19703:03
14."God's Coloring Book"PartonApril 16, 19712:17
15."Letter to Heaven"PartonJanuary 26, 19712:26
16."Sacred Memories"PartonSeptember 1, 19722:43
17."The Seeker"PartonDecember 9, 19743:14
1993 CD reissue, I Believe (1997)
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."I Believe"
  • Ervin Drake
  • Jimmy Shirl
  • Irvin Graham
  • Al Stillman
May 13, 19702:17
2."Heaven's Just a Prayer Away"Tommy TomlinsonMay 12, 19702:45
3."The Golden Streets of Glory"Dolly PartonMay 11, 19702:54
4."Wings of a Dove"Bob FergusonMay 11, 19702:35
5."How Great Thou Art"Stuart K. HineMay 12, 19703:34
6."Yes, I See God"Dorothy Jo HopeMay 13, 19702:15
7."The Master's Hand"PartonMay 12, 19702:41
8."Lord, Hold My Hand"
  • Parton
  • Ginny Dean
May 13, 19702:03
9."I'll Keep Climbing"HopeMay 12, 19702:41
10."Book of Life"Jake Robert OwensMay 13, 19701:44

Personnel edit

Adapted from the album liner notes.[5]

  • Bob Ferguson – producer
  • Les Leverett – cover photo
  • Rev. Jake Owens – liner notes
  • Al Pachucki – recording engineer
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals
  • Roy Shockley – recording technician

Charts edit

Chart performance for The Golden Streets of Glory
Chart (1971) Peak
position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[6] 22

Release history edit

Release dates and formats for The Golden Streets of Glory
Region Date Format Title Label Ref.
Various February 15, 1971 The Golden Streets of Glory RCA Victor [5]
United States April 27, 1993 Golden Streets of Glory [7]
September 16, 1997
  • CD
  • cassette
I Believe BMG Special Products [8]
May 4, 2010 CD Letter to Heaven: Songs of Faith and Inspiration [9]
Various August 19, 2016 Digital download The Golden Streets of Glory RCA Nashville [10]

References edit

  1. ^ The Golden Streets of Glory at AllMusic
  2. ^ "Billboard - February 27, 1971" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. p. 36. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Cashbox - February 13, 1971" (PDF). American Radio History. Cashbox. p. 40. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Dolly Parton". GRAMMY.com. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Dolly Parton - The Golden Streets Of Glory". Discogs. 1971. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Dolly Parton Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Dolly Parton - Golden Streets Of Glory". Discogs. 1993. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Dolly Parton - I Believe". Discogs. 16 September 1997. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Dolly Parton - Letter To Heaven: Songs Of Faith And Inspiration". Discogs. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Golden Streets Of Glory by Dolly Parton on Amazon Music - Amazon.com". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.