Those Were the Days is the forty-first solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on October 11, 2005, by Sugar Hill Records and Blue Eye Records. The album is a collection of covers of 1960s and 1970s folk and pop songs performed in a bluegrass style, some featuring the artists who originally recorded them. Parton supported the album with The Vintage Tour from August through December 2005.
Background
The album was original titled Blue Smoke and expected to be released in the first half of 2005. It was to feature a few original songs in addition to covers of 1960s and 1970s folk and pop songs. Parton had performed several tracks intended for the album on the Hello, I'm Dolly Tour in 2004, including "Blue Smoke", "I Dreamed About Elvis", "Me and Bobby McGee", and "Imagine". Parton confirmed to the Knoxville News-Sentinel that guest performers on the album would include folk legends Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell. Keith Urban was confirmed to have recorded a duet with Parton for the album in October 2004 by Country Now. Sugar Hill Records confirmed in January 2005 that no release date had been set for the album, and the completed project had not yet been submitted to the label for release. In March 2005, Steve Buckingham, Parton's longtime producer, confirmed to Dollymania that she had completed several tracks for the album, but it was unfinished and had been put on hold while Parton began composing songs for 9 to 5: The Musical. Joe Nichols told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in May 2005 that he had recorded "If I Were a Carpenter" with Parton for her next album.
While speaking at a CMA Music Festival press conference in June 2005, Parton announced that she had been in the studio finishing up her next album and expected it to be released in October. She also stated that its title had changed from Blue Smoke to Those Were the Days and that she was in the preliminary stages of planning a tour for the fall of 2005. Parton also confirmed that Keith Urban had recorded "Twelfth of Never" with her for the album and that Tommy James joined her for "Crimson and Clover".
In a June 2005 article for the New York Post, gossip columnist Liz Smith published a list of guest artists for the album including Norah Jones, Sarah McLachlan, Keith Urban, Joni Mitchell, Sean Lennon, Yusef Islam, David Foster and Joe Nichols. Following the articles publication, Steve Buckingham stated that Sean Lennon, Yusuf Islam and Sarah McLachlan had been approached about recording for the project, but none had confirmed their participation. He also noted that Joni Mitchell, who was originally to appear on the album, had to cancel her recording session due to an illness in her family. The month of July also saw the confirmation of Nickel Creek, Rhonda Vincent, Kris Kristofferson, Roger McGuinn, Mary Hopkin, Alison Krauss, and Yusef Islam's participation on the album. Parton told Jon Stewart in an interview on Daily Show to promote the album that she had invited Bob Dylan to sing on "Blowin' in the Wind", but that he declined. She added that she was not sure whether Dylan himself declined or the refusal came from his management.
The album's title track was recorded on July 1 with Porter Wagoner, Jack Greene, George Hamilton IV, Jan Howard, George Jones, Brenda Lee, Mel McDaniel, Jimmy C. Newman, Jeannie Seely, and Billy Walker.
The album's original title track, "Blue Smoke", would remain unreleased until Parton included it as the title track of her 2014 album.
Release and promotion
The album was formally announced by Sugar Hill Records on August 10, 2005. Welk Music Group president Kevin Welk said that the focus of the album's promotional campaign was the 25–50 age group. To reach this audience, in addition to the tour, TV appearances and internet promotions, the label set up several promotional campaigns with retailers across the county. In early October, Borders Books and Music began selling an album sampler which included Parton’s duet with Joe Nichols on "If I Were a Carpenter" and snippets of three other album tracks. The sampler came with a $5 coupon toward the purchase of the album. The album was released on October 11, 2005.
Singles
Parton's cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" with David Foster was released as an iTunes exclusive single on September 27 and serviced to country, bluegrass, and adult contemporary radio stations on November 7. The music video for "Imagine" was shot in New York City during the weekend of October 21–23 and features private home videos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The video premiered on CMT's website on November 28 and made its television debut three days later on CMT Top 20 Countdown.