Shortly after her song 'Dumb Blonde' was released, Dolly performed the song on "The Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour" alongside her Uncle Bill Owens. Years earlier, Dolly was a regular guest on the popular show after being hired by Cas Walker at the age of 10.
In this rare video, shown in color, Dolly and Uncle Bill perform onstage together during "The Case Walker Farm and Home Hour."
'Dumb Blonde' was one of two singles released from Dolly’s first full-length solo album, “Hello, I'm Dolly.” It climbed to No. 24 on the U.S. country singles charts. Curly Putman wrote the song and Fred Foster at Monument Records knew it was right for Dolly. In the liner notes of the album, Foster wrote about what he saw in the young artist. He opened with,
“Sometimes you just know… sometimes. And that makes up for all the times you had to guess.”
"The Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour" was a radio show based in Knoxville, Tenn. that transitioned to television in 1953. It was recorded before a live audience. Between performances, it featured live commercials for Walker’s grocery stores.
During the mid-1950s, the Everly Brothers were regular guests on the show. Other notable guests included Roy Acuff, Chet Atkins, Carl Butler, Jimmy Martin, Bill Monroe, Jim Nabors and Carl Smith.
After their contract with Combine Music ended, Dolly and Uncle Bill made a strategic move to start their own publishing company. Using parts of their last names, they called it Owe-Par. Their proven chemistry and talent made a great combination. Dolly said,
"As writers we were on the same wavelength. We wrote a lot of great songs together... We had the same kind of energy when it came to our careers. Neither of us ever gave out as long as something was happening or at least had the look of something that might happen."
As songwriters, they had experienced success with Bill Phillips' versions of their "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" and "The Company You Keep." Owe-Par Publishing Company allowed Dolly and Uncle Bill to copyright their songs for themselves. It was a significant business move for Dolly at 20 years old, especially because she held a controlling interest in the company.
Click below for a preview of "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" via SoundCloud.
After hearing Dolly sing on the demo, for "Put It Off Until Tomorrow," Bill Phillips requested she sing harmony with him on the track. Her backup vocals gained a lot of attention from disc jockeys around the country.
Listen to a free preview of Dolly singing "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" via SoundCloud
After years of hard work and determination, Dolly and her Uncle Bill were beginning to see that hard work pay off with publishing success and chart-topping singles. "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" rose to No. 6 on the US country charts and was named BMI’s Song of the Year, in 1966. Naturally, Dolly and Bill were excited and encouraged by the success and the award show attention. Dolly said,
"Uncle Bill and I were so excited about going to the big ceremony to accept our awards. After all, this was the first of our songs to be recorded by a major artist. To have it recognized in that way by all of those established songwriters was a huge confidence builder for both of us."
Phillips also recorded "The Company You Keep," another song written by Dolly and Uncle Bill Owens, which went to No. 8 on the US country charts.
