Bubbling Over (album)

Bubbling Over is the twelfth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on September 10, 1973, by RCA Victor.^[1] The album cover photo was shot by Nashville photographer Les Leverett near the fountain at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Bubbling Over
Studio album by Dolly Parton
Released	September 10, 1973
Recorded	January 26, 1971–May 22, 1973
Studio	RCA Studio A (Nashville)
Genre	Country
Length	24:41
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Bob Ferguson
Dolly Parton chronology
Love and Music (1973) Bubbling Over (1973) Mine (1974)
Singles from Bubbling Over
"Traveling Man" Released: April 30, 1973

The album's single, "Traveling Man", is a new version of a song previously included on her 1971 Coat of Many Colors album. "The Beginning" would later be recorded as a duet with Porter Wagoner and included on their 1975 album, Say Forever You'll Be Mine.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Christgau's Record Guide	B+^[2]
AllMusic	^[3]

Billboard published a review in the issue dated September 22, 1973, which said, "Dolly must write a dozen or so hits a week, and since Porter Wagoner resumed his writing career, he's almost keeping pace. The two of them supply the bulk of the material for this, another in the huge collection of Dolly's album outputs, and it – as the others before it – tops the last one out. It ranges from the happy uptempo to the tearful ballad, and no one fills this range better than Dolly." the review noted "Love with Me", "Pleasant as May", and "Love, You're So Beautiful Tonight" as the best cuts on the album, with a note to record dealers praising Les Leverett's "excellent" cover art.^[4]

In the issue dated October 6, 1973, Cashbox published a review that said, "An eagerly awaited album, Dolly Parton's new release will elicit immediate effervescence upon the initial listening, but then again isn’t that what bubbling over is all about! "Traveling Man", Dolly's last chart single is included on the album. An easy listening blend of country music at its finest this new album will prove an inevitable success for the inimitable Miss Parton. Some of the more outstanding tracks are "Bubbling Over", "Sometimes an Old Memory Gets in My Eye", and "Love with Me"."^[5]

Commercial performance

The album peaked at No. 14 on the US Billboard Hot Country LPs chart.

The album's only single, "Traveling Man", was released in April 1973^[6][7][8] and peaked at No. 20 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. The single peaked at No. 12 in Canada on the RPM Country Singles chart.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date	Length
1.	"Bubbling Over"	Dolly Parton	May 22, 1973	2:20
2.	"Traveling Man"	Parton	April 9, 1973	2:12
3.	"Alabama Sundown"	Dave Kirby Danny Morrison	December 14, 1971	2:31
4.	"Afraid to Live and Afraid of Dying"	Porter Wagoner	May 19, 1972	2:04
5.	"Love with Me"	Parton	February 1, 1973	2:15

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date	Length
1.	"My Kind of Man"	Parton	December 12, 1972	2:25
2.	"Sometimes an Old Memory Gets in My Eye"	Bill Owens	February 1, 1973	2:20
3.	"Pleasant as May"	Parton	January 26, 1971	2:34
4.	"The Beginning"	Parton	January 11, 1972	2:35
5.	"Love, You're So Beautiful Tonight"	Wagoner	May 19, 1972	3:09

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.^[1]

• Bob Ferguson – producer
• Les Leverett – photography
• Al Pachucki – recording engineer
• Dolly Parton – lead vocals
• Tom Pick – recording engineer
• Mike Shockley – recording technician
• Roy Shockley – recording technician

Charts

Album

Chart (1973)	Peak position
US Hot Country LPs (Billboard)^[9]	14

Singles

Title	Year	Peak position
		US Country ^[10]	CAN Country ^[11]
"Traveling Man"	1973	20	12

References

1. "Dolly Parton - Bubbling Over". Discogs. 1973. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: P". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
3. AllMusic Review
4. "Billboard - September 22, 1973" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
5. "Cashbox - October 6, 1973" (PDF). American Radio History. Cashbox. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
6. "Billboard - May 12, 1973" (PDF). American Radio History. Billboard. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
7. "Record World - May 5, 1973" (PDF). American Radio History. Record World. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
8. "Dolly Parton - Traveling Man". Retrieved 17 May 2019.
9. "Dolly Parton Chart History - Top Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
10. "Dolly Parton Chart History - Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
11. Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Results: RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 20 April 2019.