Great Balls of Fire is the twenty-first solo studio album by Dolly Parton. It was released on May 28, 1979, by RCA Victor. The album was co-produced by Dean Parks and Gregg Perry, with Dolly and Charles Koppelman serving as executive producers. Like her previous two pop albums, Dolly chose to record the project in Los Angeles. The album peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and number 40 on the all-genre Billboard 200. "You're the Only One" and "Sweet Summer Lovin'" peaked at number one and number seven, respectively, on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. "Star of the Show" was issued as a single in Australia and peaked at number 99 on the Kent Music Report. The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The album was recorded in December 1978 at Sound Labs Studio, A&M Recording Studio, and Salty Dog Studios in Los Angeles, California.
The album was released May 28, 1979, on LP, cassette, and 8-track.
Singles The album's first single, "You're the Only One", was released on May 14, 1979. It debuted at number 25 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated June 9. It peaked at number one on the chart dated July 28, its eighth week on the chart, where it remained for a second week. It charted for 14 weeks. It also peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number one on the Cashbox Country Singles chart and number 68 on the Cashbox Top 100 chart. The song was a hit in Canada as well, peaking at number one on both the RPM Country Singles chart and the RPM Adult Contemporary chart. It peaked at number 63 on the RPM Top Singles chart. The single peaked at number 33 in Australia on the Kent Music Report. A promotional video was filmed for the track featuring Dolly performing the song in a white dress against a hazy gray backdrop.
The second and third singles, "Great Balls of Fire" and "Sweet Summer Lovin'", were released as a double A-side on August 6, 1979. "Great Balls of Fire" was aimed at pop radio and failed to chart on its own. Its only chart appearance was on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, where it charted as the flip-side of "Sweet Summer Lovin". "Sweet Summer Lovin'" was released to country radio and debuted at number 46 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated September 1. It peaked at number seven on the chart dated October 27, its ninth week on the chart, It charted for 13 weeks. "Sweet Summer Lovin'" also peaked at number 47 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number nine on the Cashbox Country Singles chart. It was a hit in Canada as well, peaking at number six on the RPM Country Singles chart and number eight on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart. Promotional videos were filmed for both tracks. "Great Balls of Fire" features Dolly performing the song in a white dress against a black backdrop with purple and pink lights surrounding her. "Sweet Summer Lovin'" shows Dolly performing in a peach colored dress while sitting in a gazebo.
The fourth single, "Star of the Show", was released in December 1979 in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. It peaked at number 99 in Australia on the Kent Music Report. A promotional video was filmed for the track featuring Dolly performing in a blue dress against a black backdrop with multi-colored lights flashing behind her.
Additional promotional videos were also filmed for "Help!" and "Down". The video for "Help" features three different shots of Dolly performing the song side by side, while "Down" depicts Dolly performing the song in a white dress against a gray backdrop surrounded by pink flowers.
The album debuted at number 19 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart dated June 23, 1979. It would peak at number four on the chart dated July 28, its sixth week on the chart, where it would remain for five non-consecutive weeks. The album charted for a total of 26 weeks. It also peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200. In Canada, the album peaked at number one on the RPM Country Albums chart and number 28 on the RPM Top Albums chart. The album also peaked at number 48 in Australia on the Kent Music Report.
?The album charted at number 34 on the Billboard Top Country Albums year-end chart for 1979.
The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on November 13, 1979, for shipment of 500,000 copies.
?"You're the Only One" was nominated for Song of the Year at the 15th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in 1980.
Credits are adapted from the album liner notes.
Performance Anita Ball – background vocals Lenny Castro – conga Quitman Dennis – horns Richard Dennison – background vocals Earle Dumler – English horn Chuck Findley – horns David Foster – keyboards Roy Galloway – background vocals David Grisman – mandolin Gary Herbig – horns Jim Horn – horns Jim Keltner – drums, percussion Abraham Laboriel – bass Joe McGuffee – steel guitar Michael Omartian – keyboards Carol Carmichael Parks – background vocals Dean Parks – guitars, alto flutes, synthesizers Dolly Parton – lead vocals Bill Payne – keyboards Herb Pedersen – banjo, background vocals Gregg Perry – piano, synthesizers Dorothy Remsen – harp ?Ricky Skaggs – background vocals Stephanie Spruill – tambourine, background vocals Julia Waters – background vocals Maxine Waters – background vocals
Production Nancy Atkins – A&R coordination Harry Bluestone – concertmaster Frank DeCaro – contractor Linda Gerrity – production coordinator Bernie Grundmann – mastering Jim Horn – horn arrangements Charles Koppelman – executive producer Dean Parks – producer, rhythm arrangements, string arrangements, horn arrangements Dolly Parton – executive producer Gregg Perry – producer, string arrangements, horn arrangements Eric Prestidge – engineer Sid Sharpe – concertmaster Linda Tyler – assistant engineer
Other personnel Distorted Reflections – album cover costume Ed Caraeff Studio – art direction, photography, design
