Little Sparrow is the thirty-eighth solo studio album by Dolly Parton. It was released on January 23, 2001, by Sugar Hill Records and Dolly's own Blue Eye Records. The second album in Dolly's critically acclaimed bluegrass trilogy, it was produced by Steve Buckingham. It peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart. Four singles were released from the album: "A Tender Lie", "Bluer Pastures", "Seven Bridges Road", and "Shine". Little Sparrow was nominated for Best Bluegrass Album at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards, while "Shine" won Best Female Vocal Performance. The album has sold 212,000 copies in the United States as of December 2003.
?Recording of the album took place throughout 2000 at Oceanway Studio and The Doghouse in Nashville Tennessee, with additional recording taking place at Schnee Studio in Los Angeles, California.
While the album's predecessor, The Grass Is Blue, featured straightforward bluegrass, Little Sparrow features a blend of Appalachian folk, bluegrass, and country gospel styles. Each of the musical styles is a notable part of the culture from Dolly's East Tennessee upbringing. In addition to a number of traditional songs and Dolly's own compositions, the album features a reworking of the Collective Soul hit, "Shine", and the Restless Heart hit, "A Tender Lie", as well as a bluegrass version of Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You". Among the backing musicians were members of the alternative bluegrass band Nickel Creek, Alison Krauss, and members of Irish folk music band Altan.
?Dolly had previously recorded three of the tracks featured on the album. "Down from Dover" had originally been recorded by Dolly in 1969 and included on her 1970 album, The Fairest of Them All. "My Blue Tears" was originally recorded in 1971 and included on Dolly's Coat of Many Colors album. Dolly also recorded the song with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt in 1978 for an ill-fated Trio project. This recording would eventually surface on Ronstadt's 1982 album, Get Closer. Dolly first recorded "In the Sweet By and By" for her 1999 album, Precious Memories. An unused vocal take from the Precious Memories session was used to create the version included on the 2021 compilation, ?Country Faith Bluegrass. Dolly would later re-record "Little Sparrow" for the 2007 UK compilation, Singer, Songwriter & Legendary Performer.
The album was announced by Sugar Hill Records on December 6, 2000. In a press release, Dolly said, "I believe Little Sparrow has more depth, breadth, and soul than all of the other albums I have done. Hopefully it captures the best of everything I've ever lived or felt, written, or sung. I also think this is Steve Buckingham's best work as a producer. I hope you enjoy it. You know how every parent thinks their kids are the prettiest, how every person thinks their hometown and their home team is the best, and how every singer/songwriter thinks that the album they just finished is the best they've ever done...well, I think that too."
?The album was released January 23, 2001, on CD and cassette. It was reissued digitally by Dolly Records on April 10, 2020.
On the day of the album's release Dolly appeared on NBC's Today. She appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 29, performing "Shine". She also made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on February 1, where she performed "A Tender Lie" and "I Will Always Love You". On February 27, Dolly was interviewed and performed "Little Sparrow" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Dolly also made television appearances in Europe. She appeared on Parkinson on February 17 and So Graham Norton on February 23, where she performed "Marry Me".
The album was nominated for Best Bluegrass Album at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in 2002 and "Shine" won Best Female Vocal Performance. Little Sparrow won Best Bluegrass Album at the Association for Independent Music Awards in 2002. The "Shine" music video was nominated for Flameworthy Female Video of the Year at the 2002 CMT Music Awards (known as the CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards at the time).
?The album was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry in April 2001, for shipment of 60,000 copies.
Personnel
Pat McInerney – percussion
Barry Bales – bass
Byron House – bass
Carl Jackson – bass vocals, harmony vocals
Jerry Douglas – resophonic guitar
Mark Kelly – guitar
Daithi Sproule – guitar
Bryan Sutton – guitar
Becky Isaacs Bowman – harmony vocals
Rebecca Lynn Howard – harmony vocals
Sonya Isaacs – harmony vocals
Alison Krauss – harmony vocals
Keith Little – harmony vocals
Claire Lynch – harmony vocals
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaighi – Irish vocals
Maura O'Connell – harmony vocals
Dolly Parton – lead vocals, harmony vocals
Dan Tyminski – harmony vocals
Darrin Vincent – harmony vocals
Rhonda Vincent – harmony vocal
Monty Allen – drones
Dermot Byrne – accordion
Steve Buckingham – autoharp, dulcimer
Marcia Campbell – clog dancer
?Ciaran Curran – bouzouki
Chip Davis – drones
Richard Dennison – drones
Stuart Duncan – fiddle
Jim Mills – banjo
John Mock – whistle, harmonium
Bubba Richardson – clog dancer
Mike Snider – clawhammer banjo
Chris Thile – mandolin
Ciaran Tourish – low whistle
Production James Bauer – assistant engineer David Bryant – assistant engineer Steve Buckingham – producer Jeannie Carey – production assistant ?Neal Cappellino – additional engineering, digital editing Koji Egawa – assistant engineer Robert Hadley – mastering Thomas Johnson – assistant engineer Marshall Morgan – assistant engineer Gary Paczosa – recording, mixing Doug Sax – mastering
Other personnel Greg Allen – musician photos David Blair – hair ?Candy Burton – makeup Barry Etris – Little Sparrow illustration Good & Evil Design – design Terry Herd – musician photos Jim Herrington – photography Peyton Hoge – musician photos Kimberly Levitan – art direction Proinsias Ó Maonaigh – Irish verse translation Gary Paczosa – musician photos Mary E. Yeomans – musician photos
