In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)


In the Good Old Days is the third solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on February 3, 1969, by RCA Victor.
The album was reissued on cassette in Germany in 1987 and CD in Portugal in 1997. It was released as a digital download on July 26, 2019.

Content

In the title song, Parton looks back on her impoverished upbringing, concluding that while she values the lessons it taught her, she would not want to go back. The humorous "He's a Go Getter" plays on an unexpected pun, "When his wife gets off from work, he'll go get 'er." Parton also covers the Jeannie C. Riley hit "Harper Valley PTA", Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and her mentor Porter Wagoner's hit, "The Carroll County Accident".
Parton re-recorded the title song for her 1973 album My Tennessee Mountain Home.

Critical reception

The review published in the February 15, 1969 issue of Billboard said, "Without doubt this will be a big hit LP for Dolly Parton...just as it will be considered a great package of entertainment by her friends. The key to the LP is her empathy on "In the Good Old Day " with a strong LP that should solidify her position with the disk buyers. In addition to her own hit single, the LP features such monster titles as "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and "Harper Valley PTA", among others."

Commercial performance

The album peaked at No. 15 on the US Billboard Hot Country LP's chart.
The album's only single, "In the Good Old Days ", was released in October 1968 and peaked at No. 25 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Recording

Recording sessions for the album began at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 9 and 10, 1968. One additional session followed on October 9.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes and RCA recording session records.
Album
Chart Peak
position
US Hot Country LP's 15

Singles

Release history