Singer-guitarist Bill Earl Owens (1935-2021) is perhaps best remembered as the uncle and musical mentor of the great Dolly Parton, whose career he helped sculpt and manage in the early 1960s, after having taught the youngster how to play guitar, as well as how to write songs. Bill Owens was an accomplished songwriter himself, with a recording career dating back to the 1950s, though commercial success eluded him as a solo performer. Where he really made his mark was in jump-starting Dolly Parton's career: recognizing her immense innate talent, he dedicated himself to developing her career, and acted as her manager from the early 1960s onward, and later became a fixture at her Dollywood amusement park. They also co-wrote several of her best-known songs, perhaps most notably the mega-weeper, "Put It Off 'Til Tomorrow," as well as several of the classic Dolly Parton/Porter Wagoner duets. Here's a quick look at his recorded work...
Bill Owens & The Kinfolk "Songs Of The Smokie Mountains" (REM Records, 1967) (LP)
(Produced by Bob Mooney)
You could be forgiven for mistaking this as just another generic folk-revival "mountain music" album, but scratch under the surface and you'll find that singer-guitarist Bill Owens and his sister, banjo picker Dorothy Jo Hope were "kinfolk" to no less than Dolly Parton, as was the album's fiddler Jake Owens. And they were indeed authentic practitioners of old-fashioned Tennessee-style twang, even though Bill Owens was the guy who helped break down the doors in Music City and make his niece one of country music's greatest superstars. This album's set list looks pretty tame -- gospel songs and folk chestnuts such as "Down In The Valley," "Barbara Allen," "On Top Of Old Smokey" and "Tom Dooley," though there are also several resonant country weepers, like "Careless Love" and "Gently Are The Weeping Willows." Although both Bill and Dorothy Jo were prolific songwriters, I don't think they contributed original material to this album, though fans of the Parton clan will still wanna check it out.
Bill Owens & Kathy Owens "...Sing Our Favorite Songs" (1980) (8-track)
A souvenir album from Bill Owens and his wife Kathy, apparently pressed for sale at their live gigs, but only released on 8-track tape. This appears to have been made at roughly the same time as the gospel 8-track below, which give a more specific mention of them performing at a venue called The Smokey Mountain Music Barn, a venue at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee which Owens himself may have owned and operated. (He was later known for his long tenure performing at Dolly Parton's theme park, Dollywood, which was also located in Pigeon Forge, at a larger venue she took over from the previous owners in 1986.)
Bill Owens & Kathy Owens "The Smokey Mountain Music Barn Live Gospel Show" (1980) (8-track)
An all-gospel set, also made for sale as a souvenir album at their Pigeon Forge mini-opry during the early part of the decade. The set leans heavily on standard gospel oldies such as "How Can You Refuse Him Now," "How Great Thou Art," "Where The Soul Never Dies" and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken." Pity it's out of print and unavailable in any other format.
Bill Owens "Dreams Do Come True" (1986) (cassette)
This cassette-only release has the same album title as the 1990 album below, but a very different set list. Worth noting that this includes Bill Owens' own version of one of his best-known songs, "Put It Off Until Tomorrow," which was first a hit for Bill Phillips in 1966 (with Dolly singing harmony, in her first nationally charting performance!). A pity so much of Bill Owens's own work only came out on tape formats and hasn't been anthologized elsewhere.
Bill Owens & Dolly Parton "Dreams Do Come True" (SMT Records, 1990) (cassette)
A set of duets recorded by Bill Earl Owens and his well-known niece, the mighty Dolly Parton. This cassette-only release has the same title as an album he released in 1986, but a different set of songs. As noted above, this album has the same as his 1986 solo record, but is an almost entirely different set of songs.
