Premiered Four Decades Ago in Nashville, the Critically Panned Movie That Brought Dolly Parton a Pair of Hit Singles

On June 18, 1984, Rhinestone premiered at the Roy Acuff Theater in Nashville’s Opryland theme park with stars Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone in attendance. Upon its wide release, the film was panned by critics. It also fell short at the box office. The soundtrack, however, performed well, producing a pair of top 10 hits for Parton.

Rhinestone seemed like it was destined for success. Stallone was just two years removed from First Blood and Rocky III. Parton starred in 9 to 5 (1980) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). While it was writer John Alden Robinson’s first screenplay, he would go on to write Field of Dreams (1989), Ghost Dad (1990), and The Sum of All Fears (2002), among other films. Additionally, director Bob Clark helmed a long list of classics, including Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things (1972), Black Christmas (1974), Porky’s (1981), and A Christmas Story (1983). To top it off, the screenplay was inspired by the Larry Weiss-penned Glen Campbell hit “Rhinestone Cowboy,” which was a multi-week No. 1 on the country and pop charts in 1975.

While all of the ingredients for a great film were there, something went wrong in the execution. Robinson blamed studio executives, who reportedly butchered his original screenplay. Critics eviscerated the film. For instance, Variety said, “Effortlessly living up to its title, Rhinestone is as artificial and synthetic a concoction as has ever made its way to the screen.”

Dolly Parton Scored Two Top 10 Hits with Rhinestone

While Rhinestone didn’t do well critically or commercially, its soundtrack and its singles performed well. The LP peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart. Dolly Parton’s “Tennessee Homesick Blues” was released as the lead single and topped the Hot Country Songs chart. Additionally, her song “God Won’t Get You” reached No. 10.

The Rhinestone soundtrack was a Parton family affair. It featured performances by Dolly, Randy, and Stella Parton. Kin Vasy, Rusty Buchanan, and Sylvester Stallone also sang on the LP.

Parton wrote all but one song from the soundtrack. A decade later, she held the LP up as some of her best work in My Life and Other Unfinished Business.

Featured Image by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images

The post Premiered Four Decades Ago in Nashville, the Critically Panned Movie That Brought Dolly Parton a Pair of Hit Singles appeared first on American Songwriter.