It's a big political year in the U.S., and after the Democratic Convention this summer, I'll be stumping for either Hillary or Obama. But in the meantime, I'm stumping for somebody else — Dolly Parton. Now, Dolly is not running for President — or any political office, for that matter — but she does have a campaign to get back on country radio, and she needs our support.

Dolly's certainly doing her part. After 10 years with no major label support, she decided to release a mainstream country album, Backwoods Barbie, on her own label, Dolly Records. As she put it, “I'm looking at it like an investment. I thought, 'I've made enough money. I can afford to invest a little in myself.”

She's doing plenty of press, and she'll be a mentor on American Idol next week! She'll be performing a song from her new album — I suspect it will be the first single, “Better Get to Livin',” rather than the second single, “Jesus and Gravity” — and the contestants will perform Dolly Parton classics. This could be scary, but it will give her plenty of exposure and likely drive album sales.

If you haven't seen it, check out the video for “Better Get to Livin',” featuring Amy Sedaris. … continue reading