2 minutes | Monday, November 17, 2025
Going back to November 17, 1980 – Dolly Parton released her twenty-third solo studio album Odd Jobs, home to the iconic song, "9 to 5"
The whole idea was centered around the American working class, the day-to-day grind, and the real issues that women of the time had with pay inequality, lack of advancement in their careers, and toxic bosses.
Dolly wrote this song to empower the women of the 80s. "9 to 5" made Dolly the second woman ever to top both the country and pop charts at the same time, kickstarting Dolly’s pop stardom in the early 80s, and fun fact, while writing on set, Dolly would tap her long acrylic nails together, making a rhythmic clicking sound that she ended up using as a percussion element in the recording.
She joked that her nails were “the cheapest drum kit in Nashville!”