One of the most iconic country songs of all time. We’ve all heard Dolly Parton’s “Coat Of Many Colors” countless times, but the full story behind it is equally as powerful as he brilliant lyrics and storytelling in the words. Dolly’s mom famously sewed the coat together with rags people gave Dolly’s family, and as she worked, her mother told her children the story of Joseph in the Bible, as he had his own Coat of Many Colors which was given to him by his father Jacob and a very significant part of his story. Dolly previously said that she absolutely loved it, but when she wore it to school, some of her friends were not so kind about it and laughed at it, which was a memory engrained in her mind forever: “When she made that coat, she told me that story about Joseph in the Bible. And, boy, I thought I would just really look just like Joseph, and I was so proud of it and wore it to school. And the kids all laughed and said it was just rags, and I didn’t look like Joseph and that we’re poor and all that. Of course, they were poor too, but I guess we were poorer. But anyway, I remember crying so hard and hurting and was even hurt at Mama ’cause I felt like she’d kind of deceived me somehow. But kids always remember things like that – your first deep hurt.” It’s true, but little did she know at the time, it would become a massively important piece of her iconic career… The coat and meaning behind it taught Dolly to be proud of and thankful for what she had, even if it meant nothing to anyone else, which is a lesson that has carried her through life in so many ways: “And oh, I couldn’t understand itFor I felt I was richAnd I told ’em of the loveMy momma sewed in every stitchAnd I told ’em all the storyMomma told me while she sewedAnd how my coat of many colorsWas worth more than all their clothes” A solo write by Dolly, “Coat of Many Colors” was released in September 1971 as the second single and title track to her Coat of Many Colors album. It peaked at #4 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart later that year. She actually got the idea and initially penned the track in 1969 while traveling with Porter Wagoner on a tour bus, but ironically, she had to write it on the back of a dry cleaning receipt from one of his famous one-of-a-kind coats because she had no other paper on the bus. Once the song became a huge hit, he of course had that receipt framed, as she explained in her 1994 memoir, My Life and Other Unfinished Business. I always love reflecting on how it came to be, because one of the things I love most about Dolly is how much she values the toughness of her life as a child and how she’s remained that same salt of the earth country girl even through success beyond her wildest dreams. She is a global icon and one of the most beloved musicians of all-time, but she’s still that girl from east Tennessee… who can afford any coat she could ever want and then some now. Here’s one of my favorite performances she did of “Coat Of Many Colors” back in 1971: “Coat of Many Colors” The post Dolly Parton Wrote “Coat Of Many Colors” On The Back Of Porter Wagoner’s Dry Cleaning Receipt For One Of His Famous Coats first appeared on Whiskey Riff.