Choosin’ Dolly Edition

<p>In the 1970s, Dolly Parton parlayed her Nashville success into megawatt pop-culture icon status—yet many of her familiar hits of the era barely scratched the Top 40. Parton finally crossed over at the turn of the ’80s by courting pop fans directly. Nearly five decades later, country music is ubiquitous on the pop charts, with Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” recently setting a record for most weeks at No. 1. On this installment of Hit Parade, Chris Molanphy examines the chart rules that limited Parton’s pop-chart potential, the trail she blazed for Langley and other country women, and why the Nashville sound is much more than just an island in the (digital) stream.</p> <p>For more about country to pop crossover stardom listen to Hit Parade’s episode on <u><a href="https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade/2026/02/john-denver-and-olivia-newton-johns-crossover-from-country-to-pop" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John Denver and Olivia Newton John</a></u> and read Chris’s Slate column about <u><a href="https://slate.com/culture/2026/08/ella-langley-taylor-swift-country-music-morgan-wallen-billboard-songs.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ella Langley’s chart </a></u>dominance.</p> <p>Pssst! Do you love Hit Parade? Support what we do and help us <em>absolutely crush it</em> during Slate’s podcast pledge drive! For a limited time, you can join Slate Plus for 50 percent off.and get bonus episodes of &quot;The Bridge,&quot; ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts, and unlimited reading on Slate.com. Visit <u><a href="https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&amp;utm_campaign=plus_pod&amp;utm_content=Hit_Parade&amp;utm_source=episode_summary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slate.com/hitparadeplus</a></u> and use the promo code HIT50 to receive the discount AND get access wherever you listen.</p><p>Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our <a href="https://slate.com/podcastfaqs#plusbenefits" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQ</a> at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>