Dolly Parton
ListenPuppy Love · 1959
Dolly Parton — “Puppy Love,” the 1959 Goldband recording.
Listen on YouTube ↗
1959 · Goldband Records
Puppy Love / Girl Left Alone
Dolly Parton was still a schoolgirl when she set out from Tennessee with her grandmother to make a record in Louisiana. That journey led to “Puppy Love,” the 1959 Goldband single that introduced her voice on record. [5]
| Accession | OMMA-0145 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Dolly Parton |
| Release | 1959 · United States |
| Label | Goldband Records · G-1086 |
| Format | 7-inch vinyl single · 45 rpm |
| Issue | Commercial stock issue |
| Runouts | A-side: 45-G-1046-A; B-side: 45-G-1046-B |
| Recorded grade | VG media · VG+ playback |
Release history and significance
The bus journey to Lake Charles took about thirty hours. Dolly was thirteen, and her destination was a recording studio attached to a television repair shop. Her grandmother had come along to help her get there. [5] The song she was going to record, “Puppy Love,” was one she had written with her uncle Bill Owens two years earlier. [6]
Goldband released the single in 1959, pairing the lively rockabilly of “Puppy Love” with “Girl Left Alone.” It received some local airplay but never reached the charts. This was the beginning of Parton’s recording career, years before she became a familiar name to country music audiences. [1] [2]
The songs returned to vinyl in later editions, including a 2017 reissue made from the original mono master tape by Yep Roc Records and the Southern Folklife Collection at the University of North Carolina. Looking back, Parton said: “Like a first love, a first record for a singer will always be remembered above all others.” [7]
Market context
A Goldband G-1086 copy sold at Omega Auctions on 14 June 2022 for £700 before the buyer’s premium. The auction house described it as an original 1959 US pressing in Ex condition, with some label wear from storage. [3]
Physical Description
This 45 rpm black vinyl 7-inch single has maroon Goldband labels with silver lettering. The Goldband logo lies above the large centre hole, with the songs’ and artist’s name below it.
Condition
The disc is visually graded VG with scuffs on the vinyl and notable wear on the labels. Playback assessed on 21 September 2026 showed the sound is surprisingly clear and strong throughout on both sides of the record, with a minimal number of pops audible on the lead-in groove and the sound otherwise clean and pretty. OMMA rates sound quality as a very strong VG+. The A-side label has localized marks and wear whereas the B-side label has a substantial area of abrasion and flaking along the lower edge, although the label’s writing remains legible.
Provenance
Origins of Modern Music Archive purchased this record 27 August 2026 from the notable Milwaukee, WI, record shop Musical Memories, owned by renowned collector Ken Freck. In personal correspondence, Freck stated that he obtained the record from a friend many years previously.
Sources
- Library of Congress, Dolly Parton Discography. Release sequence, Goldband catalogue number, and later reissue.
- Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Dolly Parton Journey of a Seeker. First record, musical character, and initial reception.
- Omega Auctions, The Bob Solly Collection Part Two, lot 146. Auction description and £700 hammer result, 14 June 2022.
- Discogs, Dolly Parton – Puppy Love, release 8150009. Goldband G-1086, 1959 US issue; release and variant reference.
- NPR, Rob Schmitz interviews biographer Martha Ackmann, 13 December 2025. Bus journey with her grandmother and the Lake Charles recording session.
- Dolly Parton, official 1950s timeline. Writing “Puppy Love” with Bill Owens and the Goldband release.
- Yep Roc Records, Southern Folklife Collection partnership announcement, 24 January 2017. Recording age, original master tape, reissue, and Parton’s recollection.
Catalogue text reviewed 13 September 2026.