9 to 5 (Dolly Parton song)
"9 to 5" is a song written and recorded by American entertainer Dolly Parton for the 1980 comedy film of the same name. In addition to appearing on the film soundtrack, the song was the centerpiece of Parton's album 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs, released in late 1980. The song was released as a single in November 1980.
"9 to 5" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Dolly Parton | ||||
from the album 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs | ||||
B-side | "Sing for the Common Man" | |||
Released | November 3, 1980 | |||
Recorded | 1980 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:43 | |||
Label | RCA Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) | Dolly Parton | |||
Producer(s) | Gregg Perry | |||
Dolly Parton singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"9 to 5" on YouTube |
The song garnered Parton an Academy Award nomination and four Grammy Award nominations, winning her the awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Vocal Performance, Female. For a time, the song became something of an anthem for office workers in the US, and in 2004, Parton's song ranked at number 78 on the American Film Institute's '100 Years, 100 Songs'.
The song was accompanied by a music video that featured footage of Parton and her band performing, intercut with scenes from the film.
Background
The song was written for the comedy film 9 to 5, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Parton in her film debut. The song—and film—owe their titles to 9to5, an organization founded in 1973 with the aim of bringing about fair pay and equal treatment for women in the workplace.[1]
The song is also featured in a musical theater adaptation of the film, featuring a book by the film's original writer, Patricia Resnick, and 20 additional songs written by Dolly Parton. 9 to 5 began showing previews in Los Angeles on September 9, 2008, and played on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre from April until September 2009 before touring. In 2012, a UK theatre tour of 9 to 5 began.
A few months before Parton's song and the film, Scottish singer Sheena Easton released a single called "9 to 5" in the UK. When Easton's song was released in the U.S. the following year it was renamed "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" to avoid confusion. Easton's single reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart three months after Parton's song left that spot. Despite similar titles, the two songs are different in lyrical themes. While Parton's song is about a working woman, Easton's song is about a woman waiting at home for her lover to return from work.
Although the Parton recording only reached No. 47 in the UK, it remains a popular song on radio and in nightclubs through Britain and was spliced between "Independent Women Part 1" by Destiny's Child and "Eple" by Röyksopp for the Soulwax album As Heard on Radio Soulwax Pt. 2.
Rolling Stone called "9 to 5" Parton's "most transformative song", ranking it at number 7 on its list of the 50 Best Dolly Parton songs.[2]
Commercial performance
"9 to 5" reached number one on the Billboard Country chart in January 1981.[3] In February 1981, it went to number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Adult Contemporary charts, respectively. It became Parton's first and only solo number one entry on the former. (Parton would later team up with Kenny Rogers on their number one duet "Islands in the Stream".)[4] The song was certified gold on February 19, 1981, indicating shipment 1,000,000 of physical copies. It was certified platinum on September 25, 2017.[5] The song has accrued 500,000 digital downloads as of February 2019 in the United States after it was made available for download in the 21st century.[6]
The song peaked at number 47 on the UK Singles Chart in 1981. It has sold 303,511 digital copies in the UK as of July 2014.[7] As of 2017, it is Parton's biggest download in the UK, totaling 340,800, while it has also been streamed 8.46 million times.[8]
Notes
This song is one of the few Billboard chart songs to feature the clacking of a typewriter. Parton has stated in a number of interviews that when she wrote the song, she devised the clacking typewriter rhythm by running her acrylic fingernails back and forth against one another.[9]
With "9 to 5", Parton became only the second woman to top both the U.S. country singles chart and the Billboard Hot 100 with the same single (the first being Jeannie C. Riley, who had done so with "Harper Valley PTA" in 1968. Coincidentally, Dolly Parton also covered it in her 1969 album, In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)).
"9 to 5" served at the theme song for the mid-1980s sitcom 9 to 5 which derived from the film. Phoebe Snow sang the theme for the four-episode premiere season, which aired in March and April 1982; however, Dolly Parton would be heard singing the theme for the sitcom's 1982–1983 run and for its 1986–1988 revival.
Songwriters Neil and Jan Goldberg filed a lawsuit against Parton, claiming that "9 to 5" was a copy of their 1976 song "Money World". In December 1985 the court ruled in Parton's favor.[10]
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren frequently used the song at campaign appearances during her 2020 presidential campaign, with it often playing when she took the stage.[11][12][13][14] Reacting to the song's use, Parton's manager Danny Nozell said, "We did not approve the request, and we do not approve requests like this of (a) political nature."[15] The song was sung from the public gallery of the New Zealand Parliament by supporters of Green Party MP Jan Logie at the conclusion of her veladictory address, and is thus recorded in Hansard.[16]
In early 2021, Parton recorded a new version of the song titled "5 to 9" for a Squarespace advert in the Super Bowl LV.[17]
Personnel
- Dolly Parton – lead vocals, nails[18]
- Jeff Baxter, Marty Walsh – guitars
- Abraham Laboriel – bass
- Larry Knechtel – piano
- Rick Shlosser – drums
- Leonard Castro – percussion
- William Reichenbach – trombone
- Tom Saviano – saxophone
- Kim S. Hutchroft – baritone saxophone
- Jerry Hey – trumpet
- Denise Maynelli, Stephanie Spruill, Marti McCall – background vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
All-time charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[42] | 3× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada)[43] | 3× Platinum | 240,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[44] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[45] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[5] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
Streaming | ||
Sweden (GLF)[47] | 3× Platinum | 24,000,000† |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
References
- Edwards, Leigh H. (2018). Dolly Parton, gender, and country music. Bloomington. ISBN 9780253031549. OCLC 981116971.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Betts, Stephen (April 5, 2023). ""The 50 Best Dolly Parton Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 262.
- Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 190.
- "American single certifications – Dolly Parton – 9 to 5". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- Bjorke, Matt (February 20, 2019). "Top 30 Digital Country Singles Sales Chart: February 20, 2019". RoughStock. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- "Country Bites News snippets June 30 – July 6, 2014". Country Routes News. July 13, 2014.
- "Happy Birthday Dolly Parton! Her most downloaded songs in the UK revealed". officialcharts.com.
- "Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton Relive 9 To 5". Archived from the original on April 7, 2006. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
- Ramos, George (December 19, 1985). "Parton's '9 to 5' Is All Her Own, Jury Decides". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- Taylor, Kate (February 9, 2019). "Elizabeth Warren Formally Announces 2020 Presidential Bid in Lawrence, Mass". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- "Elizabeth Warren launches 2020 bid with call to ignore 'cowards' and go big". NBC News. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- "Wired Suggests Updated Theme Songs for Presidential Hopefuls". Wired. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
- Fischer, Jonathan L. (June 10, 2019). "The Correct Ranking of the Presidential Candidates' Song Choices at the Iowa Democrats' Hall of Fame Event". Slate. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
- Kirkland, Justin (March 12, 2019). "Elizabeth Warren Used Dolly Parton's '9 to 5' Without Her Permission". Esquire.
- "Valedictory Statements - New Zealand Parliament". Hansard. New Zealand House of Representatives. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- Willman, Chris (February 2, 2021). "Dolly Parton Remakes '9 to 5' as '5 to 9' for Damien Chazelle-Directed Super Bowl Ad Spot". Variety. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- Kirkpatrick, Emily (October 13, 2020). "Dolly Parton Explains Why Her Acrylic Nails Are Credited as a Musical Instrument on Her Album". Vanity Fair. ISSN 0733-8899. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
- "Dolly Parton – 9 To 5" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- "Dolly Parton – 9 To 5" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Mississauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
- "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0371." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 18, 1981" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- "Dolly Parton – 9 To 5" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- "Dolly Parton – 9 To 5". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- "SA Charts 1965 – March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- "Dolly Parton – 9 To 5". Singles Top 100. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- "Dolly Parton Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- "Dolly Parton Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- "Dolly Parton Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Dolly Parton – 9 To 5" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- "National Top 100 Singles for 1981". Kent Music Report. January 4, 1982. p. 7. Retrieved January 11, 2022 – via Imgur.
- "Jaaroverzichten 1981". Ultratop. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- "Top 100 Singles of 1981". RPM. Retrieved February 14, 2021 – via Library and Archives Canada.
- "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1981". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1981". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- "Top 100 Hits of 1981/Top 100 Songs of 1981". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
- "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 1981". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2021 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
- "Canadian single certifications – Dolly Parton – 9 to 5". Music Canada. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
- "Danish single certifications – Dolly Parton – 9 to 5". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- "Norwegian single certifications – Dolly Parton" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
- "British single certifications – Dolly Parton – 9 to 5". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
- "Sverigetopplistan – Dolly Parton" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved March 4, 2023.