NPR Music streaming Dolly Parton upcoming box set

Starting today, NPR Music – www.npr.org/music – is advance streaming songs from country music legend Dolly Parton’s new career-spanning box set, Dolly, one week ahead of its official release. NPR hosts, reporters and bloggers selected their favorite ten tracks from Dolly, and offer personal commentary about each one. Their picks are available for free, on-demand listening now through October 27 at: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113940261

The preview features first listens to classic Parton songs and seven previously unreleased tracks. Each song is accompanied by anecdotes and reflections from NPR's resident Parton fans: Weekend Edition host Scott Simon tells why he thinks “My Tennessee Mountain Home” is one of the great songs of all time, “Monkey See” blogger Linda Holmes reveals how “Islands in the Stream” helped the art of karaoke, arts reporter Neda Ulaby gives a portrait of “Jolene” and NPR Music's Frannie Kelley says “Baby I’m Burnin’” is pure kick-up-your-heels joy.

The four-CD box set Dolly offers 99 songs from Parton’s five-decade career in music. The exhaustive compilation demonstrates that the country legend is equally adept at spinning old-school bluegrass tunes and belting out slick Nashville pop. A true icon even beyond her chosen genre, the performer's voluminous blonde wigs and over-the-top rhinestone dazzle are only eclipsed by the enormity of her talent. It’s the ability behind the image, NPR's Trey Graham states, that makes her "one of the greatest singer-songwriters country music – and maybe the country – has ever produced."

Complete track listings and album information are available at NPR Music, as well as interviews, profiles and music from other popular and emerging artists. NPR Music also offers many full-album previews in its "Exclusive First Listen" series. The series is one of the site's most popular features, and has offered pre-release streams of albums from artists of all genres, including classical pianist Helene Grimaud, world-music scion Vieux Farka Toure, jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard, the alternative roots-rock band Wilco, rock icon Bruce Springsteen, and pop legend Madonna.

NPR Music is a free, multimedia music discovery Web site at http://webmail.medianewsgroup.com/express/www.npr.org/music. The site offers content from NPR and 12 NPR Member public radio stations, including live performances, studio sessions, first listens to new albums, interviews, reviews and blogs. The site's continuously expanding sections are dedicated to rock/pop/folk, classical, jazz/blues, world and urban music. NPR Music culls from NPR's and the stations' extensive music archives to present thousands of features; more than 250 new features are added to the site every month.