Musical Monday - 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: February 21, 1981 and March 14, 1981.

#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: The week of February 28, 1981.

#1 on the U.K. Chart: Never.

The title track to the movie of the same name, 9 to 5 is yet another example of the synergy between popular music and movies. While the song is a pretty good song, it seems relatively obvious that it would have been a quirky entry on the country music charts without the movie to propel it to mainstream success. When attached to the movie - one of the most successful comedies of all time - the song became a number one hit on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts and transformed Dolly Parton from a county singer notable for being extremely busty into a crossover music star.

One thing that is interesting about this song is the extremely pro-working class tone this song takes. While more recent country music pretends to extol the virtues of blue collar work, the reality is that modern country music is firmly entrenched as the music of the establishment, essentially serving as the voice of management. Parton's song, on the other hand, definitely aligns with the hard-working people who live paycheck to paycheck while they dream about someday getting ahead and at the same time see the bulk of the fruits of their labor go into their wealthy boss's pocket. There is a very subversive undercurrent to both the song and the movie which seems especially interesting given that they more or less coincided with the opening of Reagan's presidency in the United States and the cultural and political shift away from labor towards management that took place under that administration.

Previous Musical Monday: I Love a Rainy Night by Eddie Rabbitt

Subsequent Musical Monday: Shaddap You Face by Joe Dolce Music Theatre

Previous #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Celebration by Kool and the Gang

Subsequent #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: I Love a Rainy Night by Eddie Rabbitt

Previous #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: I Love a Rainy Night by Eddie Rabbitt

Subsequent #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Keep on Lovin' You by REO Speedwagon

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

Dolly Parton     1980s Project     Musical Monday     Home