(Right: Richard Haslop)
On the Pieter Scholtz Stage, first Monday in October (October
5 at 18h00), Durban music luminary and Mondays
at Six at St Clements favourite,
Richard Haslop, will share why, “despite an unerring ability to spot mawkish
schmaltz at a hundred paces,” he has long been a Dolly Parton fan.
Haslop — music guru, raconteur, former president of the SA Society for Labour Law, blues and roots music aficionado — will "attempt to make sense of the contradictions" by looking at her career through the lens of some of his favourite Dolly Parton recordings.
Haslop says: “One music writer has described the extent of the love and sorrow that was poured across the media on the recent death of Dolly Parton as unprecedented in his experience, with the possible exception of the reaction to John Lennon’s murder.
“While the view of Dolly from the perspective of the country-music outsider was generally obscured by the bouffant, the bosoms and the bum, the unctuous sentimentality and the exaggerated warble in the voice, these all contributed importantly to her status as one of the most beloved of all country personalities and, as her album title, Backwoods Barbie, attests, one of the most self-aware.”
What tends to be overlooked by those who allow these distractions to deflect their focus, Haslop continues, is that she was also among general popular music’s greatest songwriters and most attractively distinctive singers.
“Her big advantage among those in search of musical authenticity was the pure, natural-born and entirely genuine Appalachian soul that she was able to call on almost whenever the spirit moved her.”
Note: Nashville
International Airport is set to be renamed to honour Dolly Parton after a
unanimous vote by the local airport authority.
About Richard Haslop:
A practicing attorney with a focus on human rights, labour
law, arbitration and industrial relations, he is also a multi-instrumentalist,
music reviewer, radio personality and one of South Africa's leading experts on
blues and roots music. He is a former president of the South African Society
for Labour Law (SASLAW) and has acted as a judge in the Labour Court of South
Africa on a number of occasions.
Haslop has:
-written about music for national and international publications
for more than 30 years;
-presented a number of seriously eclectic music shows on
SAfm;
-lectured courses on the history of popular music at UKZN
Music Department;
-given talks and presentations at festivals and conferences
in SA and overseas;
-has played an incredible number of weird and wonderful
musical instruments, solo and in a variety of aggregations (for more than 40
years) including guitar (mainly slide guitar), dobro, Weissenborn, lap steel,
mandolin, bouzouki, dulcimer, tin whistle, a bit of banjo and various other
“stringed stuff”.
When the donation box is passed around, the venue requests
generosity and a minimum of R50 per person.
Weather permitting, the event will take place outdoors.
Table Bookings Essential: RSVP ST Clements +27 62 582 0980
Bookings limited to diners in support of St Clements
restaurant and staff.
Single folk are welcome to book for one person and join a
table.
Be there in time to open your tab, order at the counter and settle in before the scheduled 18h00 start. Please cancel if you book then can’t make it.
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