Over the course of her career, Dolly Parton has taken 25 songs to the top of the country charts. In addition to her number ones, Parton has helped guide numerous other songs to the Top 10 on the charts, including one little tune titled “Wildflowers.”
Written by Parton, “Wildflowers” was included on the Grammy-winning Trio album in 1987, which was a collaboration between Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt. The song is about a young woman who feels confined and ready to branch out on her own. The woman compares herself to wildflowers, who “don’t care where they grow.” Like the flowers, the woman doesn’t care where she ends up, she just wants to go somewhere.
“Wildflowers” was released as the fourth single off of Trio, and reached the sixth spot on the U.S. Hot Country Singles chart. It was also a hit in Canada, where it reached the eighth spot on the country chart.
Despite the song’s popularity, it is hard to come by footage of it being performed live. In fact, there is only one live performance of “Wildflowers” online right now, and it’s a solo performance from Parton.
The Trio version of “Wildflowers” features Harris on acoustic guitar and also has accompaniment from an autoharp and the fiddle. But when it came time for her solo performance of the song, Parton opted to take over Harris’ guitar part as well.
This undated clip shows Parton on the set of a television show, with a living room-like setting behind her. Parton sat on a stool near the front of the stage, allowing her to make a close connection with audience. We’re sure everyone there was completely charmed by Parton and her lovely performance of “Wildflowers.”
Although she was typically used to singing “Wildflowers” with Harris and Ronstadt, Parton showed she was perfectly capable of carrying the song all on her own. Not that we expected anything less from her!
If you’re a fan of Parton’s, or just a fan of country music in general, then this is something you have to see. The rarity of the clip is what makes it such a treasure, and that should be reason enough to watch it!