9 To 5 (Dolly Parton Song)

9 To 5 (Dolly Parton Song)

"9 to 5" is a song written and originally performed by Dolly Parton for the 1980 film comedy Nine to Five, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Parton in her film debut.

The film's title 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". In addition to appearing on the film soundtrack, the song was the centerpiece of Parton's 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs album, released in late 1980. The song was released as a single in November 1980 and reached number one on both the Billboard Country Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 in January and February 1981, respectively. For a time, the song became something of an anthem for office workers in the U.S., and in 2004, Parton's song ranked number seventy-eight on American Film Institute's "100 years, 100 songs".

The song—and film—owe their titles to an organization founded in 1973 with the aim of bringing about better treatment for women in the workplace.

Sesame Street made an educational parody of the song performed by the Anything Muppet parody of Parton herself, Polly Darton, called "Counting 1 to 5". Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their 1982 album The Chipmunks Go Hollywood.

It is one of the few Billboard chart songs to feature the clacking of a typewriter. Parton has stated in a number of interviews through the years that when she wrote the song, she devised the clacking typewriter rhythm running her acrylic fingernails back and forth against one another.

With "9 to 5", Parton became only the second woman to top both the U.S. country singles chart and Billboard's Hot 100 with the same single. (The first being Jeannie C. Riley, who had done so with "Harper Valley PTA" in 1968.)

The song is 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 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'got underway.

A few months after Parton's song and the film, Scottish singer Sheena Easton released a single called "9 to 5" throughout much of the world. The Easton song was renamed "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" to avoid confusion. Easton's single reached the number one spot on Billboards Hot 100 Chart three months after Parton's song left that spot. While Parton's song features an empowered (if challenged) working woman, Easton's song features a passive, love-struck woman waiting around at home all day for her lover to return to her.

In 1981, Kikki Danielsson covered the song on her album Just Like a Woman, and the song remains one of her most famous country music recordings. The song was also covered by Swedish punk band Millencolin and included in their 1999 compilation album The Melancholy Collection, a collection of b-sides and rarities. Mark Wilson also sang "9 to 5" on It Takes Two with Rachael Beck. "9 to 5" was performed with sitar accompaniment in the opening scenes of the 2008 film The Love Guru, sung by the titular character played by Mike Myers; this version appears on the film's soundtrack album.

Although the Parton recording only reached #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.

Kerry Ellis sang the song on two occasions at BBC Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night (the first with John Barrowman).