Halos & Horns

the 2002 documentary film about a biography of George W. Bush

Halos & Horns is the thirty ninth solo studio album by American singer songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on July 9, 2002, by Sugar Hill Records and Blue Eye Records. It is the third album in Parton's critically acclaimed bluegrass trilogy, continuing her experimentation with folk and bluegrass sounds. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Album in 2003, while "Dagger Through the Heart" and "I'm Gone" were both nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Parton embarked on her first tour in 10 years in support of the album. The sold out Halos & Horns Tour played 25 shows throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. The album tracks "These Old Bones" and "Sugar Hill" were adapted into episodes of Dolly Parton's Heartstrings in 2019.

Following the release of her 2001 album, Little Sparrow, Parton continued to write. While writing songs at her Tennessee Mountain Home, Parton said the songs were pouring out of her by the dozens. A representative from Sugar Hill Records confirmed in late January 2002 that Parton was "writing and arranging" songs for a new album, but recording had not begun so it was unclear when the album might be released. It was confirmed in February 2002 by Dollymania that Parton had begun recording the album and that it should be released in summer 2002.

Twelve of the album's fourteen tracks are Parton penned originals. In addition to these twelve songs, the album features two covers: Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and 'Bread's "If". The album also includes new versions of two songs Parton had previously recorded. Parton first recorded "Shattered Image" for her 1976 album, All I Can Do. "What a Heartache" had originally been recorded in 1984 for the Rhinestone soundtrack album. Parton would record this song for a second time in 1991 for her Eagle When She Flies album. When asked why she would choose to re record songs she has done before, Parton said, "I have very strong feelings about them. They've never really had a chance to be all that they can be. I have hundreds of new songs, but there are some that 'want to be done' until I find the right way." Parton said she was inspired to write the album's second track, "Sugar Hill", because "Every time I'd look at my record company's label, I'd think, 'Sugar Hill, now that's a really pretty name.' I wondered if there was a place called Sugar Hill and found out there were several. The one I courted on wasn't called Sugar Hill, but it got pretty sweet when I was up on it." She also announced she had written songs titled "Halos and Horns" and "Hello God" for the album, which would also feature a bluegrass cover of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and Bread's "If". Parton appeared on NBC's Today on July 5 to promote the album. She performed "I'm Gone", "9 to 5", and "Halos and Horns". The album was released on July 9, 2002, by Sugar Hill Records and Blue Eye Records. She promoted the album's release with an appearance on The View, performing "Halos and Horns" in addition to being interviewed. That evening, Parton made an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman where she was interviewed and performed "Dagger Through the Heart". Parton's cover of "If" was released as a single in Europe on October 7. On November 6, Parton performed "Hello God" on the 36th Annual Country Music Association Awards. "Hello God" was released as the album's third single the following week. The CMA Awards performance served as the song's music video. The album's fourth and final single, "I'm Gone", was released in February 2003. Its music video was premiered by Great American Country on June 6.

Halos & Horns was well received by critics, although not as well as its predecessor, Little Sparrow. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 13 reviews. In a review for Rolling Stone, Steve Knopper said that the album "showcase[s] Parton's skills as an interpreter." A positive review for Mojo said that Parton is "still producing songs that stand comparison with those past and purloined classics." At the time, it was her highest charting album on the Top Country Albums chart since Slow Dancing with the Moon (1993) and Trio II (1999), both of which also peaked at number four. It was also her highest charting album on the Billboard 200 since Something Special (1995) peaked at number 54. Halos & Horns peaked at number one in the UK on the OCC's UK Country Albums chart, becoming Parton's second album top the chart. The album has sold 187,000 copies in the United States as of December 2003. "Dagger Through the Heart" was released as the album's first single in July 2002 and failed to chart. Parton's cover of Bread's "If" was released as a single in Europe in October 2002 and peaked at number 73 on the UK Singles Chart. The album's third single, "Hello God", was released in November 2002 and peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. "I'm Gone" was released as the album's fourth and final single in February 2003 and failed to chart.