Dolly Parton had already been a country star for a number of years by the time she released her 16th studio album,
Here You Come Again, but the crossover success of the record launched the second phase of her career, in pop music, and earned the superstar her first gold album on Dec. 27, 1977 43 years ago today.
Parton first came to widespread national recognition on
The Porter Wagoner Show in 1967, and she scored a string of hit singles as duets with Wagoner, as well as a number of successful solo singles, such as Jolene, Coat of Many Colors and I Will Always Love You, the latter of which she wrote for Wagoner upon breaking up their duo act for a solo career. But despite her solo success, Parton was frustrated in her ambition to break out of the limited country genre and into the mainstream that is, until