Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton was born January 19, 1946, in a one-room cabin on Locust Ridge in Sevier County, Tennessee, the fourth of twelve children of Avie Lee Caroline and Robert Lee Parton. Her father worked as a farmer and construction laborer, while her mother sang and played guitar. Parton began performing as a child, appearing on Knoxville radio and television programs, and moved to Nashville the day after graduating from Sevier County High School in 1964. Her first major country success came with “Dumb Blonde,” which reached the Billboard Hot Country Songs top 25 in 1967. That year she joined Porter Wagoner’s syndicated television show and became his regular duet partner. Their recordings included “The Last Thing on My Mind,” “Burning the Midnight Oil,” and “Please Don’t Stop Loving Me,” a number-one country single in 1974. Her 1974 composition “I Will Always Love You,” written as a farewell to Wagoner, was a country number one for Parton and later became a global hit in Whitney Houston’s 1992 recording for The Bodyguard. Parton’s solo catalog contains several country standards. “Jolene,” released in 1973, tells of a woman pleading with a beautiful rival not to take her husband; it topped the U.S. country chart in 1974. “Coat of Many Colors,” based on a coat her mother made from rags, was released in 1971 and became one of her signature songs. The 1974 album Jolene and the 1971 album Coat of Many Colors both demonstrate how she drew on East Tennessee memories while writing concise narrative songs. She crossed into pop cinema with the 1980 comedy 9 to 5, co-starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Parton wrote and recorded its title song, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. In 1986, she opened Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, expanding the site of the former Silver Dollar City theme park. Parton has received eleven Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2022, she entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Beyond recordings, she founded the Imagination Library in 1995, initially serving Sevier County children by mailing free books monthly. The program later expanded internationally. Her career combines songwriting, performance, entrepreneurship, and literacy advocacy.