A talented song writer as well as shrewd business woman, she composed timeless pieces like the emotional and personal “Coat of Many Colors” (1971) and the chart-topping “9 to 5” (1980), which highlighted workplace discrimination and inequality with a catchy tune. In addition to founding a successful theme park called “Dollywood” and undertaking various charity ventures, she earned a reputation as a “national treasure.”

Appalachian upbringing

She was born in Appalachia, in the Great Smoky Mountains region of eastern Tennessee, to a poor farmer’s family. Dolly is the youngest of twelve siblings to Robert Lee Parton, a sharecropper and construction worker, and Avie Lee Parton, a housewife. From a young age, she had a knack and love for music by learning the gospel tunes and old-time ballads from her mother. Speaking to People magazine in 2020, Parton recalled, “All my mother’s side were very musical, so I grew up listening to music all around me and hearing my mom singing the old songs.” When she was a kid, she was known to sing and play guitar on local radio and TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1964, immediately after graduating from high school, she left for Nashville in pursuit of her musical dreams.

Solo career and pop crossover

Parton planned to leave the show within five years, but Wagoner found it hard to let Parton leave him after yet another two years at his show. In 1974, Parton parted ways with Wagoner; she immortalized their parting in her hit song “I Will Always Love You,” which she sang about their separation many years later for The Tennessean.

“I Will Always Love You” reached the top of the country charts. This song would be one of her biggest hits for many years to come. On her own, Parton was an instant success, winning the award for female singer of the year for 1975 and 1976 from the Country Music Association based on her songs like “Jolene” and “Love Is Like a Butterfly.”

Later music career and honors

Dolly was admitted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. Dolly won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy in 2011. Also, her single “Coat of Many Colors” was inducted into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry the same year. Several other singles by Dolly have been added to the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Parton continued to record hit albums such as Blue Smoke (2014) and Pure & Simple (2016). She even recorded an album targeted at children called I Believe in You (2017). Parton has also made some albums that are gospel songs and Christmas songs. In 2022, Parton was nominated for inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Even though she had refused earlier nominations, she gladly accepted her nomination as she felt she was worthy enough.

Acting and producing career

During the eighties, Parton was featured in numerous commercially successful films, including Nine to Five (1980; aka 9 to 5), where she co-starred with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as three employees taking revenge on their macho boss (Dabney Coleman). She performed the 1974 single, “I Will Always Love You,” when cast in the role of the Burt Reynolds movie, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). (Later Whitney Houston sang the same song in the soundtrack of the movie The Bodyguard [1992] selling millions of records.) The actress starred in one of the roles in the 1989 movie comedy-drama film Steel Magnolias that told the tear-jerking story of a bunch of good friends in the South supporting each other in times of grief, in particular, one woman mourning the loss of her daughter (Julia Roberts) who died due to complications from diabetes. Parton made one television variety show named Dolly in 1976-77 and 1987-88.

Personal life

In 1964, Dolly met her future husband, Carl Dean, at a laundry in Nashville. Carl worked in the pavement paving business. The couple got married two years later. While keeping himself out of the limelight, Dean played an important role in Dolly’s career and motivated her to compose the song “Jolene.” Dolly described him saying, “God has done a lot for me. I got Carl Dean and he was the perfect match for me.”

Major Awards & Honors of Dolly Parton

• 11 Grammy Awards from over 50 nominations.
• 10 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, including Entertainer of the Year.
• 13 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards.
• 3 American Music Awards.
• Primetime Emmy Award winner.
• Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1999).
• Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (2022).
• Recipient of the National Medal of Arts nomination recognition and numerous lifetime achievement honors.
• Received the Kennedy Center Honors (2006).
• Honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2011).
• Recognized for her philanthropy through the Dollywood Foundation and the Imagination Library program.

Award Highlights:
11 Grammy Awards • 10 CMA Awards • 13 ACM Awards • Emmy Winner • Kennedy Center Honoree • Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee • Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee.