MUST HAVES. MUSIC EDITION. DOLLY PARTON.

BACKGROUND HISTORY

Active1950s - 2020s

BornJanuary 19, 1946 in Locust Ridge, TN

Genre

Country

Styles

Country-Pop

Traditional Country

Country-Folk

Urban Cowboy

Contemporary Country

Honky Tonk

Progressive Country

HITS

I Will Always Love You, Jolene, Release Me, 9 to 5

ALBUMS

Hello, I'm Dolly (1967) Just because I'm a Woman (1968) Dolly Parton Sings Country Oldies (1968) Just Between You And Me (1968) In the Good old Days (1969) The Fairiest Of Them All (1969) Just the Two Of Us (1969) My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy (1969) Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca, A Real Live Dolly (1970),etc

CULTURAL IMPACT

It's difficult to come across a country performer who has more successfully transitioned from her country roots to international fame than Dolly Parton. Her autobiographical single "Coat of Many Colors" depicts the poverty of growing up on a rundown farm in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, as one of 12 children. At the age of 12, she was on Knoxville television; at the age of 13, she was recording for a small label and performing on the Grand Ole Opry. Porter Wagoner heard her 1967 hit "Dumb Blonde" (which she is not) and hired Parton to appear on his television show, where their duet numbers became famous. Parton's fame had overshadowed her boss' by the time her song "Joshua" reached number one in 1970, and she struck out on her own.

She became a country superstar in the mid-1970s and crossed over into the pop mainstream in the early 1980s when she smoothed out the rough edges in her music and began singing pop as well as country. Simultaneously, she began appearing in films, most notably the smash hit 9 to 5. Parton remained a mainstream star for decades, juggling records and stage shows with film, books, and other multimedia projects, as well as charitable activities.