The irrepressible Dolly Parton has conquered every field she has entered, from songwriter and singer, to actress and businesswoman. With her potent combination of intelligence, determination, business savvy, good humour, glamorous appearance, and natural talent, this Mae West of the mountains is one of the most successful women in entertainment.
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, the fourth of 12 children brought up in a one-room mountain cabin in Sevier County, Tennessee. She was a precocious child with uncanny intelligence and creativity, composing songs before she could read or write. Parton’s uncle bought her a Martin acoustic guitar when she was seven, and by age ten, she was a regular on a Knoxville TV show. By the age of 16, she had cut her first record, appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, and signed a songwriting contract with the Music Row publishing house. A day after graduating from high school, she took the bus to Nashville and started her professional career.
Although Parton struggled at first, she wrote several successful songs for other artists, finally scoring two hits of her own in 1967 with “Dumb Blonde” and “Something Fishy.” Parton’s songs exhibited a maturity that placed them above standard Nashville fare, tackling darker issues with frankness and grace.
Country star Porter Wagoner needed a female foil for his road show and television program, and he recruited Parton to fill the slot. By joining Wagoner, Parton gained an audience of three million viewers across the country, and her duets with him became a constant presence on the country charts. She began scoring solo hits in the early 1970s with songs such as “Joshua,” “Touch Your Woman,” and “Coat of Many Colors.” After Parton earned her first Top 10 hit with “Jolene” in 1976 (1973 in the U.S.), she began to assert her independence from Wagoner. They continued to work together (he produced many of her mid-1970s hit singles, including “Bargain Store” and “The Seeker”), but she left his touring show.
After 1974, Parton began to record less overtly country tracks. She sang old standards such as “House of the Rising Sun” and Jackie Wilson’s “Higher and Higher,” and even made a successful foray into disco with her 1979 single, “Baby I’m Burning.”
By 1979, Parton had become a media icon. She starred in the film 9 to 5—with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin—and her title song was a No. 1 pop hit in the U.S. Other films followed, including Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias, and Straight Talk. In 1985, Parton opened a theme park named Dolly-wood in Sevier County.
Throughout the 1980s Parton continued to record with success. Teaming up with Kenny ROGERS she scored a No. 1 hit in 1983, with “Islands in the Stream.” Two years later she had another No. 1 in the country charts with “Real Love.” Other songs from the 1980s were less commercially successful but became well-known standards. The Whitney HOUSTON version of Parton’s song, “I Will Always Love You,” was the biggest-selling single of 1992, topping the U.S. charts for 12 weeks, and the U.K. charts for nine.
Estimated to be worth many millions of dollars, Parton contributes proceeds from her businesses to a foundation that provides scholarships for the high school graduates of Sevier County. Despite her wealth, Dolly still practises the fine art of unassuming modesty, treating her success with a mixture of pride and good humour. What is most remarkable about Dolly Parton is how she has achieved everything she wanted to on her own terms, projecting strength and independence while celebrating her femininity.
Greg Bower
SEE ALSO:
COUNTRY; NASHVILLE SOUND/NEW COUNTRY; POP MUSIC.
FURTHER READING
Parton, Dolly. Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business (Thorndike, ME: Thorndike Press, 1995);
Saunders, Susan. Dolly Parton, Country Goin’ to Town (New York: Puffin Books, 1986).
SUGGESTED LISTENING
Eagle When She Flies; Home for Christmas; Rainbow.