Recognize her? Amazing Rags to Riches Story you probably didn't know

Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in Sevier County, Tennessee. The Partons were a farming family, and Dolly had eleven siblings.

From a young age, it was clear that Dolly had a talent for music. After she received a guitar when she was eight, she started writing her own music. She sang and played the guitar on local radio and television from the age of 10. When Dolly was only 13 years old, she first performed at the Grand Ole Opry, a famous weekly radio broadcast for country music. After graduating from high school in 1964, Dolly moved to Nashville, the country music capital, to start a career as a musician.

On her first day in Nashville, Dolly met Carl Dean. It was love at first sight for Dolly. They quickly grew close, but after a few months of dating, Carl joined the army. They agreed to get married when he returned. While Carl was away, Dolly focused on her music career. When they married on May 30, 1966, she made it clear that she would not become a housewife and would continue her music career.

Porter Wagoner, a country music star, recognized Dolly’s talent. She appeared on his television show, which aired all over the United States. This helped her land her first record deal with RCA Records, releasing songs with Porter.

Dolly started her solo career in 1974 and quickly produced hit songs like “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You.” She famously wrote those two songs on the same day. The Country Music Association named her Female Vocalist of the Year in 1975 and 1976.

From the start of her career, Dolly showed she had a strong sense for business. She always owned the rights to the music she produced, earning millions of dollars in royalties.

In 1977, Dolly made the crossover to pop music. Her song “Here You Come Again” reached number three on the pop music charts, as well as the number one spot in the country music charts. She won her first Grammy Award that same year for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

was located, and the Tennessee state government. She argued that the business would bring much-needed jobs to the high unemployment area. Her arguments were persuasive. The state contributed $1.5 million, and the city gave Dollywood another $500,000. Today, there are around 4,000 employees at the park.

Dolly’s music gained renewed popularity in 1992 when Whitney Houston recorded a cover of Dolly’s song “I Will Always Love You” for the soundtrack of the movie The Bodyguard. It became one of the best-selling songs of all time and introduced Dolly’s music to a new generation. When journalists asked Dolly if she was ever jealous of Whitney’s success with her song, Dolly said that was not the case at all. She earned all the money for writing and publishing the song because she had always protected the rights to her music.

Dolly’s work as a musician has been recognized by many awards. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999. The Library of Congress awarded her the Living Legend medal for her contributions to American culture in 2004, and she was also awarded the National Medal of the Arts in 2005 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006.

In addition to providing jobs at Dollywood, Dolly wanted to do more for the families in the Tennessee county where she grew up. She founded Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 1995. The charity distributes free books to children in the community. The program was so successful that it went national in 2000 and expanded abroad in 2006. By 2020, the Imagination Library had distributed over 150 million children’s books.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dolly contributed $1 million to the development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. When she received the vaccine herself in March 2021, she said she was getting “a dose of her own medicine.”

Dolly Parton and her husband, Carl, live in Nashville. She continues to devote her time to music and charity.