You don’t have to be a country music fan to know who Dolly Parton is. Known for her upbeat attitude as well as her blonde wigs and well proportioned body, Dolly Parton has a huge fan base. But it is her country music fans that love her the most.
Here are the top ten songs performed by Dolly Parton:
1. I will Always Love You
2. Coat of many colors.
3. Jolene
4. Love is like a Butterfly
5. Bargain Store
6. Here You Come Again
7. 9 to 5
8. Islands in the Stream
9. Why’d you come in here looking like that
10. Romeo
Dolly Parton was born on January 19th, 1946 and lived in Siverville, Tennessee. She grew up in what she describes as being dirt poor living in an one room cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains. She was the fourth of twelve children.
At the age of twenty, on May 30, 1966, Dolly married Carl Dean. They are still married. Yet, he shuns her public life.
Dolly began her musical career as a child. By the age of 13, she was recording for a small record label and performing on the Grand Ole Opry.
Dolly’s first real success came as a songwriter. She wrote songs for singers such as Hank Williams Junior and Skeeter Davis.
In 1967, her song DUMB BLONDE reached number 24 on the country music charts. Also in 1967, Dolly Parton joined the Porter Wagnor weekly syndicated show and signed with RCA records. She stayed on the show for seven years. During this time, Dolly and Porter recorded many duets together.
Then she went on to singing and writing such hits as: COAT OF MANY COLORS and JOLENE.
In 1974, Dolly released the song I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, which shot up to first place in the country music charts. Elvis Presley expressed interest recording the song. But his manager, The Colonel (Tom Parker) always expected Elvis to be given half of the recording rights. Dolly refused. This proved to be a profitable decision on her part. It has been estimated that over the years she has made millions of dollars from that one song.
Dolly has published over 600 songs and has won over 24 Broadcast Music Incorporated Awards.
Dolly Parton is most known as a country music singer. But she has had success with some cross over hits. Her first cross over hit was HERE YOU COME AGAIN. It came out in 1977 and made it into the top ten of the pop charts.
In 1987, Dolly sung with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. Together, the three women released the album TRIO.
Then in 1993, she joined Lorretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette in a similar project releasing the album HONKY TONK ANGELS.
In 1987, Dolly Parton signed a new contract with Columbia Records.
Then as the nineties approach, she changed her music and she began to stray toward her bluegrass background a bit with such albums as HALOS AND HORNS.
Yet, Dolly is not only known as a singer. She is known as an actress. She began her acting in the mid 1970’s with her own variety show DOLLY. Then in 1980, she starred in the movie 9 to 5, playing opposite Jane Fonda. Dolly also wrote the title track for the movie, which won her a Grammy Award.
If being a singer, songwriter and actress isn’t enough, Dolly Parton is also known for being a savvy business woman. Everyone in the United Sates probably knows she is the owner of her own theme park, Dollywood which is located in her old home state of Tennessee (Pigeon Forge, TN). She also owns a Dinner show theatre in Tennessee called DOLLY PARTON’S DIXIE STAMPEDE. But few know that she has co-owns her own film and television production company, Sandollar Productions, which has produced such shows as Babes and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Dolly has come a long way from the little girl growing up in the one room house. Yet, some may say that it was her modest beginnings that gave her the ambition to become the huge success she is today.
