17 Facts About Dolly Parton’s Trailblazing Career

Dolly Parton is a singer, songwriter, record producer, author, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist, and she does it all well. Her career began as a songwriter in Nashville. Today she estimates she’s written more than 3,000 songs.

She’s known as The Smoky Mountain Songbird, The Queen of Country, Backwoods Barbie and the Leading Lady of Country, but, really, if someone says “Dolly,” you probably know who they’re talking about.

Parton’s signature platinum blonde hair, twinkling blue eyes, short stature, voluptuous figure and Southern accent may have played a part in her success. Mostly, though, her talent and pleasant personality were at the roots of her achievements. Come along and follow her career journey over the last 72 years.

Born Dolly Rebecca Parton on January 19, 1946, to Lee Parton and Avie Lee Parton (née Owens). Her father worked as a tobacco farmer and her mother stayed at home.

Parton grew up with 11 siblings, six brothers and five sisters. They all lived on a ramshackle farm in Sevierville, Tennessee. “Avie Lee poured her heart and soul into raising her children,” says Parton on her namesake website.

During her childhood, Parton was surrounded by music. Her mother sang and played the guitar, and in Parton’s Library of Congress biography, she says all “her people” played fiddles, mandolins, banjos or guitars. She and her brothers and sisters were used to having these musical instruments within easy reach, and Parton developed a special affinity for the banjo.

At age 11, Parton and her uncle, Bill Owens, wrote “Puppy Love.” The song, relatable to her age, described the hot and cold emotions felt with young love. She and her grandmother, Rena Owens, rode a bus for 30 hours to a recording studio in Lake Charles, Louisiana, so Parton could record the single.

Parton described how the bus smelled on her website: “It was a combination of diesel fuel, Naugahyde, and people who were going places.” When she was 13, “Puppy Love” was released by Goldband Records.

In 1959 Parton and her uncle secured a guest spot on the Grand Ole Opry. After Johnny Cash introduced her, she made her way to the Ryman Auditorium stage to sing, alongside her uncle, a rendition of George Jones’s “You Gotta Be My Baby.”