Dolly Parton is an American musician, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman. She was born in 1946, and mainly made her name early on in the country scene. Following her debut album Hello, I’m Dolly in 1967, she began an era of personal success that peaked through the 1970s and ‘80s. After her success slowed down through the 1990s, she moved onto releasing albums on numerous independent labels through the 2000s, including her own label Dolly Records, which has led to a commercial resurgence. As one of the best-selling artists of all time, with over 100 million records sold worldwide, she has released 48 albums to date, with 44 of them reaching the Top 10 country albums, a record for any artist.
Born and raised in Pittman Center, Tennessee, she was the fourth of twelve children in what she described as a “dirt poor” family. Moving out to Nashville the day after her high school graduation, she originally got her start in songwriting. Writing several charting songs with her co-writer and uncle Bill Owens, such as “Put It Off Until Tomorrow” and “The Company You Keep,” both for Bill Phillips, she was eventually signed with Monument Records, with the label’s original intentions of her being a bubblegum pop singer. It was not until one of her tracks for Bill Phillips garnered success on the country charts that she was allowed to record country herself.
Her debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly was released in 1967, and she began to garner more attention throughout the end of the decade. She had her first charting album on the Billboard 200 in 1969, with her album My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy charting at 194. Following this success, she did not have another album chart on the record until 1977, aside from her album Joshua peaking at 198. She did, however, have success with a few of her singles, with one of her most famous tracks “Jolene” being released during this period, along with the original version of “I Will Always Love You,” which became a smash hit in the future when recorded by other artists, most notably Whitney Houston. Released on Valentine’s Day of 1977, her album New Harvest… First Gathering was a huge success, peaking at 71 on the Billboard 200 and containing the top 20 country hit “Light of a Clear Blue Morning.” This began one of the most commercially successful periods in her career, releasing four more top 50 albums within the next three years, along with her biggest single to date, “Here You Come Again,” which hit number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1981, she achieved her first number one single, “9 to 5,” off her 1980 album 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs. Following a quiet end to the decade, she once again had a resurgence through the 1990s, with two more of her albums reaching the top 40 on the Billboard 200. She will be breaking into the rock scene with her 2023 album Rockstar, set to be released November 17th, 2023, with features from artists such as Miley Cyrus, Paul McCartney, Elton John, and many more.
As one of the most decorated and acclaimed musicians, she has received 11 Grammy Awards from 50 nominations, along with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and has been inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She continues to support numerous charitable efforts and is the founder of the Dollywood Foundation, a non-profit she founded in 1986 to help support literacy in children. She is also the founder of the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. She has been listed at no. 27 on Rolling Stone’s 2023 list of the Greatest Singers of All Time. She celebrated the 50th anniversary of her debut album in 2017.
