Dolly
Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American country
singer, songwriter, composer and actress.
Background
She was born Dolly Rebecca Parton
in Sevierville, Tennessee, the fourth of twelve children
born to Robert Lee Parton and Alvy Lee Owens, and
grew up "dirt poor" in a one-room cabin,
also described as a "run-down farm" in Locust
Ridge, Tennessee.
Parton was raised Assembly of God,
a Pentecostal denomination, and music was a very large
part of her church experience. She once told an interviewer
that her grandfather was a Pentecostal "Holy
Roller" preacher and today, when appearing in
live concerts in the South, she frequently performs
the "Holy Roller" song "Go To Hell."
Parton, however, professes no denomination, claiming
to be only Christian while adding that she believes
everyone on the planet are God's children.
She began her entertainment career
as a child, singing on local radio and television
in East Tennessee. At 12 she was appearing on Knoxville
TV, and at 13 she was already recording on a small
label and appearing at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
When she graduated from high school in 1964 she moved
to Nashville, Tennessee, taking many traditional folkloric
elements and popular music from East Tennessee with
her.
On May 30, 1966, at the age of 20,
she married Carl Dean, who ran an asphalt-paving business,
in Ringgold, Georgia. She has remained with the same
husband, who has always shunned publicity and stayed
in the background to an extraordinary degree, refusing
to accompany his wife to almost every conceivable
public appearance she has made since their marriage.
Early Career
She initially signed with Monument
Records, where she recorded a series of singles that
failed to chart, before finally having a hit with
"Dumb Blonde" (one of the few songs she
recorded during this period that she did not write
herself), which reached the country top 20 in 1967.That
same year, Parton was asked to join the weekly syndicated
country music TV program hosted by Porter Wagoner,
with whom she became half of a highly successful duet
team. She also signed with RCA Records, Wagoner's
label, during this period, where she would remain
for the next two decades. Their first single together,
a cover of Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My
Mind," reached the top ten on the U.S. country
charts in late 1967, and was the first of over a dozen
duet singles to chart for them during the next several
years.
Parton is a hugely successful songwriter,
having begun by writing country songs with strong
elements of folk music in them based upon her upbringing
in humble mountain surroundings. Her songs "Coat
of Many Colors" and "Jolene" have become
classics in the field, as have a number of others.
She stayed with the Wagoner show and
continued to record duets with him for seven years,
then made a break to become a solo artist. In 1974,
her song "I Will Always Love You" was released
and went to #1 on the country charts, though the single
did not "crossover" to the pop charts (as
"Jolene" had done). Around the same time,
Elvis Presley indicated that he wanted to cover the
song. Parton was interested until Presley's manager,
Colonel Tom Parker, told her that she would have to
sign over half of the publishing rights if Elvis recorded
the song (as was the standard procedure for songs
Elvis recorded). Parton refused and that decision
is credited with helping make her many millions of
dollars in royalties from the song over the years.
During the mid-1970s, Dolly had her
eyes set on expanding her audience base. The first
step towards meeting this goal was her attempt a variety
show, Dolly. The show lasted merely one season, with
Dolly asking out of her contract due to the stress
it was causing her vocal chords.
Breakout
Despite originally being typecast
in many circles as a "Country and Western"
singer, Parton later had even greater commercial success
as a pop singer and actress. Her 1977 single "Here
You Come Again" became her first top-ten single
on the pop charts, and many of her subsequent singles
charted on both pop and country charts simultaneously.
In 1980, Jane Fonda decided Parton
was a perfect candidate for her upcoming film, 9 to
5. She was looking for a brassy Southern woman for
a supporting role and felt the singer was perfect.
Parton was signed, and went on to steal the notices
and score a major hit with the title song.
She wrote and performed "9 to
5" which earned her an Academy Award nomination
for Best Original Song. She received a Golden Globe
nomination for Best Original Song - Motion Picture.
And she won two Grammy Awards, for Best Female Country
Vocal Performance and Best Country Song. It reached
#1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was also #78 on American
Film Institute's 100 years, 100 songs.
She also received Golden Globe nominations
for Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy and
New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture - Female.
Parton was very selective about her
future film material, and had successes opposite Burt
Reynolds in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982),
for which she received another Golden Globe nomination
for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical,
and in the supporting role as Truvy in Steel Magnolias
(1989) co-starring Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine,
Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts.
In 1982, she recorded a second version
of "I Will Always Love You" for The Best
Little Whorehouse in Texas; the second version proved
to be another #1 country hit and also managed to reach
the pop charts, going to #53 in the United States.
In 1986, she was inducted into the
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The following year, along with Emmylou
Harris and Linda Ronstadt, she released the decade-in-the-making
Trio album to critical acclaim. Also in 1987, Parton
switched record labels, moving from RCA to Columbia
Records, and took a second stab at her own TV variety
show, also titled Dolly, which lasted only one season.Parton
has also done voice work for animation, such as playing
herself in the TV series Alvin & the Chipmunks
(episode: Urban Chipmunk) (1987) and her voice role
as Katrina Eloise "Murph" Murphy in The
Magic School Bus (episode: The Family Holiday Special)
(1996).
Standing at an even 5 feet tall (152
cm), Parton's physical trademark is her large bust.
She has often mocked this reputation with quips such
as "I would have burned my bra in the 60s, but
it would have taken the fire department three days
to put it out," or "The reason I have a
small waist and small feet is that nothing grows well
in the shade."
In 1992, "I Will Always Love
You" was performed by Whitney Houston on The
Bodyguard soundtrack. Houston's version became the
best-selling hit ever written and performed by a female
vocalist, with worldwide sales of $12,000,000. As
Parton owned the song, she raked in huge profits from
Houston's cover. The song was also covered by music
legend Kenny Rogers on his 1997 album "Always
and Forever," which sold over 4 million copies
worldwide.
Parton's last starring role in a film
was in 1992's Straight Talk, opposite James Woods.
She played the plainspoken host of a radio program
that has people phoning-in with problems. She later
played an overprotective mother in Frank McKlusky,
C.I. with Dave Sheridan, Cameron Richardson, and Randy
Quaid.
After being dropped by country radio
stations' playlists in the mid-1990s, she rediscovered
her roots by recording a series of critically acclaimed
bluegrass albums, beginning with "The Grass is
Blue" (1999) and including Grammy-winning "Little
Sparrow" (2001), which was the theme tune of
the very popular movie of the same name. Her 2002
album "Halos and Horns" included a bluegrass
version of the Led Zeppelin classic Stairway to Heaven.
Business
Parton is a shrewd businesswoman.
She invested much of her earnings into business ventures
in her native East Tennessee, notably Pigeon Forge,
which includes a theme park named Dollywood and a
dinner show called Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede,
resulting in a thriving tourism industry that draws
visitors from large parts of the Southeastern and
Midwestern United States, notably Tennessee, Kentucky
and Ohio. This region of the U.S., like most areas
of Appalachia, traditionally has been characterized
by economic poverty. Thus, Parton put something back
into the community where she was born and raised.
She has reportedly turned down several offers to pose
for Playboy magazine and similar publications. Although
she has admitted to having some amounts of cosmetic
surgery (notably a breast lift), rumors that she had
breast augmentation surgery remain unsubstantiated.
Parton, alongside Johnny Cash, is one of the few country
stars to be admired and acclaimed by fans from all
walks of life. She said that she has long admired
the look of some outcasts from society (such as prostitutes,
whose long fingernails and big blonde wigs inspired
her), which has continued into her adult years.
Her work of the late 1990s and beyond has moved towards
bluegrass and more traditional folk styles.
Honors
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame for Recording at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard
in Hollywood; a star on the Nashville Star Walk for
Grammy winners; and a bronze sculpture on the courthouse
lawn in Sevierville, Tennessee.
Parton was honored in 2003 with a
tribute album called "Just Because I'm a Woman."
The artists who recorded versions of Dolly's songs
include Melissa Etheridge ("I Will Always Love
You"), Alison Krauss ("9 to 5"), Shania
Twain ("Coat of Many Colors"), Me'Shell
NdegéOcello ("Two Doors Down"), Nora
Jones ("The Grass is Blue"), and Sinead
O'Connor ("Dagger Through the Heart").
Dolly Parton was awarded the Living
Legend medal by the U.S. Library of Congress on April
14, 2004, for her contributions to the cultural heritage
of the United States.
Hit singles
1967 "The Last Thing on My Mind" (with Porter
Wagoner) (#7 COUNTRY)
1968 "We'll Get Ahead Someday" (with Porter
Wagoner) (#5 COUNTRY)
1969 "Just Someone I Used to Know" (with
Porter Wagoner) (#7 COUNTRY)
1970 "Mule Skinner Blues" (#3 COUNTRY)
1970 "Joshua (song)" #108 U.S. (#1 COUNTRY)
1971 "Better Move it On Home" (with Porter
Wagoner) (#7 COUNTRY)
1971 "Coat of Many Colors" (#4 COUNTRY)
1972 "Touch Your Woman" (#6 COUNTRY)
1973 "If Teardrops Were Pennies (and Heartaches
were Gold" (with Porter Wagoner) (#3 COUNTRY)
1973 "Jolene" #44 U.S. (#1 COUNTRY)
1974 "I Will Always Love You" (#1 COUNTRY)
1974 "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" (#1 COUNTRY)
1975 "The Bargain Store" (#1 COUNTRY)
1975 "The Seeker" (#2 COUNTRY)
1976 "It's All I Can Do" (#3 COUNTRY)
1977 "Here You Come Again" #3 U.S. (#1 COUNTRY)
1978 "Two Doors Down" #19 U.S. (#1 COUNTRY)
1978 "Heartbreaker" #12 U.S. (#1 COUNTRY)
1979 "Baby I'm Burning" #25 U.S.
1979 "You're the Only One" (#1 COUNTRY)
1980 "Starting Over Again" #35 U.S. (#1
COUNTRY)
1980 "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You (#1
COUNTRY)
1981 "9 to 5" #1 U.S. (#1 COUNTRY)
1981 "But You Know I Love You" #41 U.S.
(#1 COUNTRY)
1982 "Single Women" (#8 COUNTRY)
1983 "Everything's Beautiful" (with Willie
Nelson) (#7 COUNTRY)
1982 "I Will Always Love You" (1982 recording)
#53 U.S. (#1 COUNTRY)
1983 "Islands in the Stream" (with Kenny
Rogers) #1 U.S., #7 UK (#1 COUNTRY)
1984 "Save the Last Dance for Me" (#3 COUNTRY)
1984 "Tennessee Homesick Blues" (#1 COUNTRY)
1985 "Don't Call it Love" (#3 COUNTRY)
1985 "Real Love" (#1 COUNTRY)
1986 "Think About Love" (#1 COUNTRY)
1987 "To Know Him is to Love Him" (with
Emmylou Harris) and Linda Ronstadt) (#1 COUNTRY)
1987 "Telling Me Lies" (with Emmylou Harris)
and Linda Ronstadt) (#3 COUNTRY)
1988 "Wildflowers" (with Emmylou Harris)
and Linda Ronstadt) (#1 COUNTRY)
1989 "Why'd Ya' Come In Here Lookin' Like That?"
(#1 COUNTRY)
1989 "Yellow Roses" (#1 COUNTRY)
1991 "Rockin' Years" (#1 COUNTRY)
Charting albums
1978 "Heartbreaker" #27
U.S.
1978 "Here You Come Again" #20 U.S.
1978 "Dolly Parton/Both Sides" #24 UK
1979 "Great Balls of Fire" #40 U.S.
1981 "9 to 5 and Odd Jobs" #11 U.S.
1991 "Eagle When She Flies" #24 U.S.
1993 "Honky Tonk Angels" #42 U.S.
1993 "Slow Dancing with the Moon" #16 U.S.
1997 "A Life in Music - Ultimate Collection"
#38 UK
2001 "Little Sparrow" #30 UK
2001 "Gold - The Hits Collection" #23 UK
2002 "Halos & Horns" #37 UK
2003 "Ultimate" #17 UK
2005 "Those Were The Days" (Coming Soon)
Filmography
9 to 5 (1980) ... Doralee Rhodes
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) ... Mona
Stangley
Rhinestone (1984) ... Jake
Steel Magnolias (1989) ... Truvy Jones
Straight Talk (1992) ... Shirlee Kenyon
The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) ... cameo as herself
Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002) ... Edith McKlusky
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005) ..
cameo as herself
TV filmography
A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986)
... Lorna Davis
Wild Texas Wind (1991) ... Thiola "Big T"
Rayfield
Unlikely Angel (1996) ... Ruby Diamond
Blue Valley Songbird (1999) ... Leanna Taylor
TV series
Heavens to Betsy (1994) (comedy) ...
regular
Mindin' My Own Business (1996) (comedy) ... regular
TV music & variety
The Porter Wagoner Show (1967-1974)
(country music) ... regular singer
Dolly (1976) (variety) ... host
Dolly (1987-1988) (variety) ... host
Trivia
The first cloned mammal was
a sheep named "Dolly" in honor of Dolly
Parton, because it was cloned from a mammary cell.
She is believed to be a cousin of porn star Julia
Parton.
Told Sandra Bullock while rehearsing on their latest
movie that she wanted to make "that Britney-Madonna
kiss look tame".
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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