Dolly Parton

From ArticleWorld

Dolly Rebecca Parton is an accomplished American singer, composer, songwriter, and actress. She was born on January 19, 1946 in Sevierville, Tennessee. She was born into a "dirt poor" family, the fourth out of twelve total children. They all lived in a one-room cabin.

Dolly got her music background in the church and began her entertainment career singing on local radio and television as a child. She already had a small label and made an appearance at the Grand Ole Opry by the age of 13.

Parton’s first success was not as a singer, but as a songwriter, with her songs being recorded by stars like Kitty Wells and Hank Williams, Jr.. She signed on with Monument Records in 1964, but her list of recorded singles didn’t reach the chart. She transferred to RCA Records and in 1974 her single "I Will Always Love You" went to No.1.

Parton is known in most circles as mainly a "Country and Western" singer and she desperately wanted to increase her fan base and audience. When she released Here You Come Again she did just that, and made it on the pop charts. After Parton was released from country music radio stations during the mid-1990’s because of the modernizing of country music, she went back to her roots and released a series of bluegrass albums.

Parton was cast in the 1980 film 9 to 5 for which she wrote the single "9 to 5" that won her an Academy Award and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture. It also won her two Grammy Awards and reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Parton also had roles in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Straight Talk, and Steel Magnolias’’.

She was named a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986. She is one of the most successful songwriters, combining country elements and folk music, and basing her songs on her poor, mountain upbringing. Other classic songs of hers include "Coat of Many Colors" and "Jolene."