Dolly Parton: a life in art
Dolly Parton was a country music icon born in Tennessee who had a career of over 60 years in music, sold more than 100 million records, wrote more than 3,000 songs and won 11 Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. She was known for her larger-than-life looks full of rhinestones and a style fans coined as “Glitter Cowgirl”
Her first musical influences were her church upbringing, and she first performed in the church, where her grandfather was a preacher. By the age of 13, she had performed on local radio and television, appeared in the Grand Ole Opry, and recorded her first single
She moved to Nashville the day after graduating from Sevier County High School, following her uncle Bill Owens, also a songwriter, and found success in her first solo hit, “dumb blonde”
In 1967, Porter Wagoner invited her to join the Porter Wagoner Show, where she became a regular on his national television program and also gained a spot in his touring show. Their 1967 duet “The Last Thing On My Mind” became a turning point in her career.
Her breakthrough, though, came with her album Hello, I’m Dolly. Her first number 1 solo single was "Joshua." Her song “Coat of Many Colours” was a notable song for her career. Originally written about how she proudly wore clothes her mother sewed together from scraps, despite her peers bullying her, this was later made into a children's book and TV movie.
In a single writing session in 1973, she wrote both Jolene and I Will Always Love You, with Jolene going on to define her career and become her most covered track, including a notable cover by her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, and I Will Always Love You gaining massive success with the Whitney Houston Titanic cover.
With albums such as Here You Come Again, she headlined festivals and quickly became a global star. She also became known for her collaborations with people such as Kenny Rogers, with Islands in the Stream still being a notable 80s hit.
While best known for her music, she was also an actress, with her breakout role being Doralee Rhodes in the workplace comedy 9 to 5 alongside Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman. Following this, she had roles in projects such as 1982’s Best Little Whore House in Texas and Steel Magnolias. Though many may not know the show 9 to 5, her title song was well loved by the masses.
Dolly opened her theme park Dollywood in 1986 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near her birthplace, with the park's success going on to fund her literary charity Imagination Library, which she founded in honour of her father, who was unable to read and through this charity has given away more than 100 million free books to children. She even published her own book Coat of Many Colours.
Her 2014 Glastonbury performance drew the festival's biggest ever daytime crowd at an estimated more than 180,000 people in attendance.
Eventually, she stepped away from touring and instead focused on live shows that required fewer song stretches on the road and screen appearances such as Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, Mountain Magic and Christmas on the Square for Netflix.
In 2022, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Today, we take a moment to thank Dolly for all she contributed to the arts, and may her work continue to inspire us for generations to come.
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