She was born on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains. She grew up somewhat poor: as one of 12 children money was quite an issue.
However, music became something her family gathered around. Her mother sang and played guitar, and when Parton performed in at a young age, she started to learn more about music.
Dolly Parton got her own guitar from her uncle. Before long, she had started to write her own songs.
By age 10, she had performed on several local television and radio stations in Knoxville, Tennessee, and at age 13, she made her debut on the national country radio station, Grand Ole Opry. At the time, she was making about $20 a week.
Family and music walked hand in hand with the Partons, and it was her uncles that helped her take the next step.
“I had two uncles who played — Uncle Bill, who helped me get into the business, and Uncle Lewis, who was also a great guitar player,” she said. “He had this little Martin guitar that I loved, so when he saw how serious I was about my music, he gave me his little Martin guitar. It was my treasure.”
Parton went to high school and graduated, becoming the first one in her family to do so. But in 1964, at the age of 18, she decided to focus fully on her music career. Dolly Parton left home and headed to the Mecca of the country music scene, Nashville.
“I had a dream,” she said. “And I had a talent, I thought. And I really believed it was going to happen.”
Dolly Parton on March 10, 1983 dining at Spago in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
In Nashville, Dolly quickly became a star. She worked with Porter Wagoner on The Porter Wagoner Show, and the duo became very popular. Parton and Wagoner released several country hits together, and she soon got a contract with RCA Records. In 1971, Parton landed her first No. 1 country hit, Joshua, and several more hits followed. One of them was, of course, “Jolene.”
The song only has 200 words in it. However, it became one of the biggest hits of the 20th century. Dolly Parton reached No. 1 on the charts and the song was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance (both studio and live version).
Not only that but “Jolene” was ranked No. 217 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” released in 2004.
With songs like “I Will Always Love You” – which was a tribute to Wagoner and their professional relationship – “The Seeker,” “Love Is Like a Butterfly,” and “All I Can Do,” Dolly Parton stacked up awards upon awards and became a real superstar worldwide.
