5 things to know about Dolly Parton
She’s the Queen of Country who has been entertaining fans since the late 1960s. But how much do you know about Dolly Parton?
Here are five things to know about the Leading Lady of Country.
1. Dolly Parton was born on Jan 19, 1946, and was the fourth of 12 children. Her parents were Robert and Avie Lee Parton. It is said that her father didn’t have enough money to pay the doctor, so he gave the man who delivered her a bag of grain as payment, according to Country Living. Her family’s home in the Great Smoky Mountains had only one room and had no electricity, Ken Burns said of her in his PBS documentary “Country Music.”
2. She started writing songs at the age of 5. When she was 10, she earned $20 a week singing on a television show in Knoxville, Burns said. She left her home in 1964 the day after she graduated from high school. Parton was the first person in her family to complete her high school education.
3. Parton has received many honors over her career. She has had 25 songs hit No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts and has had 41 Top 10 country albums with 110 charted singles.
She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and was awarded the Living Legend Medal by the Library of Congress. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2005 and has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (awarded in 1984 and 2018).
4. She owns a theme park in Tennessee. Dollywood is the largest employer in Sevier County, Tennessee. She left the town when she turned 18, but never forgot her roots. She opened the amusement park in 1986, but the park itself dates back to 1961 when the Rebel Railroad opened. According to the Dollywood website, the railroad grew into Dollywood.
PIGEON FORGE, TN – 1993: American singer and songwriter Dolly Parton poses for a portrait with her guitar at Dollywood circa 1993 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. (Photo by Ron Davis/Getty Images)
5. Parton has a mission that focuses on childhood literacy. The singer gifts books to children from birth to the age of 5 in the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Ireland. The program was inspired by Parton’s father, who was unable to read or write. The Imagination Library started in 1995 in Sevier County but has expanded over the years. In all, more than 1.7 million children have registered for the program and the singer has given more than 150 million books.
If your child is within the age limits, click here to register for the program.
NASHVILLE – 1965: Country singer Dolly Parton poses for a portrait in 1965 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
CIRCA 1970: Country singer Dolly Parton poses for a portrait in circa 1970. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
CIRCA 1972: Country singer Dolly Parton poses for a portrait in circa 1972. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
1974: Country singer Dolly Parton performs onstage with an acoustic guitar in circa 1974. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES – CIRCA 1975: Country singer Dolly Parton performs onstage wearing a yellow dress in circa 1975 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Dolly Parton at a press reception at the Hilton Hotel, London, 1976. (Photo by Vincent McEvoy/Redferns)
UNITED KINGDOM – JANUARY 01: Photo of Dolly PARTON (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)
Portrait of Dolly Parton at the Holiday Inn in Chicago, Illinois, April 30, 1977. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
20th May 1977: Country music queen Dolly Parton is back in London after performing at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow, at a Scottish Royal Jubilee Television Special in the presence of the Queen, she now commences on a tour of Britain and the continent. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
UNITED STATES – AUGUST 01: Photo of Dolly PARTON (Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)
LOS ANGELES – 1978: Country singer Dolly Parton poses for a portrait session in 1978 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images)
Dolly Parton in a scene from the film ‘Nine To Five’, 1980. (Photo by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – CIRCA 1981: Dolly Parton circa 1981 in New York City. (Photo by Robin Platzer/Images/Getty Images)
PIGEON FORGE, TN – 1993: American singer and songwriter Dolly Parton poses for a portrait with her guitar at Dollywood circa 1993 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. (Photo by Ron Davis/Getty Images)
Dolly Parton in publicity portrait for the film ‘Rhinestone’, 1984. (Photo by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
American country music singer and actress Dolly Parton poses with a People’s Choice Award, March 13, 1988. She wears a white sequinned dress with transparent shoulders and long earrings. (Photo by Fotos International/Robert Scott/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES – OCTOBER 1989: Singer and Actress Dolly Parton poses for a portrait in October 1989 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images)
Dolly Parton on the set of the Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago, Illinois, May 15, 1991. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
LONDON – JANUARY 17: American singer Dolly Parton poses for photographers at the Churchill Hotel to promote her new single "If" on January 17, 2003 in London. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
BOURNEMOUTH, UNITED KINGDOM – SEPTEMBER 06: Dolly Parton performs at Bournemouth International Centre on September 6, 2011 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Harry Herd/WireImage)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 15: Dolly Parton performs live on stage at Allphones Arena on November 15, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JUNE 08: Dolly Parton performs on stage at the Echo Arena on June 8, 2014 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts/Redferns via Getty Images)
GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: Dolly Parton performs on the Pyramid Stage on Day 3 of the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm on June 29, 2014 in Glastonbury, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Redferns via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 03: Recording artist Dolly Parton performs onstage during the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 3, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Winter/ACM2016/Getty Images for dcp)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – JUNE 15: Singer-songwriter, actress, author, businesswoman Dolly Parton performs during Dolly Parton Pure & Simple Tour at Mann Center For Performing Arts on June 15, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images)
THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON — Episode 0518 — Pictured: Musical guest Dolly Parton performs on August 23, 2016 — (Photo by: Andrew Lipovsky/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 08: Honoree Dolly Parton performs onstage during MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Dolly Parton at Los Angeles Convention Center on February 8, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for NARAS)
LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 08: Dolly Parton accepts the MusiCares Person of the Year award onstage during MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Dolly Parton at Los Angeles Convention Center on February 8, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 10: Dolly Parton attends the 61st Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus perform onstage at the 61st annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Katy Perry (L) and Dolly Parton perform onstage during the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Dolly Parton attends a press conference before a performance celebrating her 50-year anniversary with the Grand Ole Opry at The Grand Ole Opry on October 12, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)
Dolly Parton attends the Netflix Premiere of Dolly Parton’s "Heartstrings" on October 29, 2019 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Netflix)
Nile Rodgers and Dolly Parton attend We Are Family Foundation honors Dolly Parton & Jean Paul Gaultier at Hammerstein Ballroom on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)
Dolly Parton attends the 53rd annual CMA Awards at the Music City Center on November 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Dolly Parton performs onstage during the 53rd annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images,)
In this screengrab released on April 18, Dolly Parton speaks at the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards on April 18, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images for ACM)
Dolly Parton performs at the 2021 Kiss Breast Cancer Goodbye Concert at CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on October 24, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 18: Dolly Parton performs on stage at ACL Live during Blockchain Creative Labs’ Dollyverse event at SXSW during the 2022 SXSW Conference and Festivals on March 18, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 05: Inductee Dolly Parton speaks onstage during the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Microsoft Theater on November 05, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
FILE PHOTO: Dolly Parton performs onstage during the 58th Academy Of Country Music Awards at The Ford Center at The Star on May 11, 2023 in Frisco, Texas. Parton currently holds 10 Guinness World Records.
