Dolly Parton Biography
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Dolly Parton was
born on January 19, 1946 to Robert Lee Parton
and Avie Lee (née Owens) Parton (d. 12/2003) in
Sevierville, Tennessee. She is the fourth of 12
children. Her parents came from large families
themselves, Avie was one of 10 and Robert was
one of 15). Soon after her birth her parents
moved to Locust Ridge, Tennessee and lived in a
one room cabin on a farm with her entire family.
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Music was always a
part of her family’s life. She was able to play
the guitar and banjo by the age of nine. Four
of her other siblings also pursued a career in
entertainment: Rachel (Parton) Dennison
(singer/actress), Stella Parton
(singer/actress), Randy Parton (bass
player/singer) and Floyd Parton (musician/song
writer).
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Her first taste of
fame came in 1958, when she appeared on the
Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour, a variety
show on a local station in Knoxville (WIVK). The
following year she recorded her fist single
“Puppy Love” (with Gold Band, a small
independent record company) at age 13 and even
appeared at the Grand Ole Opry.
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Graduated High
School in Sevier County, Tennessee in 1964 and
moved to Nashville to pursue a career as a
country music singer (1964).
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Fell in love with
businessman Carl Dean from Nashville in 1965 and
they got married in 1966 (May 30th).
He has stayed out of the limelight during almost
all of Dolly’s career. This must have worked,
because they are still happily married today.
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She signed a record
deal with Mercury records in 1965, but after
releasing Its Sure Gonna Hurt, which did
not do very well, they let her go. She did not
give up and released two more albums
(Something Fishy and Dumb Blonde)
with Monument Records in 1967. Fellow country
singer Porter Wagoner liked what he heard and
hired her to appear on his show The Porter
Wagoner Show. The pairing up of Parton and
Wagoner was magic. She appeared on his show for
seven years. They released several duet albums
together, and they even toured together,
including performing at the Grand Ole Opry. The
pair had even received Country Music Association
(CMA) awards for Best Vocal Duo of the Year in
1970 and 1971.
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In 1968, she signed
with RCA records. In 1970, one of her singles,
“Joshua, hit number one on the carts, and her
career really began to take off. This is the
first of almost 25 top ten hits.
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In 1976, after many
appearances on television, she got her own TV
show, Dolly, which only lasted one
season.
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Her first Grammy
Award was awarded in 1977 (Best Country Vocal
Performance by a Female) for the song “Here You
Come Again” off the New Harvest . . . First
Gathering album. The song not only topped
the country music charts, but also made it to #3
on the pop charts. This marks the spread of her
music beyond the traditional country music scene
into the mainstream.
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This talented
beauty then brought her talents onto the big
screen and her movie debut came in 1980,
co-staring with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda with
Nine to Five. Dolly also sang and
recorded the title songe, “9 to 5,” which won
two Grammy Awards for Best Country Vocal
Performance by a Female and Best Country Song.
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She also appeared
in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in
1982 and Rhinestone in 1984. [Note:
Believe it or not, Parton sang a duet with Sylvester
Stallone in Rhinestone.]
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In 1983, she
topped the charts in a duet with country legend
Kenny Rogers
with the song “Islands in the Stream.” [Note:
The song was written by the Bee Gees.]
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In 1984, she
received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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She was never one
to slow down and started up Dolly Parton
Enterprises in 1986 to control her growing
multi-million dollar empire. In 1986, she also
opened up a theme part called Dollywood. (in
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee)
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Her album with
Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, which was
aptly named Trio, wins Dolly her fourth
Grammy Award for
Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With
Vocal in 1987.
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In 1989, she
appeared in the star-packed movie Steel
Magnolias and was exceptional in a cast that
included with Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah,
Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine and Julia Roberts.
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She was a partner
in Sandollar Productions which produced such
television shows and movies as Buffy the
Vampire Slayer and Father of the Bride
during the 1990s. She also put out a line of
beauty care products with Revlon in the 1990s.
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In 1991, “I Will
Always Love You,” which was written and first
sung by Dolly was performed Whitney Houston and
released on the soundtrack of the movie The
Bodygaurd and went straight to number one.
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Dolly added
“author” to her resume in 1994 when she wrote a
children’s book entitled Coat of Many Colors
and also wrote an autobiography entitled
Dolly, My Life and Other Unfinished Business.
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The trio of Dolly,
Emmylou and Linda come together again in 1999
with After The Gold Rush and win another Grammy
Award (for Best
Country Collaboration With Vocals), this is
Dolly’s 5th. The same year, she was
also inducted into the Country Music Hall of
Fame.
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In 2001, she
releases The Grass is Blue, and wins
Grammy Award #6 for Best Bluegrass Album of the
Year.
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Grammy Award number
seven is awarded in 2002 for Best Country Female
Vocal Performance for the song “Shine” off the
Little Sparrow album. [She now also has
42 nominations.]
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Dolly Parton
continues to perform and run her entertainment
empire. However, one of her main focuses these
days are on childhood literacy and through her
Imagination Library, she has donated over one
million books to help foster parents to read to
their young children.
A List of
Dolly Parton’s Awards & Nominations
10
Country Music Association Awards
1968 Vocal Group of the Year, with Porter Wagoner
1970 Vocal Duo of the Year, with Porter Wagoner
(first time given)
1971 Vocal Duo of the Year, with Porter Wagoner
1975 Female Vocalist of the Year
1976 Female Vocalist of the Year
1978 Entertainer of the Year
1988 Vocal Event of the Year (with Emmylou Harris
and Linda Ronstadt)
1993 Country Music Honors
1996 Vocal Event of the Year (with Vince Gill)
2004 International
Artist Achievement Award (presented by the BBC)
7 Grammy Awards
(and 42 nominations)
1978 Best Country Vocal Performance by a Female for
Here You Come Again
1981 Best Country Vocal
Performance by a Female for "9 to 5"
1981 Best Country Song for "9 to 5"
1987 Best Country
Performance by a Duo or Group (with Linda Ronstadt
and Emmylou Harris) for Trio
1999 Best Country
Collaboration With Vocals, (with Linda Ronstadt and
Emmylou Harris) for “After the Goldrush,"
2000 Best Bluegrass
Album, for The Grass is Blue
2001 Best Country
Female Vocal Performance for "Shine"
5
Academy of Country Music Awards
1977 Entertainer of The Year
1980 Female Vocalist of The Year
1983 Single of The Year ("Islands In The Stream"
with Kenny Rogers)
1983 Vocal Duet of the Year (with Kenny Rogers)
1987 Album of The Year
(Trio with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris)
4 Golden
Globe Nominations
1981 Best Supporting
Actress in a Musical/Comedy, for 9 to 5
1981 Best Original Song, for "9 to 5"
1981 Best New Film Star
1983 Best Actress in a
Musical/Comedy, for The Best Little Whorehouse in
Texas
3
American Music Association Awards
1978 Favorite Country Album, for New Harvest,
First Gathering
1984 Favorite Country Single (with Kenny Rogers),
for "Islands in the Stream"
1985 Favorite Country Single (with Kenny Rogers),
for "Islands in the Stream"
3 People’s Choice
Awards
1981 Favorite Movie Song, "9 to 5"
1988 Favorite Female
Performer in a New Television Series
1988 Favorite All Around Female Performer
1
Academy Award nomination
1980 Achievement in Music Original Song, "9 to 5"
1 Emmy Award
Nomination
1978 Outstanding
Continuing Or Single Performance By A Supporting
Actress In Variety Or Music, Dolly Parton for
Cher . . . Special.
Biography by Ian Ripley,
PopStarsPlus.com, Sr. Staff Writer
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