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Dolly
Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, one of 12 children
of Robert Lee Parton, a tobacco farmer, and Avie Lee Parton (née
Owens). Dolly grew up on a run-down farm in Locust Ridge, TN. At
12 she was appearing on Knoxville TV, and at 13 she was already
recording on a small label and appearing at the Grand Ole Opry.
After graduating from high school in Sevier County, Tennessee,
in 1964, she moved to Nashville to launch her career as a country
singer. She fell in love with Carl Dean, who ran an asphalt-paving
business; they got married on May 30, 1966 (and they are still
together). The next year, Dolly's singing caught the attention
of Porter Wagoner. He hired Dolly to appear on his program, "The
Porter Wagoner Show." Dolly stayed with the show for 7 years,
their duets became famous, and she appeared with his group at the
Grand Ole Opry; she also toured and sold records. By the time her
hit "Joshua" reached #1 in 1970, her fame had overshadowed
Porter's, and she struck out on her own, though still recording
duets with him. She left him for good to become a solo artist in
1974. Dolly gained immense popularity as a singer/songwriter. Dolly
won numerous Country Music Association awards (1968, 1970, 1971,
1975, 1976). This petite (5'0") beauty was a natural for television,
and by the mid-1970s Dolly was appearing frequently on TV specials
and talk shows. Dolly then got her own show, aptly titled "Dolly" (1976).
In 1977 Dolly got her first Grammy award: Best Female Country Vocal
Performance, for her song "Here You Come Again." Dolly's
movie debut was in Nine to Five (1980), where she got an Oscar
nomination for writing the title tune, and also Grammy awards 2
and 3, Best Country Song, and Best Female Country Vocal Performance
for "9 to 5." Dolly got more fame for appearing in Best
Little Whorehouse in Texas, The (1982), and in Rhinestone (1984)
with the song "Tennessee Homesick Blues." She is the
head of Dolly Parton Enterprises, a $100 million media empire,
and in 1986 she founded Dollywood, a theme park in Pigeon Forge,
Tennessee, celebrating her Smokey Mountain upbringing. She appeared
as Herself in "Dolly" (1987) TV series. In 1988 she won
another Grammy award: Best Country Performance Duo or Group with
Vocals, for "Trio." Dolly was in the acclaimed picture
Steel Magnolias (1989) with Julia Roberts, and went on to appear
in 15 movies and TV-movies for the 1990s, and of course garnered
more Country Music Association awards. In 2000, Dolly received
her 5th Grammy award: Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. She
also released a Bluegrass Album. Dolly is known for beautiful songs
such as "Coat of Many Colors" and "Jolene" and "I
Will Always Love You." Dolly said in an interview, "My
music is what took me everywhere I've been and everywhere I will
go. It's my greatest love. I can't abandon it. I'll always keep
making records."
Dolly Parton
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