The always darling Dolly Parton: A look at the country music star's career that revolutionized the industry
"Jolene" singer and songwriter and Tennessee native Dolly Parton is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Emmy award winner, and philanthropist
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dolly Rebecca Parton revolutionized the country music industry for women in the 1970s. Parton started out playing the guitar on a TV show at just ten-years-old and recorded her first single in Nashville in 1962. After high school, she moved to the Music City where she met her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, outside of a laundromat. (Getty Images)
In the early 70s, Dolly rose to fame with hit solo singles "Joshua," "Jolene," "Love is Like a Butterfly," and "I Will Always Love You," all reaching number one on the Billboard country music charts. (Getty Images)
Photographed here is Dolly Parton's "Jolene" album cover released in 1974. (Getty Images)
In 1980, Parton starred in the comedy film "9 to 5" with American actor Dabney Coleman. She wrote the aptly named song "9 to 5" for the movie. (Getty Images)
Parton's "9 to 5" hit song continues to spark creativity for other artists today. The Broadway show titled "9 to 5" opened in 2009 with music and lyrics written by Parton. She performed the country tune that same year at the Tony Awards. (Getty Images)
Dolly Parton is not just a musical icon, but also a philanthropist. She organized a foundation of her own, Imagination Library, and contributes to many other charities often. Imagination Library provides free books to children in various countries. She read her self-written book "The Coat of Many Colors" in 2018 at the Library of Congress to commemorate the 100 millionth book donation to the program. (Getty Images)
Dolly has 11 siblings. The huge family grew up in Tennessee in poverty. Her sister, Stella Parton, is also an award-winning singer. Her songs climbed charts in the 70s, she starred in Broadway musicals, and appeared in a few movies. Photographed here is Dolly and Stella Parton at Stella's Red Tent Women’s Conference in 2014. (Getty Images)
Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers were long-time friends who wrote, recorded, and performed music together for years. Photographed here are the two performing in NYC in 1985. Rogers died in 2020. Parton paid tribute to the country music star in a social post, "Well, I couldn't believe it. This morning when I got up and turned on the TV... they told me that my friend and singing-partner Kenny Rogers had passed away." (Getty Images)
Dolly Parton is also well-known for wearing largely teased blonde wigs. Photographed here is Dolly and Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show in 2014. Both are donning Parton-style wigs. (Getty Images)