25 Definitive Dolly Parton Songs to Add to Your Playlist

Since she emerged in the music world with her single "Puppy Love" back in 1959 (she was just 13), Dolly Parton has been an essential cultural figure. Bridging classic country with pop music, feminist themes, and plenty of witty one-liners, she's written several careers worth of defining hits for herself and others. And indeed, her pen and gift for irresistible melodies have both remained sharp into her 70s.

"I am a singer, an entertainer, and a businesswoman. But if I had to choose just one thing to be, I would be a songwriter," she told Parade. "Everything that I am starts with a song."

Everyone knows the winsome hook to "Jolene," the stunning vocals on "I Will Always Love You," (which later became an iconic hit for Whitney Houston, too), and the fingerpicked nostalgia ode "Coat of Many Colors," but there's so much more to Parton's discography. She was the first artist to register a top 20 country hit in each decade since the '60s, her music has been instrumental to films like 9 to 5, and she's won nine of 49 Grammy Award nominations (plus a 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award).

During the '70s and '80s, Parton recorded noteworthy duets with artists like Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, and Smokey Robinson. She's written ballads about heartbreak, feel good secular tunes, and Christian hits (including 2018's "God Only Knows" with For KING & COUNTRY), and her enduring records from that era have hundreds of millions of combined streams. Dolly's songwriting chops have been on display for collaborators ranging from her goddaughter Miley Cyrus to Merle Haggard and Mel Tillis.

And she's still releasing successful solo albums, including four in the last ten years, all of which debuted near the top of the country charts.

Later this month, 14 of her songs will be used in Christmas on the Square, a new Netflix holiday musical, which, naturally, also stars Parton. To help you get ready for the movie's release, here are 25 of the best songs written by Dolly Parton, with a few delectable covers thrown in for good measure.