Dolly Parton

Ancestors

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Biography

Dolly is a singer, songwriter, author, actress, and humanitarian from Tennessee, United States.

Dolly is known for not only her music but also her humanitarian work, she has won countless awards including:

• 11 Grammy Awards (Nominated for 50)
• 10 Country Music Association Awards
• 5 Academy of Country Music Awards
• 4 People's Choice Awards
• 3 American Music Awards
• Kennedy Center honoree

Kennedy Center Honoree

Birth and Early Years

In a one room cabin in Pittman Center, Tennessee on 19 January 1946, Dolly Rebecca Parton was born to Lee Parton and Avie Lee (Owens) Parton (1923-2003) She was the fourth of twelve children^[1] She grew up in a very low economical area of Appalacia, where money was very limited for such large family that the doctor the delivered Dolly was paid with a bag of cornmeal. Her father, according to the 1950 census was a farmer, ^[1] and her mother stayed at home to care for the children.

Music played an important role for Dolly even at a young age, she and her family attended the church her grandfather, Jake Robert Owens (1899-1992) pastored at the Church of God in Cleveland Tennessee, where she would begin her singing career at the age of six. By the age of ten, she was apparearing on The Cas Walker Show.^[2]

Porter Wagnor and Dolly Parton.

Dolly recorded her first record at the age of 13 "Puppy Love" and also appeared at the Grand Ole Opry alongside her uncle, Bill Owens. ^[3]
Dolly attended Sevier County High school ^[4] and graduated in 1964, and moved to Nashville the very next day.

Marriage

Dolly married Carl Thomas Dean on May 30 1966. They had no children.

Music Career

Coat of Many Colors.

As stated before, Dolly's first song was recorded at the age of 13, but it didn't stop there, in fact, Dolly is still singing and touring. Her legendary career has spanned over 60 years with hit songs such as:

• Coat of Many Colors
• Jolene
• I will Always Love you
• Islands in the Sun

She has spanned the genres with her songs from country to pop to bluegrass, and gospel. Many artists covering her songs, including Whitney Elizabeth Houston (1963-2012) with the hit "I Will Always Love You."

• see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Parton_singles_discography for full singles discography
• see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Parton_albums_discography for full album discography

Acting Career

Dolly has appeared on television since the 1960s when she performed on the Porter Wagoner Show, she also had two self-titled shows in the 1970s and 1980s.
She starred in her first movie along with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the Comedy "9 to 5" in 1980. She received Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy nominations, and won Grammys for Best Female Country Vocal performance and Best Country song for the title song of the movie.^[5]
In 1985, she starred alongside Burton Leon Reynolds Jr (1936-2018) and Dominick DeLuise (1933-2009) in the comedy, Musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas where she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical ^[6]

No stranger to television, Dolly has produced, written, and appeared in numerous shows and series.

• See https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000573/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 for full movie and TV appearances

Parton, Tomlin, and Fonda

DollyWood

On the 3 May 1986, the doors opened to Dollys new venture, a family orientated theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee called Dollywood. ^[7]

Other business ventures include dinner theatres and her newest Dollyverse ^[8]

Philanthothropy

“I keep dreaming myself into a corner! I’ve learned you can’t just say, ’Oh, my dream’s come true and I’m walking out of here.No, you’ve got to show you’re grateful and show that you’re not going to just leave it all in the hands of other people.” ^[9] Dolly stated this in an interview with Country Music Today. She practices what she preaches. She gives, sometimes anonymously to charities and causes constantly:

• The Dollywood Foundation^[10]
• The imagination Library ^[11]
• My People Fund ^[12]

She has also generously given money to the LeConte Medical Center in Seiverville, Tennessee, she also gave over $3 million to the victims of the Smokey Mountain fires in 2017.

You Tube

• 9 to 5 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbxUSsFXYo4
• Jolene - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixrje2rXLMA
• Islands in the Stream - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpWldTFq2Jk
• I will Always Love You - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0bEZH6ZqG4
• Coat of Many Colors - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_-YbWHs6DE

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} 1950 Census: "1950 United States Federal Census"
   United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Sevier, Tennessee; Roll: 2948; Sheet Number: 8; Enumeration District: 78-28
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #104950480 (accessed 11 May 2022)
   Dollie Parton (4), never married (single) daughter, in household of Lee Parton (29) in Sevier, Tennessee, USA. Born in Tennessee.
2. ↑ Cas Walker Show https://dollyparton.com/life-and-career/music/dolly-lands-cas-walker-show/240 (accessed 11 May 2022)
3. ↑ Grand Ole Oprey https://dollyparton.com/life-and-career/awards_milestones/grand-ole-opry-performance-1959 (accessed 11 May 2022)
4. ↑ 1964 School Yearbook: "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1999"
   "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Sevier County High School; Year: 1964
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1265 #569035661 (accessed 11 May 2022)
   Name: Dolly Parton; Estimated Age: 16; Birth Year: abt 1948; Yearbook Date: 1964; School: Sevier County High School; School Location: Sevierville, Tennessee, USA.
5. ↑ 24th Grammy Awards - https://www.grammy.com/awards/24th-annual-grammy-awards (accessed 13 May 2022
6. ↑ Best Whorehouse https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083642/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_57 (accessed 13 May 2022)
7. ↑ Dollywood https://www.dollywood.com/ (accessed 13 May 2022)
8. ↑ Dollyverse - https://welcometodollyverse.com/dolly (accessed 13 May 2022)
9. ↑ CMT News - http://www.cmt.com/news/1839701/dolly-partons-business-ventures-keep-growing-even-in-a-year-like-2021/ (accessed 13 May 2022)
10. ↑ Foundation - https://dollywoodfoundation.org/ (accessed 13 May 2022)
11. ↑ library https://imaginationlibrary.com/ (accessed 13 May 2022)
12. ↑ Fund https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/tennessee/2016/11/30/dollywood-donating-wildfire-recovery-official-says/94700498/

• Wikipedia Entry

• Ancestry.com. Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Gale Research Company; Detroit, Michigan; Accession Number: 956864 Almanac of Famous People. 10th Edition. Detroit: Gale/Cengage Learning, 2011. (AlFamP 10) Ancestry Record 4394 #10750530

• Ancestry.com. Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Gale Research Company; Detroit, Michigan; Accession Number: 956865 Dictionary of International Biography. 34th Edition. Rains, Sara, ed. Cambridge: Melrose Press, 2008. Ancestry Record 4394 #10750531

• "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Sevier County High School; Year: 1962 Ancestry Record 1265 #565733126 1963 Ancestry Record 1265 #565366138 1964 Ancestry Record 1265 #569035661

• Dolly on Dolly: interviews and encounters with Dolly Parton. Chicago Review Press; Schmidt, Randy L. (editor) (2017).

• "Dolly Parton" on FilmReference.com

• "Daddy's Dinner Bucket", DollyParton.com.