The country music singer Dolly Parton is also a songwriter and a philanthropist. She currently has a net worth of $500 million. She is in being on a stage for more than 40 years, and she is one of the most iconic American singers of all time.
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born in Sevierville, Tennessee on January 19th, 1946. Daughter of Robert Lee Parton and Avie Lee Owens, is the fourth of twelve siblings. According to what she said, her family was “poor and dirty.” They lived in a rustic one-room cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains near Locust Ridge. Dolly’s parents were parishioners of the assembly of God, a Pentecostal denomination, and music was part of their church experience.
Her beginnings.
Parton began to show interest in music at an early age. She joined the music scene in 1955 singing on WIVK Radio station programs, and on the television, program The Cas Walker Show, which was broadcast live from the city of Knoxville. Soon after, she signed a contract with Goldband Records and in 1959, she released her first single, entitled “Puppy Love”, without success. In that same year, she appeared for the first time in the cycle Grand Ole Opry, a well-known country music program. She met there Johnny Cash, who saw the potential of Parton’s voice and did not hesitate to encourage her to pursue her dreams.
Parton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1964, the day after finishing high school. There she settled in the house of her uncle Bill Owens, a musician who helped her to enter the musical circuit of Nashville. During that time, Parton composed songs with influences of genres such as country and folk for the singers Hank Williams Jr. and Skeeter Davis.
1967-1974: With Porter Wagoner.
Parton’s musical career prospects began to improve when in 1967 she agreed to join Porter Wagoner’s weekly country music program, and to sign a record deal with RCA Victor. Immediately, she and Wagoner began a successful career as a duo, adding the careers they both had as soloists.
The first single they released together was “The Last Thing on My Mind,” a new version of the song originally performed by Tom Paxton. It reached the top 10 of the country charts in late 1967 and was part of the first studio album they released together, called Just Between You And Me. She stayed on Wagoner’s show, and she continued to record duets with him for seven more years.
Jolene.
In 1974, Parton released the album Jolene, which had a great sales success in the United States and Canada. The first single of the album, “Jolene”, reached the first place of the list Hot Country Songs. This theme, moreover, was named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the best songs of all time. The second single was “I Will Always Love You”, a romantic ballad that reached the top of the Hot Country Songs chart.
This song is the only one in music history that has reached Top 1 single sung by 2 different singers. Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston.
