Parton, Dolly

Dolly Parton is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actress, author, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She has enjoyed success in each of these areas but remains most closely identified with her country-and-western musical roots. Parton is described as an icon variously for her music, fashion, feminism, and sexuality.

Parton was born on January 19, 1946, the fourth of 12 children. Her family lived in a rustic, one-room cabin in Locust Ridge, Tennessee. As a child, Parton taught herself how to play guitar, began performing on local radio and television shows when she was only 8 years old, and debuted on the Grand Old Opry at age 13. The first in her family to graduate high school, Parton immediately left for Nashville to pursue a musical career. There she met her famously reclusive husband, Carl Dean, to whom she has been married since May 30, 1966.

Between 1967 and 1976, Parton appeared on the weekly, syndicated, country-music television program, The Porter Wagoner Show. Ultimately, the song she wrote about her professional break with Wagoner, I Will Always Love You, became one of her most influential songs. Whitney Houston's 1992 cover of this song for the movie The Bodyguard became one of the best-selling singles of all time. Parton's other most recognizable songs include Joshua, Just Because I'm a Woman, Coat of Many Colors, Jolene, Two Doors Down, and 9 to 5. Parton has penned more than 3,000 songs, and in 2001 she [Page 1080]was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Her chart success has spanned over four decades, during which she has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Parton has had 25 number one singles and 41 top 10 country albums.

Dolly Parton, an American singer-songwriter, musician, actress, author, businesswoman, and philanthropist.

Parton also has enjoyed considerable success outside of music. She has acted in several films, most notably 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and Steel Magnolias. In 1986, she opened the entertainment theme park Dollywood in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee, which both preserves and honors her heritage. It also employs more than 2,000 residents and sees more than 2 million yearly visitors, earning Parton the title successful businesswoman as well. Parton has many philanthropic ventures, raising money for the American Red Cross, HIV/AIDS charities, and medical centers. Her Dollywood Foundation supports literacy efforts in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Parton is often called the “iron butterfly” in a nod to the seemingly contradictory interplay of her ultrafeminine appearance and her business acumen.

Her “dumb blonde” image emphasizes her physical endowments, glittery costumes, and big blonde wigs. She is never seen publicly without being fully “made up;” often uses her physical appearance in her self-deprecating stage humor; and is known famously for quipping, “It takes a lot of money to look this cheap.” Yet, Parton's public persona also conveys a genuineness that relates back to her background as being “dirt poor” and from the Great Smokey Mountains. Her sexuality, ambition, talent, spirituality, generosity, and humor have made her a complex and compelling icon for men and women, heterosexuals and homosexuals, feminists and traditionalists alike.

...