Dolly Rebecca Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton was conceived in Pittman Center on January 19, 1946. She was raised in Sevierville to Avie Lee Parton (a housewife) and Robert Lee Parton (a tobacco farmer). She was featured on Knoxville TV at 12 years old. At 13 she recorded on a small label, and singing at the Grand Ole Opry. She relocated to Nashville in 1964 to begin her country music career following her graduation from high school. Carl Dean, an asphalt-paving businessman, was drawn to her, and they were married on May 30th, 1966. Porter Wagoner saw her singing and asked her to be a guest on The Porter Wagoner Show (1961). She remained on The Porter Wagoner Show for seven seasons. Their duets were well-known and she was invited to join him on the Grand Ole Opry. The hit song from her 1970 album "Joshua" hit the top spot at #1, her fame was just too high to be able to compete with his. In 1974, she was by herself and recorded duets alongside his. She left him for good to become a solo artist in 1974. Dolly became a hugely admired artist and singer. Dolly was awarded many Country Music Association awards (1968-1971 1971, 1975-1976, 1975-1976). She was a slim (5'0") beauty who was an ideal choice for television. In the late 1970s, Dolly was frequently appearing on Talk-shows and television specials, before being given her own show Dolly (1976). In 1977, Dolly got her first Grammy award: Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her track "Here You Go Again." Dolly's first film appearance was in 9 to 5 (1980), where she received an Oscar nomination for writing the title track, as well as Grammy awards 2, 3, Best Country Song, and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for the track "Nine to Five." Dolly gained more attention for being in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and in Rhinestone (1984) with the hit song "Tennessee Homesick Blues". She is the head of Dolly Parton Enterprises, a $100 million media company, and in 1986 she created Dollywood, a theme park located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to honor her Smoky Mountain childhood. She starred as herself on the Dolly (1987) television series. For "Trio" she was awarded the Best Country Performance Duo or Group with Vocals Grammy in 1988.