Dolly Parton has been in the singing business for slightly more than 40 years. She's pretty, short and has one "hell of a voice". Dolly also has a great sense of humour.
Besides her voice, she's better known for her DD cup size which she once described in the Oprah Winfrey Show as "weapons of mass distraction". No doubt, she's right on both counts.
Her height does not match the Sierra trees because she stands at five feet nothing. In her own words, her small waist and tiny feet were "because nothing grows well under the shade." I believe her audience got her points rather well.
Born in Sevierville, Tennessee, she came into the world blessed with the name Dolly Rebecca Parton. She's the fourth of 12 children to Avie Lee Owens and Robert Lee Parton.
Her brothers and sisters are Rachel Dennison (an actress), twins Floyd and Freida, Willadeene, David, Denver, Bobby, Stella, Cassie, Larry, and Randy.
Dolly has always referred to her birth home as being a one-room "dirt-poor" cabin up in Locust Ridge, Smoky Mountain. She was raised singing and listening to hymns in the Assembly of God. So the church was a big part of her life. Her grandpappy was known to be a Pentecostal preacher of fire-brand quality. Dolly once said he was a "holy roller".
At an early age, Dolly began to show a singing talent of prodigy quality. At 12, she was singing for radio and TV shows in East Tennessee. At 13, she appeared in Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee. For any country singer to perform at Grand Ole Opry was a mark of achievement.
Soon, Dolly ventured to Nashville. She however remained very much the country girl from Tennessee, with all the habits and mannerisms of the old farm country.
At the age of 20, destiny pulled her in the direction of one Carl Dean who was involved in the asphat business, and he was from Georgia. On May 20, 1966, Dolly and Carl were married.
Carl was one of those husbands who preferred to remain in the shadows. He stayed in the background up till today. Dolly told Oprah in an interview that whenever she and Carl had an issue, one of them will be gone - maybe to a place like California.
In her 40 years of show business, Dolly has written about 3,000 songs. This is one of her crowning achievements because her successful songs have earned her millions in royalty.
Two of her classics are Coat of Many Colors and Jolene. That song made famous by Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You (movie theme for Bodyguard) was written by Dolly back in 1974. It was sung by Dolly and it went to No. 1 on the Country charts. However, Whitney took it to the top on the pop charts.
There was a story about how Elvis Presley wanted to record I Will Always Love You but Colonel Parker spoilt it by demanding that Dolly gave up half of the publishing rights.
Dolly duly said no and went crying to the bank repeatedly over the decades. Smart girl. All those years in poverty up in Smoky Mountain taught her a great deal.
So besides her unique voice, what makes Dolly so popular? My guess is her personality. Dolly comes across on stage as well on TV as being the "genuine article". She is unpretentious, honest and charming in her own "country way". Ordinary folks tend to like individuals who display an honesty that is born out of sincerity.
Dolly doesn't make a big deal about her physical assets. She knows she's worth millions but she also knows she's been on the wrong side of poverty. When you are from a family of about 14 siblings, a lot of things tend to form a large part of your persona.
Dolly Parton today owns more properties and organisations than she cares to reveal. One of her companies, called Sanddollar Productions, was responsible for that famous TV seris Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
During her golden years, she has turned down repeatedly offers to appear in Playbody magazine. I reckon all that country upbringing has rubbed off the right side of her.
Dolly Parton is also known to be an icon among the gays and has been a favourite subject as far as drag queens are concerned.
Her hit records and albums stretch as far back as 1967 when a lot of her fans were not even born. Today in the year 2005, she's still producing hit songs. She has bronze statue made in her likeness and star in Hollywood walks in different places.
It's really amazing how her career has developed and how it's going. And she's not finished yet. What a stupendous career for a marvellous lady. May God Bless her everyday of her remaining years on earth.
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