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Biography:
Born on the 19th of January 1946, at Locust Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Dolly Rebecca Parton's poor farming parents paid the doctor in cornmeal for attending the birth of the fourth of their 12 offspring.
After her appearances as a singing guitarist on local radio as a child, including the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Parton left school in 1964. Her recorded output had included a raucous rockabilly song called 'Puppy Love' for a small label as early as 1958, but a signing to Monument in 1966 - the time of her marriage to the reclusive Carl Dean - yielded a C&W hit with 'Dumb Blonde', as well as enlistment in the prestigious Porter Wagoner Show as its stetsoned leader's voluptuous female foil in duets and comedy sketches. While this post adulterated her more serious artistic worth, she notched up further country smashes, among them 'Joshua', the autobiographical 'Coat Of Many Colours' and, with Wagoner, 'Last Thing On My Mind' (the Tom Paxton folk standard), 'Better Move It On Home' and 1974's 'Please Don't Stop Loving Me'. On the crest of another solo hit with 'Jolene' on RCA Records that same year, she resigned from the show to strike out on her own - though she continued to record periodically with Wagoner.
Encompassing a generous portion of her own compositions, her post-1974 repertoire was less overtly country, even later embracing a lucrative stab at disco in 1979's 'Baby I'm Burning' and non-originals ranging from 'House Of The Rising Sun' to Jackie Wilson 's 'Higher And Higher'. 'Jolene' became a 'sleeper' UK Top 10 entry in 1976 and she continued her run in the US country chart with singles such as 'Bargain Store' (banned from some radio stations for 'suggestive' lyrics), 'All I Can Do' and 'Light Of A Clear Blue Morning' (1977). That same year, 'Here You Come Again' crossed into the US pop Hot 100, and her siblings basked in reflected glory - particularly Randy, who played bass in her backing band before landing an RCA contract himself, and Stella Parton, who had already harried the country list with 1975's 'Ode To Olivia' and 'I Want To Hold You With My Dreams Tonight'.
Their famous sister next ventured into film acting, starring with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in 1981's 9 To 5 (for which she provided the title theme), and with Burt Reynolds in the musical Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. Less impressive were Rhinestone and 1990's Steel Magnolias. She also hosted a 1987 television variety series which lost a ratings war. Nevertheless, her success as a recording artist, songwriter and big-breasted 'personality' remained unstoppable. As well as ploughing back royalties for 70s cover versions of Parton numbers by Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Maria Muldaur into her Dollywood entertainment complex, she teamed up with Kenny Rogers in 1983 to reach the number 1 position in the USA and Top 10 in the UK with a Bee Gees composition, 'Islands In The Stream'. With Rogers too, she managed another US country number 1 two years later with 'Real Love'. Although other 80s singles such as 'I Will Always Love You' and 'Tennessee Homesick Blues' were not major chart hits, they became as well-known as many that did.
Trio with Ronstadt and Harris won a Grammy for best country album in 1987. Her CBS Records debut, Rainbow, represented her deepest plunge into mainstream pop - though 1989's White Limozeen (produced by Ricky Skaggs ) retained the loyalty of her multinational grassroots following. Her celebration of international womanhood, 'Eagle When She Flies', confirmed her return to the country market in 1991.
In 1992, Whitney Houston had the biggest-selling single of the year in the UK with Parton's composition 'I Will Always Love You', which she sang in the film The Bodyguard. Her excellent 1995 album reprised the latter song as a duet with Vince Gill. Treasures paid tribute to singer-songwriters of the 60s and 70s, including songs by Cat Stevens and Neil Young alongside the expected country material.
Taken from Yahoo! Music
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