Dolly-Parton

Dolly Parton, born Jan. 19th, 1946 in Locust Ridge Tenn. to an unlucky family of twelve children that would be raised as a unit eventually, realized very young the way to conquer of the difficulties she faced by using her rich and imaginative imagination. Before she learned to write and read, she began making up her own songs. She bought her first guitar at the age of 8 and began performing on the Knoxville Tenn radio station at eleven years old. The same year, she released her first album on Gold Band Records a tiny independent label. Her name was made for herself locally while still in high school, but she always dreamed of having a larger stage. She moved to Nashville shortly after her graduation in 1964. Her first charting hits on Monument Records included Dumb Blonde and Something Fishy both in 1967. At about this time Porter Wagoner was looking for an actress to sing for his TV show syndicated by the network. Parton took the offer in 1967 signed with RCA Records in 1968 and was a part of The Grand Ole Opry in 1969. But she resigned from the show in 1974, as her own music, including Joshua Coat of Many Colors and Jolene were out-charting their collaborations. Following their breakup, Parton wrote the song I Will Always Love You for Wagoner and it reached No. #1 for the first time in 1974.