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Dolly Parton
American singer-songwriter (1946–2026)
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean was an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman. Dubbed the "Queen of Country", Parton was one of the most successful performers in the history of country music.
She was also known for her cultural influence, particularly through Dollywood and the Dollywood Foundation. With more than a hundred million records sold, Parton was among the best-selling music artists in history.
labels: Asylum Records, Columbia Records, Decca, Goldband Records, Mercury Records, Monument Records, RCA, RCA Records Nashville
genres: country music, ballad, gospel music, bluegrass music, country pop, pop music, folk music
influenced by: Loretta Lynn, Porter Wagoner, Dock Boggs, Janis Martin, Kitty Wells, Roy Acuff, Tammy Wynette, Maddox Brothers and Rose
awards: National Medal of Arts, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, American Music Award for Favorite Country Album, Country Music Association Award for Entertainer of the Year, Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, Grammy Award for Best Country Song, Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, Favorite Country Single
plays: voice, guitar, banjo, autoharp
member of: Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
countrybluegrasscountry poppop2008 universal fire victimclassic country
The Dial Tone DailyExtra
Early life
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Pittman Center, Tennessee. She was the fourth of twelve children born to Avie Lee Carolina (née Owens) and Robert Lee Parton. Her three elder siblings are Willadeene, David Wilburn, and Coy Denver; her younger siblings are Robert Lee "Bobby" Jr., Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randle Huston "Randy", Larry Garrold (who died shortly after birth in 1955), twins Frieda Estelle and Floyd Estel, and Rachel Ann. Parton's middle name came from her maternal great-great-grandmother, Rebecca Whitted (née Dunn).
Parton began performing as a child, singing on local radio and television programs in the East Tennessee area. By age ten she had appeared on The Cas Walker Show on both WIVK Radio and WBIR‑TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. At thirteen, she recorded the single "Puppy Love" for the Louisiana label Goldband Records and appeared at the Grand Ole Opry, where she first met Johnny Cash. He introduced her as "a little girl here from up in East Tennessee" and encouraged her to follow her own instincts regarding her career.
In June 2024, Parton announced an autobiographical musical about her life and career initially titled Hello, I'm Dolly (named after her debut album and also a play on Hello, Dolly!), with a goal of opening on Broadway in 2026 with direction by Bartlett Sher. The musical, with a co-written book by Parton and Maria S. Schlatter, features original songs as well as her more well-known hits. Parton also revealed that she had been working on the musical for the past decade. The title was promoted as Dolly: An Original Musical on December 6, coinciding with a nationwide casting call for actresses to play Parton through different stages of her life, using the hashtag #SearchForDolly on social media video posts. The show opened as Dolly: A True...
Parton, though influenced by big-name stars, often credited much of her inspiration to her family and community. In her 2020 book, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, Parton wrote: "So it was just natural for my mom to always be singing. [She] had that old-timey voice and she used to sing all these songs that were brought over from the Old World. They were English, Irish, Welsh, folk songs where people tell stories." Parton calls her mother's voice "haunting". "Lord you would feel it," she wrote.
American country singer, songwriter, and actress, born on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, USA; died on August 25, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee, USA (age 80).
She made her first solo record 1168847, a rockabilly song, in 1959 at the age of 13 on the Goldband Records label. She went on in 1962 to make one soul pop single "The Love You Gave" (1246061) for the Mercury Records label. In 1964, she went on to sing for the Monument label. She first sang the pop single "1663365." Then made the (blue-eyed) soul single "1620742," which hit the 1965 bubbling under charts. Then made the (blue-eyed) soul singles "1768871" and "1419675." In 1966, she scored a No. 1 hit with Bill Phillips (4) on the Decca Records label. In 1966, after being forced by her previous labels to sing soul and pop, she began to sing country. She had her first top 100 hits "Dumb Blonde" (2294284) and "Something Fishy" (614088). In 1967, she replaced the country singer Norma Jean (2) on the Porter Wagoner Show as the "girl singer." In 1968, she switched to RCA Victor label, and scored her first No. 1 solo hit "862209." She made singles for RCA Victor until 1987 when she made singles for the Columbia Records
Also known as: D Pacton, D Parton, D. Parton, D.P., D.Parton
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
Dolly Parton, the records, oldest first
Hello, I’m Dolly
1967 album
Just Between You and Me
1968 album
Just the Two of Us
1968 album
Just Because I’m a Woman
1968 album
In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)
1969 album
My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy
1969 album
Always, Always
1969 album
Once More
1970 album
Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca
1970 album
The Fairest of Them All
1970 album
Two of a Kind
1971 album
Coat of Many Colors
1971 album
Joshua
1971 album
The Golden Streets of Glory
1971 album
Together Always
1972 album
Touch Your Woman
1972 album
The Right Combination: Burning the Midnight Oil
1972 album
My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner
1972 album
We Found It
1973 album
Bubbling Over
1973 album
My Tennessee Mountain Home
1973 album
Love and Music
1973 album
Porter ’n’ Dolly
1974 album
Jolene
1974 album
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"9 to 5" is a song written by and recorded by American country music star Dolly Parton for the 1980 comedy film 9 to 5, as well as in the subsequent TV series of the same name. In addition to appearing on the film's soundtrack, the song was the centerpiece and opening track of Parton's album 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs, released in late 1980.
Background
The song was written for the comedy film 9 to 5, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton in her film debut; both the song and the film owe their titles to 9to5, an organization founded in 1973 to bring about fair pay and equal treatment for women in the workplace. The song is also featured in a musical theater adaptation of the film, featuring a book by the film's original writer, Patricia Resnick, and 20 additional songs written by Dolly Parton. The musical began showing previews in Los Angeles on September 9, 2008, and played on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre from April until September 2009 before touring. In 2012, a UK theatre tour of 9 to 5 began.
Legacy
"9 to 5" is one of the few Billboard chart songs to feature the clacking of a typewriter. Parton stated in numerous interviews that when she wrote the song, she devised the clacking typewriter rhythm by running her acrylic fingernails back and forth against one another. With this song, Parton became only the second woman to top both the U.S. country singles chart and the Billboard Hot 100 with the same single; the first was 1968's "Harper Valley PTA" by Jeannie C. Riley, which Parton had coincidentally covered on her 1969 album, In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad). "9 to 5" served as the theme song for the mid-1980s sitcom 9 to 5, which derived from the film. Phoebe Snow sang the theme for the four-episode premiere season, which...
2022 re-recording
In 2021, Parton personally invited fellow American singer Kelly Clarkson to re-record "9 to 5" to promote the documentary film Still Working 9 to 5, which was produced by the Lane twins, Regina K. Scully, Geralyn Dreyfous and Shane McAnally to commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the original film and explore the challenges faced by women in the workplace. Their version, produced by McAnally with Sasha Alex Sloan and King Henry, was re-arranged to a midtempo pop ballad to fit in the atmosphere of the documentary. The track charted at number 15 on the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart. Parton and Clarkson later performed a live rendition of the song on Clarkson's eponymous variety talk show on December 1, 2022.
