Dolly Rebecca Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton was conceived in Pittman Center on January 19, 1946. She was born in Sevierville to Avie Lee Parton (a housewife) and Robert Lee Parton (a tobacco farmer). At the age of 12, she was already appearing on Knoxville TV. At 13 she was already recording for a small label and performing at Grand Ole Opry. She graduated from high school in 1964 and moved to Nashville to begin her country singing journey. She fell in love with Carl Dean, who ran an asphalt-paving business. They married on May 30 in 1966, and remain together. Porter Wagoner saw her singing and hired her to appear on The Porter Wagoner Show (1961). She remained on the show for seven years, her duets were made famous and she sang with the Porter Wagoner group at the Grand Ole Opry. She also sold records and performed on tour. In 1970, when her hit song "Joshua" hit #1, her fame was so great that she was unable to rival his. In 1974, she went alone and recorded duets alongside the singer. In 1974, she walked away from her husband to pursue a solo artist. Dolly was a well-known singer/songwriter. Dolly was awarded many Country Music Association awards (1968 1970, 1970 and 1971, 1975, and 1976). She was a petite (5'0") beauty, who was naturally at television. In the late 1970s, Dolly appeared on a variety of talk-shows and TV specials prior to receiving her own show, Dolly (1976). Dolly received her first Grammy award in 1977 for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Dolly's movie debut was in 9 to 5 (1980) In the film, she received an Oscar nomination for her composition of the title track, as well as Grammy Awards 2 and 3: Best Country Song, and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for the track "Nine to Five." Her fame grew due to her roles in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) and as well as Rhinestone (1984) in which she sang the hit song "Tennessee Homesick Blues". She is the president of Dolly Parton Enterprises, a $100 million media empire and in 1986 she created Dollywood A theme park located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to honor her Smoky Mountain childhood. She was a part of the TV show Dolly (1987 TV Show) as herself. She was awarded a second Grammy in 1988, this time for the Best Country Performance Duo/Group with Vocals in the category of "Trio".