Dolly Parton was born on Jan. 19, 1946 in Sevier County, Tenn. She is perhaps the greatest ambassador of the uniquely American sound of country music. As a songwriter, she is wondrously creative and astonishingly prolific. As a performer she is magnetic and effervescent. Her voice is an instrument of hope and joy when it isn't breaking your heart. "She towers above generations of artists influenced by her vocal and songwriting gifts," says one critic. Some of the best singers today, including Melissa Etheridge, Shania Twain and Norah Jones, have paid tribute to her through their own music. "I can't imagine anybody, especially in country, who doesn't try to emulate Dolly in some way," says singer Emmylou Harris. She is adorable in a literal sense and perhaps that is her greatest gift. It's easy for people around the world, no matter what language they speak or what land they call home, to love this American art form when the artist is Dolly Parton. To her homegrown fans she is at once the ultimate celebrity and the girl next door.
Parton has been performing for nearly half a century. She is a music star with deep roots in Nashville and a Hollywood star with movies and television credits on her resume. More than 20 of her albums have gone gold and platinum. She's been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, countless Grammy Awards, People's Choice Awards and Country Music Association Awards. She crosses back and forth from country to pop and each time introduces a whole new world of music to her fans. She is a singer who has given voice to other women through fiercely progressive lyrics that express a unique perspective and create a female identity.
She was one of 12 children born to a sharecropper and his wife in the mountains of Tennessee. Her career took inspiration from the music she heard performed by the major female stars of country music: Rose Maddox in the '40s, Kitty Wells in the '50s and Patsy Cline in the '60s. She was also inspired by the traditional Appalachian folk and bluegrass that formed the soundtrack of her girlhood. These all come through in her own music, which is a dazzling tapestry of hillbilly, honky-tonk, gospel, jazz, bluegrass and blues, sometimes all rolled into one single verse of a song.
Parton has been performing for nearly half a century. She is a music star with deep roots in Nashville and a Hollywood star with movies and television credits on her resume. More than 20 of her albums have gone gold and platinum. She's been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, countless Grammy Awards, People's Choice Awards and Country Music Association Awards. She crosses back and forth from country to pop and each time introduces a whole new world of music to her fans. She is a singer who has given voice to other women through fiercely progressive lyrics that express a unique perspective and create a female identity.
She was one of 12 children born to a sharecropper and his wife in the mountains of Tennessee. Her career took inspiration from the music she heard performed by the major female stars of country music: Rose Maddox in the '40s, Kitty Wells in the '50s and Patsy Cline in the '60s. She was also inspired by the traditional Appalachian folk and bluegrass that formed the soundtrack of her girlhood. These all come through in her own music, which is a dazzling tapestry of hillbilly, honky-tonk, gospel, jazz, bluegrass and blues, sometimes all rolled into one single verse of a song.
When Parton was still a child, she was on local television, recording on a small label and appearing at the Grand Ole Opry. As a young adult from the mid '60s to the early '70s, she was a hit at the Opry, on television and on tour with the famous "Porter Wagoner Show." Her recordings of "Joshua," "Coat of Many Colors" and "Jolene" made her nationally famous and her first Grammy Award in 1977 was for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her song "Here You Come Again."
PAGE: 1 | 2
