She made her movie debut in 1980 in "Nine to Five," which earned her not just sterling reviews for her acting, but also an Academy Award nomination for writing the title song, her first Number One Top 40 record, and her second and third Grammy Award. She has gone on to appear in more than 15 movies, including "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and "Steel Magnolias," the theme song of which launched her as a pop artist and turned her into an international star. She spent most of the '80s spinning out one pop hit after another, but returned to her acoustic roots in 1987 for the landmark album "Trio," with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. She also traveled home, to the music of her mountain childhood, in the '90s with "Heartsongs" and "Hungry Again." She wrote her autobiography, My Life and Other Unfinished Business, in 1994 and finished the decade with "The Grass is Blue," a critically acclaimed album of genuine bluegrass (her first) that yielded the hits "Grass," "Halos & Horns," and "Little Sparrow," and won her two more Grammy Awards. This year, Parton earned her second Academy Award nomination for the song "Travelin' Thru," which she wrote for "Transamerica."
In the last couple of decades, country music has changed from an art form that appealed to a regional audience to music that is fervently loved by people across the country and around the world. Parton's critical role in this transformation cannot be underestimated.
Parton's songs tell stories. They speak of her Appalachian background but are universal in their meaning and appeal. They are about man-stealing women, love gone bad, mistakes people make and trying again and again. What the songs say is important, but how they are sung is what makes people want to hear them. That's what makes Dolly Parton a true artist. "'Coat of Many Colors' is a song that has the power to change you subtly, forever, maybe not so much for the subject matter as for the way Parton sings it," writes Stephanie Zacharek on Salon.com. "Her voice stands alone among living country singers, but it also stands as one of the greatest country voices of all times… her voice tears your heart in two, not because it's sad, but because it's so relentlessly hopeful."
In the last couple of decades, country music has changed from an art form that appealed to a regional audience to music that is fervently loved by people across the country and around the world. Parton's critical role in this transformation cannot be underestimated.
Parton's songs tell stories. They speak of her Appalachian background but are universal in their meaning and appeal. They are about man-stealing women, love gone bad, mistakes people make and trying again and again. What the songs say is important, but how they are sung is what makes people want to hear them. That's what makes Dolly Parton a true artist. "'Coat of Many Colors' is a song that has the power to change you subtly, forever, maybe not so much for the subject matter as for the way Parton sings it," writes Stephanie Zacharek on Salon.com. "Her voice stands alone among living country singers, but it also stands as one of the greatest country voices of all times… her voice tears your heart in two, not because it's sad, but because it's so relentlessly hopeful."
