Dolly Parton’s Humble Beginnings and Early Success
Dolly Rebecca Parton is known around the world as one of the most successful female artists of all time, having achieved 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards. However, her journey to stardom started very humbly in a small town in East Tennessee. Dolly was born on January 19, 1946 in Sevierville, Tennessee, the fourth of twelve children born to Robert Lee Parton and Avie Lee Owens Parton. She grew up on a run-down farm in the Great Smoky Mountains, where her family struggled financially. Despite their poverty, Dolly’s parents instilled in her a strong work ethic and love of music from a young age.
Dolly began performing as early as she could remember, singing in her family’s country church band called the Singing Partons along with her five brothers and three sisters. By age 6 or 7, she was already writing and singing her own songs. Her natural talent and charisma were evident even at a young age. However, growing up in rural Appalachia in the 1950s, Dolly faced many challenges as a female artist. Women in country music at the time were not taken very seriously and opportunities were limited. Her family could not afford music or voice lessons, proper instruments, recordings, or help promoting her career. But Dolly was determined to make her dreams of becoming a professional singer come true, no matter the obstacles.
At age 10, Dolly began performing on local radio and television stations in East Tennessee, sometimes traveling over an hour each way. She would perform whenever and wherever she could find an audience. By 13, Dolly had written over 200 songs and dropped out of school in the 8th grade to help support her large family by working odd jobs and occasionally appearing on the Cas Walker Show on WROL radio in Knoxville. It was there that she was discovered by the owner of Goldband Records in Nashville, Bill Owens. Impressed by her talent and stage presence at such a young age, Owens offered Dolly the opportunity to record her first single in 1959.
Dolly chose to record a song she had written called “Puppy Love,” a tune about the innocence of young love between schoolchildren. Released on Goldband Records under the name “Dolly Parton (Singer of Songs),” the record included “Puppy Love” as the A-side and another Dolly original called “Happy, Happy Birthday Baby” on the B-side. At just 13 years old, Dolly Parton had officially become a recording artist. However, despite her enthusiasm and talent, “Puppy Love” did not achieve any commercial success. The record failed to chart on any national or regional music charts at the time of its release in late 1959.
While “Puppy Love” may not have been Dolly’s big breakout hit, it marked several important milestones in launching her career. It was Dolly’s first time in a professional recording studio and the first released record bearing her name. For a young girl from a poor family in the mountains, just having a song released was a major accomplishment. The recording exposed Dolly’s songwriting skills and vocal talents to the Nashville music community at a very early age. It also helped her gain experience performing live and promoting herself regionally through personal appearances. Within a year of “Puppy Love,” Dolly signed her first national publishing deal with Combine Music, run by Fred Foster. This led to more songwriting and recording opportunities in Nashville.
Looking back, Dolly has said that recording “Puppy Love” at age 13 was a dream come true, even if the single itself did not find success. In a 2016 interview, she reflected: “I was just so thrilled to be able to say that I had a record out. I didn’t care if it ever got played on the radio or not. I just wanted to be a real live recording artist.” For a young girl with big aspirations but little means growing up in rural Tennessee, putting a song of her own onto vinyl was a major accomplishment regardless of commercial performance. It gave her confidence that she was on the right path. Dolly has also said the experience of being in the recording studio for the first time was fascinating and inspiring: “I loved everything about making that record and I knew right then that’s what I wanted to do with my life.”
While “Puppy Love” may not have made Dolly a star right away, it started building her resume in the competitive music business. Within a couple years of its release, Dolly began attracting more attention from labels and promoters in Nashville. In 1960, she signed with Mercury Records and had her first minor hit single with “Dumb Blonde,” which reached #24 on the Billboard country charts. This led to appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and other shows around the Southeast. In 1963, Dolly signed her first major record deal with RCA Victor in Nashville and moved into Music Row full time at age 17 to focus on her career. Her self-penned breakthrough single “I Don’t Care” was released in late 1963 and became a Top 20 country hit, establishing Dolly as a serious new artist and songwriter.
The rest, as they say, is history. Over the next few decades, Dolly Parton became one of the most successful entertainers of all time through her iconic music, movies, theme parks, and business ventures. She topped the charts with dozens of #1 hits like “Jolene,” “9 to 5,” “Islands in the Stream,” and “I Will Always Love You.” Dolly has earned over 50 Top 10 country hits, 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards, 10 Grammys, 2 Academy Award nominations, 10 Country Music Association Awards, 7 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 3 American Music Awards. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999. Dolly has sold over 100 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling artists of all time in any genre.
Today at age 75, Dolly Parton is still going strong creatively and commercially. She continues recording new music, touring, and expanding her business empire, which now includes Dollywood theme parks, dinner theaters, lodging properties, and the Imagination Library children’s literacy program. Dolly has become a beloved global icon, known not just for her music but also her philanthropy, activism, and down-home personality. She remains an inspiration for ambitious dreamers everywhere. When asked about the key to her decades-long success in an ever-changing industry, Dolly has said “I’ve always just stayed true to who I am and worked really hard.”
That grit, determination and authenticity were evident even from Dolly’s very beginnings as a 13-year-old girl recording her first song “Puppy Love” in a Nashville studio in 1959. Though it was not a commercial hit, “Puppy Love” marked Dolly Parton’s first steps toward achieving her childhood dream of becoming a famous singer and songwriter. It set the stage for Dolly to spend the next 60+ years sharing her talents with the world through multiple genres of entertainment. While her journey started in poverty in the Smoky Mountains, Dolly’s talent, charisma and work ethic propelled her to worldwide superstardom. She has proven that with enough passion and belief in yourself, you can accomplish anything – no matter where you come from or what obstacles stand in your way. Dolly’s story of humble beginnings and ultimate success continues to inspire people everywhere.