Dolly Parton: More Than Meets the Rhinestoned Eye
Dolly Parton is an icon of country music, recognized around the world for her blonde wigs, sparkling outfits, and big voice. Songs like “Jolene,” “9 to 5,” and “I Will Always Love You” have cemented her status as a living legend in the genre. However, there are many surprising sides to Dolly beyond the sequined exterior. She’s not just a singer and songwriter – she’s also a savvy businesswoman, a generous philanthropist, a champion of new artists, and a quiet supporter of progressive causes.
The Business Brains Behind the Glitz
While Dolly Parton is beloved for her music, she also possesses incredible business acumen. She has built a multimedia empire spanning music, film, television, and even theme parks. This was no accident – Dolly had ambitions beyond the stage from early on in her career.
She demonstrated her eye for business in 1967 when she convinced her uncle, Bill Owens, to become her business manager. Owens helped her take charge of her publishing rights and negotiate ownership of her master recordings. This was rare at the time, especially for a young woman in country music.
Parton has never been afraid to market herself and turn her persona into profit, from the very beginning. Her sparkling, over-the-top costumes and wigs were carefully crafted alongside her music to bring Dolly her desired fame and attention. However, she also knew how to create a complete branding package around herself as a star personality.
In 1986, Parton took her entrepreneurial spirit to new heights by opening Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. She had the vision to transform the small Smoky Mountain town into a premier tourist destination. Over 30 years later, Dollywood welcomes over 3 million visitors a year, making it Tennessee’s #1 ticketed attraction. The park has world-class rollercoasters, award-winning shows, and the atmosphere of Dolly’s Smoky Mountain roots.
Parton also founded the Dollywood Foundation in 1996, which focuses on education initiatives in her home state. Most famously, the foundation runs Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library book gifting program, which has gifted over 100 million free books to children under 5 around the world.
Clearly, Dolly Parton is no mere performer. She’s a creative visionary and a master of branding, business development, and leveraging her celebrity appeal into profitable enterprises that help her home state. However, it’s the quiet generosity behind many of her business initiatives that reveal her biggest heart.
The Big Heart Behind the Glamour
While Dolly Parton is iconic for her glitzy style, she is equally legendary for her generosity. She has donated millions over the decades to causes close to her heart – especially supporting education in her native Sevier County, Tennessee.
Her passion for giving back stems from her humble upbringing. She was one of 12 children being raised in a tiny cabin in the Smoky Mountains with no electricity or running water. Her father was a subsistence farmer and her mother struggled to raise the large family. Dolly began singing and performing locally as a child to earn extra money for her family.
Since she escaped poverty thanks to her musical gift, Parton has made education and care for children cornerstones of her philanthropy.
Her Imagination Library initiative was inspired by her father’s illiteracy. The book gifting program aimed to foster early childhood literacy and kindle a love of reading in preschool children. Started locally in Sevier County, it grew rapidly across the U.S. and then globally. By 2003, Parton was gifting a million free books a year to children. In 2016, the Library gifted its 100 millionth book.
The Dollywood Foundation also oversees Dolly Parton scholarship funds to support students pursuing higher education. Additionally, the Foundation provided $1 million to vaccine development research at Vanderbilt University – an effort which helped Moderna Therapeutics develop their COVID-19 vaccine in record time.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Red Cross have also benefited from Parton’s trademark generosity over the years, receiving millions in donations.
Parton gives freely not for the publicity but out of genuine care for the causes she supports. Of her philanthropy, she says, “I’m in a position to help, and I think it’s my responsibility to help my people – and all people.” Her big hair and wardrobe might catch the eye, but Dolly Parton’s enormous heart is her best feature.
The Pen Behind the Voice
While Dolly Parton is beloved for singing classics like “Jolene” and “Coat of Many Colors,” she first earned fame as a songwriter. Before becoming a superstar herself, Parton penned hits for other country greats in the 1960s.
When Parton first arrived in Nashville at age 18 in 1964, she devoted herself to songwriting. She believed this was the fastest route to achieving her dream of becoming a country performer. Every day, Parton sat diligently at her publisher’s office on Music Row, writing song after song.
Her big break came barely a year later. Country singer Skeeter Davis recorded Parton’s melancholy ode to lost love called “Fuel to the Flame.” The song shot up the charts and earned Parton recognition around Nashville as an exciting new talent. Soon, major artists like Hank Williams Jr. and Kitty Wells were recording her songs.
However, her most fruitful early songwriting partnership was with country singer Bill Phillips. Parton penned his top 10 hit “Put It Off Until Tomorrow” in 1966, kickstarting a years-long collaboration between the friends. Over 20 of Phillips’ songs came from Parton’s pen, including 11 of his Billboard charting singles between 1967-1970.
Thanks to these early songwriting successes, Parton herself turned into a hot commodity on Music Row. She soon earned a record deal of her own, although she continued writing for others. Parton penned the Bee Gees’ 1970 soft rock hit “Come Down to My World” and contributed songs to albums by Loretta Lynn, Kris Kristofferson, and Olivia Newton-John.
Of course, once Parton became a superstar with hits like “Jolene,” she focused on writing mostly for herself. However, she later had her biggest songwriting triumph via Whitney Houston’s 1992 blockbuster recording of “I Will Always Love You.” Parton wrote the bittersweet ballad in 1973 as a farewell gift to her longtime work partner, Porter Wagoner, upon leaving his band. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Houston to record it – or for it to become one of the best selling singles ever.
Now entering her sixth decade as a songwriter, Parton has over 3,000 song credits to her name. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. Though beloved as a performer, Parton sees herself as a songwriter above all. About songwriting, she has said, “I still write almost every day because I feel like that’s the most important part of what I do.” Clearly, the pen truly is mightier than the rhinestones!
The Fairy Songmother Uplifting New Talents
In addition to her own legendary career, Dolly Parton has proven to be a generous supporter and mentor to up-and-coming musicians. She often features guest artists on her albums and gives them their first big break in the spotlight.
Parton has compared herself to a fairy godmother when it comes to nurturing new talent. However, her openness to showcasing unknown singers, songwriters and instrumentalists goes much deeper than a gimmick. She well remembers her early days as a young artist trying to get a foot in the door of country music. The struggles inspired her to lend others a helping hand once she became an established star.
In the 1970s, Parton helped introduce multiple talents to country audiences by having them perform on her TV series Dolly! Guests included then-obscure artists like Emmylou Harris, Larry Gatlin, and Tom T. Hall. Parton also invited many rising stars to sing background vocals on her albums, which gave them valuable exposure.
As early as 1971’s Coat of Many Colors album, Parton had names like Linda Ronstadt and Mac Davis credited as backup vocalists to benefit their careers. She continued this practice for decades, offering album liner credits to fledgling talents like Barry Gibb, Boy George, and Sia long before they became famous.
Parton also founded her own talent label, Dolly Records, in the mid-2000s. Though the imprint shuttered after about five years, it issued albums spotlighting musicians Parton wanted to amplify. These included her niece Kristen Talbot and bluegrass trio the Grascals.
Always one to share the wealth, Parton co-wrote the #1 smash “Islands in the Stream” for her friend Kenny Rogers in 1983. She then sang a duet with Rogers on the track, helping ensure he’d get full credit for the hit.
Parton still mentors young artists today, especially championing female country singers.