We Will Always Miss You, Dolly Parton

Tennessee Roots & Going Solo (1946-1976)

During her lifetime, American Country Music Hall of Fame singer-songwriter Dolly Parton won 8 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2011. 

(Dolly Parton 1977  Photo: RCA Records)

Parton was born January 19, 1946 in Sevier Valley, Tennessee, one of 12 children. A bronze sculpture of Dolly Parton can be found on the Sevierville courthouse lawn commemorating her birthplace.

In Dolly’s own words her family was “dirt poor” and lived in a one-room cabin.

Parton began singing and performing at age 6 in the Church of God, where her grandfather was pastor, and learned to play guitar at age 7 on a homemade guitar. Dolly told Larry King in 2009 that she had been writing songs since the age of 7 and had probably written at least 3,000 songs. According to Dolly, she met her good friend Judy Ogle, when they were both in the third grade; Judy has been Dolly’s personal assistant for many years.

Dolly Parton made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry when she was just 13 years old, the same year she recorded her first single Puppy Love on Goldbland Records in Louisiana. Larry Mathis, Dolly Parton, & Bud Brewster performed as The Pick’n Grin Bluegrass Band circa 1950s-1960s, left.

(Larry Mathis, Dolly Parton & Bud Brewster: Princess Theater)

Dolly Parton moved to Nashville in 1964 after graduating from high school at age 18, and has said she met fellow Tennessee native Carl Dean that same day. She first signed with a publishing company Combine Publishing to write songs, and then with Monument Records as a recording artist in 1965.

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean married in Georgia the following year; although Dean is publicity shy and few photos can be found of him, the couple is still married today and will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary later this year, on May 30, 2016. Parton told interviewer Bobby Whiteman of DailyMail.com back in 2014, that the couple planned to renew their vows on their 50th wedding anniversary.

(Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton 1969: Moeller Talent, Inc.)

Although she’d already been writing country songs and chart hits covered by country greats like Skeeter Davis and Hank Williams, Jr., it wasn’t until Dolly Parton recorded Dumb Blonde (1967) written by Curly Putman, that she had her own hit single, which went to #24 on the country charts. Dolly Parton was invited to join The Porter Wagoner Show, beginning a highly successful 7 year professional partnership. 

Seniors, baby boomers and country music fans may remember that Dolly’s first of many duets with Porter Wagoner was The Last Thing on My Mind (1967) written by Tom Paxton, which made it to the Country Top 10 charts in 1968.

In February 1971 Dolly scored a #1 Country chart hit single, Joshua, which she also wrote. That same year her song Coat of Many Colors made it to #4; it’s perhaps the song she’s closely associated with, as it mirrors her childhood and a coat her mother made for her, which is on display at Dollywood, her Tennessee theme park.

Coat of Many Colors was eclipsed by her biggest hit of the early 1970’s, Jolene (1973), which was a #1 Country chart hit in 1974. In December 2015, NBC aired the new made-for-television movie Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors, narrated by a now senior citizen Dolly Parton.

Below, Dolly Parton sings her hit single Jolene (1973) and gives the back story to the song, live on her second self-titled television show, Dolly (1987-1988):

In 1974 Dolly decided to go solo, and left The Porter Wagoner Show. Although the professional break-up with Porter Wagoner was not total (he produced some of her songs into 1975), her hit (sad) song I Will Always Love You, was a written by her about the ending of their singing partnership. I Will Always Love You made it to #1 on the Country charts with Dolly Parton singing it in 1974.

In 2005, singer Whitney Houston sang I Will Always Love You in the movie The Bodyguard; both Houston’s cover version of Dolly’s song and the movie, were major hits.

With her music chart success secured, Parton decided to launch her own self-titled TV variety show Dolly in 1976. The show was cancelled after one season when she wanted out because of the strain on her vocal chords.

Crossover, Film & Business Success (1977-2015)

(Dolly Parton with a friend’s baby, 1983 Photo: Alan Light | Flickr Some rights reserved)

Fresh off her cancelled Dolly TV variety show in 1977, Dolly Parton recorded the Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil song Here You Come Again (1977), which was her first big crossover hit single, reaching #1 on the Country charts for 5 weeks, and securing a #3 Billboard Hot 100 pop chart placement.

In the late 1970’s Parton shared television specials with Cher and Carol Burnett (Dolly and Carol in Nashville, 1978), and appeared on the cover of Playboy in the traditional Playboy bunny costume, to accompany her in-depth interview with the magazine.  

Dolly Parton and friend Carol Burnett in 1980. (Wikimedia Commons)

Dolly turned her sights to the big-screen for the first time with a co-starring role as a secretary in the hit comedy movie 9 to 5 (1980) with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. In addition to starring in 9 to 5, singer-songwriter Dolly Parton wrote and sang the title song, and 9 to 5 became another crossover hit – #1 on both the Country, Pop, and Adult Contemporary billboard charts, and was nominated for Best Original Song in the Academy Awards. Parton was nominated twice for Best Actress Golden Globes (New Star of the Year and Motion Picture Musical or Comedy) for her performance in 9 to 5. The hit single song 9 to 5 won two Grammy Awards – Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and Best Country Song.

The official music video for 9 to 5:

More hit country & pop chart singles followed the smash success of 9 to 5.

The Dolly Parton/Kenny Rogers duet of the Bee Gee’s Islands in the Stream in 1982 climbed to #1 on the charts the following year. Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton would reunited in 2013 to sing You Can’t Make Old Friends, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

Also in 1982, Dolly Parton had her second starring role in a big-screen musical – The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas was a financial success and Parton was nominated for another Golden Globe Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Parton re-recorded her hit song I Will Always Love You, for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

In 1984 at age 36 Dolly had a hysterectomy; Parton told Marie Claire in 2014, that for the first time in her life she was so depressed she considered suicide, and gained weight. Her Rhinestone (1984) movie co-star Sylvester Stallone helped her recover by encouraging her to get into shape and clean up her junk-food diet. Unfortunately Rhinestone tanked at the box office. 

Although Dolly Parton and husband Carl Dean never had children of their own, they helped to raise Dolly’s younger brothers and sisters, and she is the godmother of friend and country-music singer Billy Ray Cyrus’ daughter, Miley Cyrus.

(Dolly Parton 1988 People’s Choice Awards: Alejo Castillo | Flickr SRR)

Having achieved crossover success on the music charts and in the movies, Dolly Parton turned her energy to business entertainment and philanthropy through her Dollywood foundation.  She was co-owner of the Dollywood Company which opened the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 1986, and also operated a waterpark there. Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede dinner theatre opened in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 1988 and other locations opened in the 1990’s.

Not content with these ventures, Parton and her former manager Sandy Gallin established the film and TV production company Sandollar Productions (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Father of the Bride, Sabrina) in 1986. The production company continued operations until 1997 and was associated with more than 50 movies and television episodes.

Her talent and efforts did not go unnoticed; in 1986 Dolly Parton was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and that same year she was named one of the Women of the Year by Ms. Magazine. The following year, longtime 40-something friends Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, and Dolly Parton released the hit album Trio (1987), which achieved crossover success on the Country and Pop charts.

Dolly Parton was not yet finished with acting in the movies. She appeared in the commercially and critically successful movie Steel Magnolias (1989) co-starring With Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Tom Skerrit, Sam Shepard and others; and in the less successful Straight Talk (1992) opposite James Woods. Although her soundtrack to the Straight Talk movie was not a hit, her duet with James Ingram The Day I Fall in Love (1993) for the movie Beethoven’s 2nd (1993) was nominated Best Original Song for the Academy Award.

She continued to record and see success on the charts through the 1990’s, and although the #1 hits were not as frequent, her 1992 duet Rockin’ Years (1992) with Ricky Van Shelton reached #1 on the Country charts; to-date, it has been her last #1 Country chart hit.

The album Honky Tonk Angels (1993) with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette was certified gold, and Dolly Parton’s re-release of I Will Always Love You as a duet with Vince Gill in 1995, made it to #15. That same year she founded Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library which distributes 10 million free books each year to promote literacy.

Her album Treasures which included hit 60’s and 70’s songs by other artists. More albums followed including Trio II (1999), another collaboration with friends Emmylou Harris & Linda Ronstadt; their cover of After the Gold Rush by Neil Young won a Grammy. Dolly Parton’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame that year was followed by an induction in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001 when she was 55.

Parton continued to record, perform and act in small parts and voice-overs on television and films throughout her 55+, 60’s, and senior years. A tribute album Just Because I’m A Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton (2003) featured covers of her songs by top artists Shania Twain, Melissa Etheridge, and others, in addition to a cover of the title tune by Dolly. Below, Dolly Parton performing on the Grand Ole Opry stage in 2005, for a broadcast and video feed to U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

 (Dolly Parton 2005: Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby, USAF | Wikimedia Commons)

She wrote the song Travelin’ Thru for the movie Transamerica (2005). Her vocal collaboration that year with Brad Paisley on his song When I Get Where I’m Goin’ garnered a #1 Country chart hit, her most recent #1 hit single. 

The following year she co-wrote the song Better Get To Livin’ (2007) with Kent Wells. The song lyrics describe Dolly Parton’s recipe for happiness – keeping a positive outlook in tough times. Her 42nd album Blue Smoke was accompanied by a world tour in 2014; and she announced in 2015 that her new television and film production company Dixie Pixie Productions would be producing movies of the week for NBC. 

 (Dolly Parton 2011: pipilongstockings | Flickr SRR)

Parton told Natalie Clark of MailOnline in 2014 that although she no longer has surgery to maintain her appearance, she does keep battling signs of aging with Botox, collagen injections, make-up and of course, wigs. She was not thinking about retirement – in any way – in her 70’s, telling People Now in 2015 when asked about it:

“I love what I do, and I just kind of find that peace within myself…I don’t really intend to ever retire, unless I got sick, or my husband got sick…I would like to just work until I fall over dead, in 30, 40, 50 years.” 

Her husband Carl Dean passed away in March 2025, and Dolly joined him in the great hearafter on August 25, 2026 at the age of 80. She’ll be forever missed by her legions of fans.