Dolly-Parton

Dolly Parton, born Jan. 19, 1946 in Locust Ridge Tenn. to 12 children from a poor family children that would be raised together eventually, learned very young how to overcome of the difficulties she faced by using her rich and vivid imagination. She was writing songs before she could write or read. After 8 years of age, she got her first guitar. At age 11 she started singing at Knoxville Tenn's local radio station. The same year she released her first recording on Gold Band Records a tiny independent label. As a student in high school she established herself local, but longed for a larger stage. After graduating from the high school in 1964, she moved immediately to Nashville. Dumb Blonde, Something Fishy and Dumb Blonde both charted on Monument Records in 1967. Porter Wagoner, a syndicated television show host at the time, was in search for a girl to sing on his show. Parton got her first gig in the year 1967, signed with RCA Records by 1968, and was a part of the Grand Ole Opry. It was not until 1974 when she made the decision to quit Wagoner's program as the popularity of her own solo records such as Joshua Coat, Many Colors, and Jolene was outstripping their joint efforts. Parton, after the split of their partnership with Wagoner, wrote I Will Always Love You and had it reach the top spot at No. This was the first time a song was able to reach No.