Oldies but Goodies: 2015-08-23

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The Stylistics~ "Break Up To Make Up"

The Stylistics are a soul music vocal group, and were one of the best-known Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s.

They formed in 1968, and were composed of singers Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn.

All of their US hits were ballads, graced by the soaring falsetto voice of Russell Thompkins, Jr. and the lush productions of Thom Bell, which helped make the Stylistics one of the most successful soul groups of the first half of the 1970s."^[1]

During the early 1970s, the group had twelve consecutive U.S. R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "People Make the World Go Round", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up", and "You Make Me Feel Brand New".^[1]

The Stylistics
The group performing on Soul Train in 1974.
Background information
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	R&B, soul
Years active	1968–present
Labels	Avco, H&L

Members	Airrion Love Herbie Murrell Harold Eban Brown Jason Sharp

Past members	Russell Thompkins, Jr. James Dunn James Smith Raymond Johnson Van Fields

Career

Early years

The Stylistics were created from two Philadelphia groups, The Percussions and The Monarchs.^[2] Russell Thompkins Jr., James Smith, and Airrion Love came from the Monarchs, and James Dunn and Herbie Murrell came from the Percussions.

In 1970, the group recorded "You're a Big Girl Now", a song their road manager Marty Bryant co-wrote with Robert Douglas, a member of their backing band Slim and the Boys, and the single became a regional hit for Sebring Records.^[1]

Producer Bill Perry spent $400 to record the number in the Virtue Studios in Philadelphia. The larger Avco Records soon signed the Stylistics, and the single eventually climbed to number seven on the US Billboard R&B chart in early 1971.^[1]

Success: The Bell/Creed years

After signing to Avco, the record label approached producer Thom Bell, who had already produced a catalogue of hits for The Delfonics, to work with the group.^[3]

The Stylistics auditioned for Bell, but he was initially unimpressed.^[3]

He ultimately agreed to produce the group because he believed in the potential of lead singer, Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s distinctive, nasal high tenor & falsetto voice.^[3]

Avco gave Bell complete creative control over the Stylistics and he proceeded to focus the group's sound exclusively around Thompkins's voice.^[3]

On most of the group hits, Bell would have Thompkins sing virtually solo.^[3]

The first song recorded with Bell and his collaborator, lyricist Linda Creed, was the lush "Stop, Look, Listen".^[4]

Bell imported techniques he had perfected with The Delfonics and his musical arrangements worked perfectly with Thompkins' falsetto vocals.

Their hits from this period —distilled from three albums— included "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (U.S. #3), "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up" (U.S. #5), "You Make Me Feel Brand New" featuring Thompkins singing a rare lead vocal duet with Airron Love, the aforementioned "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", and the Top 20 Pop hit "Rockin' Roll Baby" (U.S. #14).

"You Make Me Feel Brand New" was the group's biggest U.S. hit, holding at No. 2 for two weeks just as the spring of 1974 turned to summer, and was one of the group's five U.S. gold singles.

The Stylistics' smooth sound also found an easier path on to adult contemporary airwaves than many other soul artists and the group made Billboard magazine's Easy Listening singles chart twelve times from 1971 to 1976, with three entries ("Betcha by Golly, Wow", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", and "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)") reaching the Top 10.

Every single that Bell produced for the Stylistics was a Top Ten R&B hit, and several—"You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly Wow!", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up", and "You Make Me Feel Brand New"—were also Top Ten pop chart hits.^[1]

The band also enjoyed commercial success with big hits with this material throughout Europe.

Changing style: Continuing international success

Thom Bell stopped working with the Stylistics in 1974,^[1] and the split proved commercially difficult for the group in the U.S.

Just as with the Delfonics, the Stylistics were to some extent a vehicle for Bell's own creativity. They struggled to find the right material although their partnership with label owners Hugo & Luigi as producers and arranger Van McCoy started well with "Let's Put It All Together" (#18 pop, No. 8 R&B) and "Heavy Fallin' Out" (#4 R&B, No. 41 pop).

Following singles were notably less successful, but as U.S. success began to wane, their popularity in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, increased.^[1]

Indeed, the lighter 'pop' sound fashioned by McCoy and Hugo & Luigi gave the group a UK #1 in 1975 with "Can't Give You Anything".^[1]^[5]

Further successes with "Sing Baby Sing", "Na Na Is The Saddest Word", "Funky Weekend" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" consolidated the group's European popularity.^[1]^[5]

They are one of the few U.S. acts to have two chart-topping greatest hits albums in the UK.^[5]

The Stylistics switched record labels during this period as Avco Records transitioned into H&L Records in 1976.^[1]

Notwithstanding this, the band began to struggle with increasingly weak material, and although the singles and albums came out as before, by 1978 chart success had vanished.

A move to Mercury in 1978 for two albums produced by Teddy Randazzo failed to produce any major success.

Russell Thompkins Jr. wrote (in the sleevenotes for the re-issue of the 1976 album, Fabulous) that the group began to feel that the music they were recording was becoming dated and not in keeping with the popular disco sound of the late 1970s.

In 1979, they had a small part in the movie Hair, directed by Miloš Forman, where they play conservative army officers. They double Nell Carter in singing a tongue-in-cheek song called "White Boys".

Later years

Both James Dunn and James Smith departed in 1980 due to conflicts over the direction of the group.^[6]

The group continued, recruiting new member Raymond Johnson. They would also reunite with Thom Bell and sign with Philadelphia International Records subsidiary, TSOP Records in 1980.

They released the single, "Hurry Up This Way Again", that year which brought them back into the R&B Top 20 (peaking at #18). Johnson departed in 1985, leaving the group a trio.

Love, Murrell, and Thompkins continued to tour until 2000, when Russell Thompkins, Jr. left the group.

Love and Murrell brought in two new members from one set of the Delfonics – (Harold) Eban Brown as lead singer, and tenor singer Van Fields who also sang with an a cappella group called A Perfect Blend.

In 2011, Fields departed from the group due to creative differences and was replaced by Jason Sharp (formerly with the band Heatwave).

The group, prior to Fields' departure, was featured live on the DVD The Stylistics Live at the Convocation Center (2006), as well as with other artists of the 1970s on the DVD, 70s Soul Jam. They recorded their latest album, That Same Way, in 2008.

Russell Thompkins, Jr. launched his own group in 2004, the New Stylistics, with the returning Raymond Johnson, plus James Ranton and Jonathan Buckson. They were featured on the DVD Old School Soul Party Live!, which was part of the PBS My Music series.

In 2006 their hit single, "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)", was used as the base for a Japanese advertisement campaign by Gatsby, to launch their new male hair styling product, 'Moving Rubber'.

The campaign was successful and featured one of Japan's most popular celebrities Takuya Kimura of the pop group SMAP.

They were also featured guests on SMAP's television show, SMAP×SMAP, one of the highest rated shows in Japan to promote the 'Moving Rubber' product.

In October 2009, they featured on the UK BBC One television program, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.

Their song, "People Make the World Go Round", was used by Spike Lee in the soundtrack for 1994 film Crooklyn, as performed by Marc Dorsey.

Personnel

Current members

Airrion Love – born October 8, 1949, Philadelphia (1968–present)
Herb Murrell – born April 27, 1949, Lane, South Carolina (1968–present)
Eban Brown – born June 14, 1972, Newark, New Jersey (2000–present)
Jason Sharp – Baltimore, Maryland (2011–present)

Former members

Russell Thompkins, Jr. – born March 21, 1951, Philadelphia (1968–2000)
James Dunn – born February 4, 1950, Philadelphia (1968–1980)
James Smith – born June 16, 1950, New York City (1968–1980)
Raymond Johnson (1980–1986)
Van Fields – born November 12, 1952, Philadelphia (2000–2011)

Awards and recognition

The Stylistics were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.

^{Source: Wikipedia.org}

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The Delfonics~ "La La Means I Love You"

The Delfonics are a pioneering Philadelphia soul singing group, popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Their most notable hits include "La-La (Means I Love You)", "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)", "Break Your Promise", "I'm Sorry", and "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)".

Their hit songs were all written by songwriter and producer Thom Bell and lead vocalist and founder William Hart.

Their songs have been used extensively in film soundtracks, including Quentin Tarantino's 1997 movie Jackie Brown, in which "La-La (Means I Love You)" and "Didn't I Blow Your Mind" underscore the pivotal relationship between the characters played by Pam Grier and Robert Forster.

Their song "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)" was used in the video game Grand Theft Auto V on the fictional radio station The Lowdown 91.1.

Their songs have been sampled extensively by various hip-hop and rap artists including: The Wu-Tang Clan, Fugees, Deltron 3030, The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Boyz II Men, Missy Elliott and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.

In addition, their songs have been covered by numerous other performers, including Aretha Franklin, The Jackson 5, Patti LaBelle, New Kids on the Block, Fugees, Todd Rundgren, Prince, Swing Out Sister and The Manhattan Transfer.

The Delfonics~ Image Search

The Delfonics
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, Philadelphia soul
Years active	1965–present
Labels	Philly Groove Records

Members	William Hart Greg Hill Johnney Smalls Wilbert Hart Salaam Love Joe Branch

Past members	Randy Cain Ritchie Daniels Major Harris Frank Washington Freddy Ingleton Eban Brown Van Fields Johnny Johnson Garfield Fleming

Career

Original group members were William and Wilbert Hart, Ritchie Daniels, and Randy Cain, whom they met at Overbrook High School in the 1960s.

Their first recording, "He Don't Really Love You", was for Moon Shot in 1966. Daniels was drafted and left for the service in 1968.

At Cameo, producer Stan Watson introduced them to producer Thom Bell, then working with Chubby Checker. With Cameo they recorded a popular tune called "You've Been Untrue".

The group's first album, released on Watson's own Philly Groove record label, featured the smash hit "La-La (Means I Love You)" in 1968. The single sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[1]

Four more Bell-produced albums appeared in the next few years: The Sound of Sexy Soul, The Delfonics Super Hits, The Delfonics and Tell Me This Is a Dream.

Among the Delfonics' popular hits were the Grammy-winning "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)", "(For The Love) I Gave To You", "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)", and "Hey Love".

The Delfonics and Bell had to work with a basic budget on the first creation as Thom explained "When I took them into the studio we didn't have any money to pay for string players and an orchestra so I played most of the instruments myself!" - a far cry from the full classical productions from 1968 to the beginning of the seventies.^[2]

"Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" also sold a million copies and by March 1970 received a gold disc from the R.I.A.A..^[1]

Randy Cain left the group in 1971, and in 1973 had a hand in formulating Blue Magic, best known for their classic "Sideshow," when he brought singer-songwriter Ted Mills in to do some writing for W.M.O.T. (We Men Of Talent), and the remaining future members of Blue Magic came in for an audition.

Cain was replaced by Major Harris; by then, however, Thom Bell had moved on to produce The Stylistics and later, The Spinners, all artists in the mold of the Delfonics.

The Delfonics swiftly produced another album, Alive & Kicking, produced by Stan Watson. However, in the absence of Thom Bell, the Delfonics' career declined sharply, and with the exception of the aforementioned "Hey Love" and the minor hits "When You Get Right Down to It", "I Don't Want To Make You Wait" and "I Told You So", success eluded them after 1975.

("(For The Love) I Gave To You", although popular, was never released as a single.) Most of their songs at this point were written by lead singer William Hart.

Split

The group split around 1975; one group featured Major and Wilbert, with new member Frank Washington, formerly of the Futures. (Major Harris also had major success with the solo recording "Love Won't Let Me Wait").

The other group featured William with new members. Lineups would become confusing as members shifted between groups and multiple groups toured.

Major Harris moved to William's group around 1980, with their third member being the returning Randy Cain. Frank Washington also switched from Wilbert's group, joining in 1985.

While the main recording lineup of the group was William Hart, Major Harris, and Frank Washington, they would tour as two separate trios with additional members added.

One group featured William, Randy Cain, and Garfield Fleming, and the other consisted of Frank, Major, and Freddy Ingleton.

William also toured with another line up consisting of himself, Johnny ("JJ") Johnson and Pat Palmer,^[3] and toured in Japan at least one time with Ingleton and Dr. Salaam Love.^[4]

1980s and on

Through the 1980s and the 1990s, the Delfonics groups continued to perform. The William Hart/Major Harris/Frank Washington group made several recordings, including backing vocals on the track "After the Smoke is Clear", on the 1996 hip hop album Ironman by Ghostface Killah.

Their works continued to be sampled. Rapper The Notorious B.I.G. sampled "Hey Love" in his song "Playa Hata", released in 1997, and in 1996 rapper Nas sampled their "Walk Right Up To the Sun" for his hit "If I Ruled the World.

"Rapper Missy Elliott sampled "Ready Or Not Here I Come" in her hit "Sock it 2 Me." Rapper Ghostface Killa sampled "La La Means I Love You" in his hit "Holla". Eazy-E, Gang Starr, and Ed OG have sampled "Trying To Make a Fool of Me."

The groups reorganized in the late 1990s. William Hart started touring with Johnny Johnson and Garfield Fleming; this group recorded as the Delfonics. Major Harris toured with Frank Washington and Pat Palmer.^[5]

Wilbert also led a Delfonics group; members in the 1990s included Salaam Love (formerly in William's group) and Eban Brown (falsetto).^[6]

They were replaced by Greg Hill (former bassist for Teddy Riley & New Edition) and Van Fields (who joined Eban in the Stylistics until 2011).

One year after Greg joined the group, a good friend of Wilbert told him about a talented first tenor named Joe Branch. Joe sang with a number of local groups including The Dynamics along with (Lillo Thomas).

Wilbert then asked Greg to bring Joe down to one of the rehearsals and Joe eventually replaced Van Fields as the new lead vocalist.

The William/Johnny/Garfield lineup of the group was featured in concert on the DVD's The Big Show and '70's Soul Jam, whereas Wilbert Hart's group with Greg Hill and Joe Branch are featured on the DVD Old School Soul Party Live!, which was part of the PBS My Music series. Harris is also featured on the re-released DVD Blue Magic/Margie Joseph/Major Harris Live!, which was recorded in 1975.

The current line-ups are William Hart, Pat Palmer and Johnney Smalls, and, Wilbert Hart, Joe Branch and Salaam Love.

Recent times

Garfield Fleming left the group and was replaced by Frank Washington, who subsequently left around 2003 to join The Spinners.

The position was then filled by Johnney Smalls. Johnny Johnson left shortly thereafter and joined The Fonics^[7] and Pat Palmer was brought in as replacement.

The band now consisted of William Hart, Major Harris, Pat Palmer and Johnney Smalls and continued to tour thereafter.^[8]

Major Harris died on November 9, 2012.

Wilbert also continues to tour with his Delfonics group (Joe Branch and Salaam Love) sometimes called "The Delphonics", "The New Delfonics" or simply billed as "Wilbert Hart."

Wilbert's group released a CD in 2005 with featuring Joe Branch and Greg Hill, Fonic Zone.^[9]

Wilbert Hart, Greg Hill and Joe Branch had been touring together for the past fifteen years.

Along with touring, the trio recorded a single with Rick Ross entitled "Here For U". After many years of touring with Wil Harts Delfonics group, Greg Hill left Wilbert Hart's Delfonics and is currently touring with his own group called Greg Hill & The Delfonics Revue featuring himself, Tommy Moore and Benny "prymtime" Daniels (formerly of The Stylistics Revue) while William Hart's group periodically performs on the "70s Soul Jam Tour".

The Delfonics were featured on the Unsung TV series on TV one.

Original members

Formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1965 and originally known as the Four Gents, the Delfonics classic lineup featured:

William Hart (born January 17, 1945, Washington, D.C.)
Wilbert Hart (born October 19, 1947, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Randy Cain (born Herbert Randal Cain III May 2, 1945, Philadelphia; died April 9, 2009, Maple Shade Township, New Jersey)^[10]^[11]

Source: Wikipedia.org

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Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Dolly Parton~ "My Blue Tears"

Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946^[3]) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, author, businesswoman, and humanitarian, known primarily for her work in country music.

Her career began as a child performer on the Cas Walker^[4] radio show, then recording a few singles from the age of 13.

Relocating to Nashville at age 18 in 1964, her first commercial successes were as a songwriter (her songs during this period were covered by numerous artists, including Bill Phillips and Kitty Wells).

She rose to prominence in 1967 as a featured performer on singer Porter Wagoner's weekly syndicated TV program; their first duet single, a cover of Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind", was a top-ten hit on the country singles chart and led to several successful albums before they ended their partnership in 1974.

Moving towards mainstream pop music, her 1977 single "Here You Come Again" was a success on both the country and pop charts.

A string of pop-country hits followed into the mid-1980s, the most successful being her 1980 hit "9 to 5" (from the film of the same name) and her 1983 duet with Kenny Rogers "Islands in the Stream", both of which topped the U.S. pop and country singles charts.

A pair of albums recorded with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris were among her later successes.

In the late 1990s, she returned to classic country/bluegrass with a series of acclaimed recordings. Non-musical ventures include Dollywood, a theme park in Pigeon Forge in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, and her efforts on behalf of childhood literacy, particularly her Imagination Library, as well as Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede and Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show.^[5]

Parton is the most honored female country performer of all time. Achieving 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards, she has had 25 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts, a record for a female artist.

She has 41 career top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and she has 110 career charted singles over the past 40 years.

All-inclusive sales of singles, albums, hits collections, and digital downloads during her career have topped 100 million worldwide.

She has garnered eight Grammy Awards, two Academy Award nominations, ten Country Music Association Awards, seven Academy of Country Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and is one of only seven female artists to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year Award.

Parton has received 46 Grammy nominations, tying her with Bruce Springsteen for the most Grammy nominations and placing her in tenth place overall.^[6]

In 1999, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She has composed over 3,000 songs, the best known of which include "I Will Always Love You" (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper for Parton, as well as an international pop hit for Whitney Houston), "Jolene", "Coat of Many Colors", "9 to 5", and "My Tennessee Mountain Home". Parton is also one of the few to have received at least one nomination from the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards.^[7]

As an actress, she starred in 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, A Smoky Mountain Christmas, Steel Magnolias, Wild Texas Wind, Gnomeo & Juliet, Straight Talk, Unlikely Angel, Blue Valley Songbird, and Joyful Noise.^[8]^[9]

Dolly Parton
Parton accepting an Applause award for Dollywood, November 2010
Background information
Birth name	Dolly Rebecca Parton
Born	January 19, 1946 (age 69) Sevier County, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country, country pop, pop, bluegrass, gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, producer, actress, author, musician, business executive
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, banjo
Years active	1957–present
Labels	Goldband, Mercury, Monument, RCA, Warner Bros., Columbia, Rising Tide, Decca, Sugar Hill, Dolly^[1]^[2]
Associated acts	Emmylou Harris, Kenny Rogers, Linda Ronstadt, Porter Wagoner
Website	www.dollyparton.com

Early years

Parton was born in Sevier County, Tennessee, the fourth of twelve children of Robert Lee Parton (1921–2000), a farmer and construction worker,^[10] and his wife Avie Lee (née Owens) (1923–2003).

Parton's middle name comes from her maternal great-great grandmother, Rebecca (Dunn) Whitted (1861–1930).^[11]^[12]

She has described her family as being "dirt poor".^[13]

Parton's father paid the doctor who helped deliver her with a bag of oatmeal. She outlined her family's poverty in her early songs: "Coat of Many Colors" and "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)".

They lived in a rustic, one-room cabin in Locust Ridge,^[14] just north of the Greenbrier Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains, a predominantly Pentecostal area.

Music played an important role in her early life, and her grandfather, Jake Robert Owens (1899–1992) was a Pentecostal "Holy Roller" preacher.^[15]

Many of her early performances were in church, along with her family. Her siblings are Willadeene (born 1940), David Wilburn (born 1942), Coy Denver (born 1943), Bobby Lee (born 1948), Stella Mae (born 1949), Cassie Nan (born 1951), Randel Huston ("Randy"; born 1953), Larry Gerald (July 1, 1955 – July 6, 1955), Floyd and Freida Estelle (twins; born 1957), and Rachel Ann (born 1959).^[16]

Career discovery

Dolly Parton portrait for Goldband Records

Parton began performing as a child, singing on local radio and television programs in the Eastern Tennessee area.^[17]

She received her first guitar at eight.^[15] By ten, she was appearing on The Cas Walker Show on both WIVK Radio and WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee.

At thirteen, she was recording (the single "Puppy Love") on a small Louisiana label, Goldband Records,^[15] and appeared at the Grand Ole Opry where she first met Johnny Cash, who encouraged her to follow her own instincts regarding her career.^[18]

The day after she graduated from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville.^[15]

Her initial success came as a songwriter, having signed with Combine Publishing shortly after her arrival;^[19] with her frequent songwriting partner, her uncle Bill Owens, she wrote several charting singles during this time, including two top ten hits: Bill Phillips's 1966 record "Put It Off Until Tomorrow", and Skeeter Davis' 1967 hit "Fuel to the Flame".

Her songs were recorded by many other artists during this period, including Kitty Wells and Hank Williams Jr..^[20]

She signed with Monument Records in 1965, at 19, where she was initially pitched as a bubblegum pop singer. She released a string of singles, but the only one that charted, "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby", did not crack the Billboard Hot 100.

Although she expressed a desire to record country material, Monument resisted, thinking her unique voice with its strong vibrato was not suited to the genre.

It was only after her composition, "Put It Off Until Tomorrow", as recorded by Bill Phillips (and with Parton, uncredited, on harmony), went to No. 6 on the country chart in 1966, that the label relented and allowed her to record country.

Her first country single, "Dumb Blonde" (one of the few songs during this era that she recorded but did not write), reached No. 24 on the country chart in 1967, followed by "Something Fishy", which went to No. 17. The two songs appeared on her first full-length album, Hello, I'm Dolly.^[21]

Marriage

On May 30, 1966, Parton and Carl Thomas Dean (born July 20, 1942 in Nashville, Tennessee) were married in Ringgold, Georgia.^[22]^[23]

Although Parton does not use Dean's surname professionally, she has stated that her passport says "Dolly Parton Dean" and that she sometimes uses Dean when signing contracts.^[24]

Dean, who runs an asphalt road-paving business in Nashville, has always shunned publicity and rarely accompanies his wife to any events.

According to Parton, he has only ever seen her perform once. However, she has also commented in interviews that, although it appears they spend little time together, it is simply that nobody sees him publicly.

She has commented on Dean's romantic side, saying that he does spontaneous things to surprise her and sometimes even writes poems for her.^[25]

Parton and Dean helped raise several of Parton's younger siblings in Nashville, leading her nieces and nephews to refer to her as "Aunt Granny", a moniker that later lent its name to one of Parton's Dollywood restaurants. The couple have no children of their own but Parton is the godmother of performer Miley Cyrus.^[26]

In 2011, the couple celebrated their 45th anniversary. Later, Parton said, "We're really proud of our marriage. It's the first for both of us. And the last."^[27]

Music career

1967–75: Country music success

In 1967, country singer Porter Wagoner invited Parton to join his organization, offering her a regular spot on his weekly syndicated television program The Porter Wagoner Show, as well as in his road show.

As documented in her 1994 autobiography,^[28] initially, much of Wagoner's audience was unhappy that Norma Jean, the performer whom Parton had replaced, had left the show, and was reluctant to accept Parton (sometimes chanting loudly for Norma Jean from the audience).^[29]

With Wagoner's assistance, however, Parton was eventually accepted. Wagoner convinced his label, RCA Victor, to sign her.

RCA decided to protect their investment by releasing her first single as a duet with Wagoner. That song, a cover of Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind", released in late 1967, reached the country top ten in January 1968, launching a six-year streak of virtually uninterrupted top ten singles for the pair.

Parton's first solo single for RCA Victor, "Just Because I'm a Woman", was released in the summer of 1968 and was a moderate chart hit, reaching No. 17. For the remainder of the decade, none of her solo efforts – even "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)", which later became a standard – were as successful as her duets with Wagoner.

The duo was named Vocal Group of the Year in 1968 by the Country Music Association, but Parton's solo records were continually ignored.

Wagoner had a significant financial stake in her future: as of 1969, he was her co-producer and owned nearly half of Owe-Par,^[30] the publishing company Parton had founded with Bill Owens.

By 1970, both Parton and Wagoner had grown frustrated by her lack of solo chart success. Wagoner persuaded Parton to record Jimmie Rodgers's "Mule Skinner Blues", a gimmick that worked.

The record shot to No. 3, followed closely, in February 1971, by her first No. 1 single, "Joshua". For the next two years, she had a numerous solo hits – including her signature song "Coat of Many Colors" (#4, 1971) – in addition to her duets.

Top twenty singles included "The Right Combination" and "Burning the Midnight Oil" (both duets with Porter Wagoner, 1971); "Lost Forever in Your Kiss" (with Wagoner) and "Touch Your Woman (1972); and "My Tennessee Mountain Home" and "Travelin' Man" (1973).^[31]

Although her solo singles and the Wagoner duets were successful, her biggest hit of this period was "Jolene".

Released in late 1973, it topped the country chart in February 1974, and reached the lower regions of the Hot 100 (it eventually also charted in the UK, reaching No. 7 in 1976, representing Parton's first UK success).

Parton and Wagoner performed their last duet concert in April 1974, and she stopped appearing on his TV show in mid-1974, although they remained affiliated; he helped produce her records through 1975.^[28]

The pair continued to release duet albums, their final release being 1975's "Say Forever You'll Be Mine".^[32]

In 1974, her song, "I Will Always Love You", written about her professional break from Wagoner, went to No. 1 on the country chart. Around the same time, Elvis Presley indicated that he wanted to cover the song.

Parton was interested until Presley's wily manager, Colonel Tom Parker, told her that it was standard procedure for the songwriter to sign over half of the publishing rights to any song recorded by Presley.^[33]

Parton refused. That decision has been credited with helping to make her many millions of dollars in royalties from the song over the years.

Parton had three solo singles reach No. 1 on the country chart in 1974 ("Jolene", "I Will Always Love You", and "Love Is Like a Butterfly"), as well as the duet with Porter Wagoner, "Please Don't Stop Loving Me"; she again topped the singles chart in 1975 with "The Bargain Store".^[34]

1976–86: Branching out into pop music

From 1974 to 1980, she consistently charted in the country Top 10, with eight singles reaching No. 1. Parton had her own syndicated television variety show, Dolly! (1976–77). During this period, many performers, including Rose Maddox, Kitty Wells, Olivia Newton-John, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt covered her songs, and her siblings Randy and Stella both received recording contracts of their own.^[28]

During this period, Parton began to embark on a high-profile crossover campaign, attempting to aim her music in a more mainstream direction and increase her visibility outside of the confines of country music.

In 1976, she began working closely with Sandy Gallin, who would serve as her personal manager for the next 25 years.

With her 1976 album All I Can Do, which she co-produced with Porter Wagoner, Parton began taking more of an active role in production, and began specifically aiming her music in a more mainstream, pop direction.

Her first entirely self-produced effort, New Harvest ... First Gathering (1977), highlighted her pop sensibilities, both in terms of choice of songs – the album contained covers of the pop and R&B classics "My Girl" and "Higher and Higher" – and production.^[35]

After New Harvest's disappointing chart performance, Parton turned to high profile pop producer Gary Klein for her next album.

The result, 1977's Here You Come Again, became her first million-seller, topping the country album chart and reaching No. 20 on the pop chart; the Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil-penned title track topped the country singles chart, and became Parton's first top-ten single on the pop chart (#3).

A second single, the double A-sided "Two Doors Down"/"It's All Wrong, But It's All Right" topped the country chart and crossed over to the pop top twenty.

For the remainder of the 1970s and into the early 1980s, many of her subsequent singles charted on both charts simultaneously.

Her albums during this period were developed specifically for pop-crossover success.^[36]

In 1978, Parton won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her Here You Come Again album.

She continued to have hits with "Heartbreaker" (1978), "Baby I'm Burning" (1979), and "You're the Only One" (1979), all of which charted in the pop Top 40 and topped the country chart.

"Sweet Summer Lovin'" (1979) became the first Parton single in two years to not top the country chart (though it did reach the Top 10).

During this period, her visibility continued to increase, with multiple television appearances. A highly publicized candid interview on a Barbara Walters Special in 1977 (timed to coincide with Here You Come Again's release) was followed by appearances in 1978 on Cher's ABC television special, and her own joint special with Carol Burnett on CBS, Carol and Dolly in Nashville.^[8]

Parton served as one of three co-hosts (along with Roy Clark and Glen Campbell) on the CBS special Fifty Years of Country Music.

In 1979, Parton hosted the NBC special The Seventies: An Explosion of Country Music, performed live at the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C., and whose audience included President Jimmy Carter.

Her commercial success grew in 1980, with three consecutive No. 1 hits: the Donna Summer-written "Starting Over Again", "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You", and "9 to 5", which topped the country and pop charts in early 1981.^[28]

She had another Top 10 single that year with "Making Plans", a single released from a 1980 reunion album with Porter Wagoner.^[37]

Dolly Parton holding a baby in Honolulu, Hawaii, 1983

"9 to 5", the theme song to the 1980 feature film 9 to 5 she starred in along with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, not only reached No. 1 on the country chart, but also, in February 1981, reached No. 1 on the pop and the adult-contemporary charts, giving her a triple No. 1 hit.

Parton became one of the few female country singers to have a No. 1 single on the country and pop charts simultaneously.

It also received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Her singles continued to appear consistently in the country Top 10: between 1981 and 1985, she had 12 Top 10 hits; half of them hit No. 1. She continued to make inroads on the pop chart as well.

A re-recorded version of "I Will Always Love You" from the feature film, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) scraped the Top 50 that year and her duet with Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" (written by the Bee Gees and produced by Barry Gibb), spent two weeks at No. 1 in 1983.^[28]

Other chart hits during this period included her chart-topping cover of the 1969 First Edition hit, "But You Know I Love You" and "The House of the Rising Sun" (1981); "Single Women", "Heartbreak Express", and "Hard Candy Christmas" (1982); and "Potential New Boyfriend" (1983), which was accompanied by one of her first music videos and reached the U.S. dance chart.

She continued to explore new business and entertainment ventures such as her Dollywood theme park that opened in 1986 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

In the mid-1980s, her record sales were still relatively strong, with "Save the Last Dance for Me", "Downtown", "Tennessee Homesick Blues" (1984); "Real Love" (another duet with Kenny Rogers), "Don't Call It Love" (1985); and "Think About Love" (1986) all reaching the country Top 10.

("Tennessee Homesick Blues" and "Think About Love" reached No. 1; "Real Love" also reached No. 1 on the country chart and became a modest crossover hit). However, RCA Records did not renew her contract after it expired that year, and she signed with Columbia Records in 1987.^[28]

1987–94: Return to country roots

Along with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, she released Trio (1987) to critical acclaim. The album revitalized Parton's music career, spending five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart, selling several million copies and producing four Top 10 country hits including Phil Spector's "To Know Him Is to Love Him", which went to No. 1.

"Trio" won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

After a further attempt at pop success with "Rainbow" (1987), including the single "The River Unbroken", Parton focused on recording country material. "White Limozeen" (1989) produced two No. 1 hits in "Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' Like That" and "Yellow Roses".

Although it looked like Parton's career had been revived, it was actually just a brief revival before contemporary country music came on in the early 1990s and moved most veteran artists off the chart.^[28]

A duet with Ricky Van Shelton, "Rockin' Years" (1991), reached No. 1, though Parton's greatest commercial fortune of the decade came when Whitney Houston recorded "I Will Always Love You" for the soundtrack of the feature film The Bodyguard (1992); both the single and the album were massively successful.

Parton's soundtrack album from the 1992 film, Straight Talk, however, was less successful. But her 1993 album Slow Dancing with the Moon won critical acclaim, and did well on the charts, reaching No. 4 on the country albums chart, and No. 16 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

She recorded "The Day I Fall in Love" as a duet with James Ingram for the feature film Beethoven's 2nd (1993).

The songwriters (Sager, Ingram, and Clif Mangess) were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and Parton and Ingram performed the song on the awards telecast.

Similar to her earlier collaborative album with Harris and Ronstadt, Parton released "Honky Tonk Angels" in the fall of 1993 with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.^[38]

It was certified as a gold album by the Recording Industry Association of America and helped revive both Wynette's and Lynn's careers.

Also in 1994, Parton contributed the song "You Gotta Be My Baby" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization.^[39]

A live acoustic album, Heartsongs, featuring stripped down versions of some of her hits, as well as some traditional songs, was released in late 1994.^[40]

1995–present

Dolly Parton in Australia, November 2011

Parton's recorded music during the mid-to late 1990s remained steady, though somewhat eclectic.

Her 1995 re-recording of "I Will Always Love You" (performed as a duet with Vince Gill), from her album Something Special won the Country Music Association's Vocal Event of the Year Award.

The following year, Treasures, an album of covers of 1960s/70s hits was released, and featured a diverse collection of material, including songs by Mac Davis, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson, Cat Stevens, and Neil Young.

Her recording of Stevens' "Peace Train" was later remixed and released as a dance single, reaching Billboard's dance singles chart.

Her 1998 country-rock album Hungry Again was made up entirely of her own compositions. Although neither of the album's two singles, "(Why Don't More Women Sing) Honky Tonk Songs" and "Salt in my Tears", charted, videos for both songs received significant airplay on CMT.

A second and more contemporary collaboration with Harris and Ronstadt, Trio II, was released in early 1999. Its cover of Neil Young's classic "After the Gold Rush" won a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

Dolly was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.^[38]

Parton recorded a series of bluegrass-inspired albums, beginning with The Grass Is Blue (1999), winning a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album, and Little Sparrow (2001), with its cover of Collective Soul's "Shine" winning a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

The third, Halos & Horns (2002) included a bluegrass version of the Led Zeppelin classic "Stairway to Heaven".

She released Those Were The Days (2005), her interpretation of hits from the folk-rock era of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It featured such classics as "Imagine", "Where Do the Children Play?", "Crimson and Clover", and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"^[38]

Parton earned her second Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Travelin' Thru", which she wrote specifically for the feature film Transamerica (2005). Due to the song's uncritical acceptance of a transgender woman, Parton received death threats.^[41] She returned to No. 1 on the country chart later in 2005 by lending her distinctive harmonies to the Brad Paisley ballad, "When I Get Where I'm Goin'".^[38]

In September 2007, Parton released her first single from her own record company, Dolly Records, titled, "Better Get to Livin'", which eventually peaked at No. 48 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

It was followed by the studio album "Backwoods Barbie", which was released on February 26, 2008, and reached No. 2 on the country chart.

The album's debut at No. 17 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart was the highest in her career.^[42]

"Backwoods Barbie" produced four additional singles, including the title track, written as part of her score for 9 to 5: The Musical, an adaptation of her feature film Nine to Five.

After the sudden death of Michael Jackson, whom Parton knew personally, she released a video in which she somberly told of her feelings on Jackson and his death.^[43]^[44]

On October 27, 2009, Parton released a four-CD box set, "Dolly", which featured 99 songs and spanned most of her career.^[45]

She released her second live DVD and album, Live From London in October 2009, which was filmed during her sold out 2008 concerts at London's The O2 Arena.^[46]

In 2010, she was said to have been working on a dance-oriented album, Dance with Dolly, but as of June 2015 the album had not been released. ^[47]

With longtime friend Billy Ray Cyrus, Parton released their album "Brother Clyde" on August 10, 2010. Parton is featured on "The Right Time", which she co-wrote with Cyrus and Morris Joseph Tancredi.

On January 6, 2011, Parton announced that her new album would be titled "Better Day".

In February 2011, she announced that she would embark on the Better Day World Tour on July 17, 2011, with shows in northern Europe and the U.S.^[48]

The album's lead-off single, "Together You and I", was released on May 23, 2011, and Better Day was released on June 28, 2011.^[49]

In 2011, Parton voiced the character Dolly Gnome in the animated film Gnomeo & Juliet.

On February 11, 2012, after the sudden death of Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton stated, "Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston.

I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, "Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed."^[50]

In 2013, Parton joined Lulu Roman for a recording of "I Will Always Love You" for Roman's album, "At Last".^[51]

In 2013, Parton and Kenny Rogers reunited for the title song of his album You Can't Make Old Friends. For their performance, they were nominated at the 2014 Grammy Awards for Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.^[52]

In 2014, Parton embarked on the Blue Smoke World Tour in support of her forty-second studio album, Blue Smoke.^[53]

The album was first released in Australia & New Zealand on January 31 to coincide with tour dates there in February, and reached the top 10 in both countries.

It was released in the US on May 13, and debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it her first top 10 album and her highest-charting solo album ever; it also reached the No. 2 position on the US country chart.

The album was released in Europe on June 9, and reached No. 2 on the UK album chart. On June 29, 2014, Parton performed for the first time at the UK Glastonbury Festival performing songs such as "Jolene", "9 to 5"and "Coat of Many Colors" to a crowd of over 180,000.^[54]

In concert and on tour

Parton toured extensively from the late 1960s until the early 1990s. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Parton toured as a member of Porter Wagoner's road show, as well as with other country musicians, including George Jones and Linda Ronstadt.

Upon leaving Wagoner's organization in 1974, Parton formed her own "Travelin' Family Band", made up largely of siblings, cousins, and other family members, and touring with other acts, including Willie Nelson and Mac Davis.

In 1976, she disbanded the Travelin' Family Band, to form a new band, Gypsy Fever, composed of seasoned musicians who had more of a rock sensibility, to support her impending crossover.

Parton toured as a headline act with Gypsy Fever from 1977 to 1979, to promote her albums, New Harvest - First Gathering, Here You Come Again, Heartbreaker, and Great Balls of Fire.

In the 1980s, movie roles and other ventures caused Parton to tour less than she had done during the previous decade.

In 1982 and early 1983, she toured in support of her Heartbreak Express album, but health problems resulted in the cancellation of a several of that tour's dates.

From 1984 to 1985, she toured alongside Kenny Rogers for the Real Love Tour. She continued touring in 1986 with the Think About Love Tour, and 1989 for the White Limozeen Tour.

Parton's only tour in the 1990s was between 1991–92 in support of her Eagle When She Flies album.^{[citation needed]}

Dollywood Foundation Shows

From the early 1990s through 2001, her concert appearances were primarily limited to one weekend a year at Dollywood to benefit her Dollywood Foundation.

In 2015, Dolly announced plans to debut her new show, "Pure and Simple," with four scheduled show dates for July and August.^[55]

Halos & Horns Tour

Main article: Halos & Horns Tour

After a decade-long absence from touring, Parton decided to return in 2002 with the Halos & Horns Tour, an 18-city, intimate club tour to promote Halos & Horns (2002).

House of Blues Entertainment, Inc. produced the tour and sold out all its North American and European dates.^[56]

Parton performing on the Grand Ole Opry, April 2005

Hello, I'm Dolly Tour

Main article: Hello, I'm Dolly Tour

She returned to mid-sized stadium venues in 2004 with her 39-show, U.S. and Canadian Hello, I'm Dolly Tour, a glitzier, more elaborate stage show than two years earlier.

With nearly 140,000 tickets sold, it was the tenth-biggest country tour of the year and grossed more than $6 million.^[57]

The Vintage Tour

Main article: The Vintage Tour
In late 2005, Parton completed a 40-city tour with The Vintage Tour promoting her new Those Were the Days (2005).^[32]

The October 2, 2005, Vintage show in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park was part of the free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported afterwards that an estimated 200,000 people had attended Dolly's performance.

An Evening with Dolly Parton

Main article: An Evening with Dolly Parton

Parton scheduled mini concerts in late 2006 throughout the U.S. and Canada as a gear-up to her 17-city, 21-date An Evening with Dolly Parton.

Running from March 6 to April 3, 2007, this was her first world tour in many years and her first tour in the United Kingdom since 2002.^[58]

The tour sold out in every European city and gained positive reviews. It grossed just over $16 million.^{[citation needed]}

Backwoods Barbie Tour

Main article: Backwoods Barbie Tour

In 2008, Parton went on the Backwoods Barbie Tour.

It was set to begin in the U.S. (February–April 2008) to coincide with the release of Backwoods Barbie (2008), her first mainstream-country album in 17 years.

However, due to health problems she postponed all U.S. dates. The tour started March 28, 2008, with 13 U.S. dates,^[59] followed by 17 European shows.

She returned to the U.S. with a concert at Humphrey's By The Bay in San Diego on August 1, 2008.

She performed her Backwoods Barbie Tour on August 3, 2008, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles to a sold-out crowd and standing ovations.

From August 1 to November 1, she scheduled 16 dates on both the east and west coasts of the U.S.

Her concerts at London’s O2 Arena were the subject of a PBS Special^[60]

Better Day World Tour

Main article: Better Day World Tour

In 2011, Parton embarked on the Better Day World Tour to promote her 41st studio album, Better Day (2011).

The tour began on July 17 and ended on December 1. With 49 shows, she visited the United States, Northern Europe, and Australia.

The ticket sales were nearly 275,000 and the overall gross was $34 million, making the tour Parton's most successful.

This tour was her first to visit Australia in 30 years.^[61]

Blue Smoke World Tour

Main article: Blue Smoke World Tour

In January 2014, Parton embarked on the Blue Smoke World Tour to promote her 42nd studio album, Blue Smoke touring the United States, Europe, and Australia.^[62]

Songwriting

Parton is a prolific songwriter, having begun by writing country-music songs with strong elements of folk music, based upon her upbringing in humble mountain surroundings, and reflecting her family's Christian background.

Her songs "Coat of Many Colors", "I Will Always Love You", and "Jolene", among others, have become classics in the field. On November 4, 2003, Parton was honored as a BMI Icon at the 2003 BMI Country Awards.^[63]

Parton has earned over 35 BMI Pop and Country Awards throughout her songwriting career.^[64] In 2001, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.^[65]

In a 2009 interview with CNN's Larry King, Parton indicated she had written "at least 3,000" songs, having written seriously since the age of seven. Parton went on to say that she writes something every day, be it a song or an idea.^[66]

Compositions in films and television and covers

Parton's songwriting has been featured prominently in several films. In addition to the title song for Nine to Five (1980), she also recorded a second version of "I Will Always Love You" for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982).

The second version was a No. 1 country hit and also managed to reach the pop charts, going to No. 53.

"I Will Always Love You" has been covered by many country artists, including Ronstadt on Prisoner In Disguise (1975); Kenny Rogers on Vote for Love (1996); and LeAnn Rimes on Unchained Melody: The Early Years (1997).

Whitney Houston performed it on The Bodyguard (1992) film soundtrack and her version became the best-selling hit both written and performed by a female vocalist, with worldwide sales of over twelve million copies.

In addition, the song has been translated into Italian and performed by the Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins, a fact referred to by Parton herself at the Backwoods Barbie tour concert in Birmingham (UK).^{[citation needed]}
As a songwriter, Parton has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, for "9 to 5" (1980) and "Travelin' Thru" (2005) from the transgender themed film Transamerica.

"Travelin' Thru" won as Best Original Song award at the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards (2005).

The song was also nominated for both the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song (2005) and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award (also known as the Critics' Choice Awards) for Best Song (2005).

A cover version of "Love Is Like A Butterfly", recorded by singer Clare Torry, was used as the theme music for the British TV show Butterflies.^{[citation needed]}

American Idol appearance

The music-competition reality-television show American Idol (since 2002) has weekly themes and the April 1–2, 2008, episodes' theme was "Dolly Parton Songs" with the nine then-remaining contestants each singing a Parton composition. Parton participated as a "guest mentor" to the contestants and also performed "Jesus and Gravity" (from Backwoods Barbie and released as a single in March 2008) receiving a standing ovation from the studio audience.

9 to 5: The Musical

Main article: 9 to 5 (musical)

Parton wrote the score (and Patricia Resnick wrote the book) for 9 to 5: The Musical, a musical-theatre adaptation of Parton's feature film Nine to Five (1980).

The musical ran at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles in late 2008.

It opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre in New York City, on April 30, 2009, to mixed reviews.^[67]

The title track of her 2008 Backwoods Barbie album was written for the musical's character Doralee.^[68]

Although her score (as well as the musical debut of actress Allison Janney) was praised, the show struggled and closed on September 6, 2009 after 24 previews and 148 performances. Parton received nominations for Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, as well as a nomination for Tony Award for Best Original Score.

Developing the musical was not a quick process. According to a broadcast of the public-radio program Studio 360 (October 29, 2005),^[69] in October 2005 Parton was in the midst of composing the songs for a Broadway musical theatre adaptation of the film. In late June 2007, 9 to 5: the Musical was read for industry presentations.

The readings starred Megan Hilty, Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, Bebe Neuwirth, and Marc Kudisch.^[70]

Ambassador Theatre Group announced a 2012 UK tour for Dolly Parton's 9 to 5: The Musical, commencing at Manchester Opera House, on October 12, 2012.^[71]

Acting career

During the mid-1970s, Parton wanted to expand her audience base. Although her first attempt, the television variety show Dolly! (1976–77), had high ratings, it lasted only one season, with Parton requesting to be released from her contract because of the stress it was causing her vocal cords.

(She later tried a second television variety show, also titled Dolly (1987–88), it lasted only one season).^[8]

Film

In her first feature film, Parton portrayed a secretary in a leading role with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the comedy film 9 to 5 (1980).

She received nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress.^[72]^[73]

Parton wrote and recorded with the film's title song. It received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Song and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.^[73]

Released as a single, the song won both the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and the Grammy Award for Best Country Song.

It also reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart and in was No. 78 on the "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs" list released by the American Film Institute in 2004. 9 to 5 became a major box office success, grossing over $3.9 million its opening weekend, and over $103 million worldwide.

Parton was named Top Female Box Office Star by the Motion Picture Herald in both 1981 and 1982 due to the film's success.^[74]

In late 1981, Parton began filming her second film, the musical film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982).^[72]

The film earned her a second nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.^[73]

The film was greeted with positive critical reviews and became a commercial success, earning over $69 million worldwide. After a two-year hiatus from films, Parton was teamed with Sylvester Stallone for Rhinestone (1984).

A comedy film about a county music star's efforts to mold an unknown into a music sensation, the film was a critical and financial failure, making just over $21 million on a $28 million budget.^[8]

In 1989, she returned to film acting in Steel Magnolias (1989), based on the play of the same name by Robert Harling.

The film was popular with critics and audiences, grossing over $95 million inside the U.S. Parton starred along with James Woods in Straight Talk (1992), which received mixed reviews, and grossed a mild $21 million at the box office.^[75]

She launched a television series, The Dolly Show, but it was not a success. Parton made a cameo appearance as herself in The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), an adaptation of the long-running TV sitcom of the same name (1962–71).^[72]

She appeared as an overprotective mother in the comedy Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002).

She made a cameo appearance in the comedy film Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, starring Sandra Bullock.

She was featured in The Book Lady (2008), a documentary film about her campaign for children's literacy.^[8]^[76]

Parton had expected to reprise her television role as Hannah's godmother in the musical comedy film Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009), but the character was omitted from the final screenplay.^[77]

She had a voice role in the comedy family film Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), a computer-animated film with gnomes about William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.^[8]

She co-starred with Queen Latifah in the musical film Joyful Noise (2012), which finished filming in April 2011.^[78]

She played a choir director's widow who joins forces with Latifah's character, a mother of two teens, to save a small Georgia town's gospel choir.^[79]

The film was released in theaters on January 13, 2012.^[80]

Television

In addition to her performing appearances on The Porter Wagoner Show in the 1960s and into the 1970s, her two self-titled television variety shows in the 1970s and 1980s, and on American Idol in 2008 and other guest appearances, Parton has had television roles.

In 1979, she received an Emmy award nomination as "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Variety Program" for her guest appearance in a Cher special.^[81]

During the 1980s, she starred in two popular television concert specials: 1983's Dolly in London, filmed live in London's Dominion Theatre, and Dolly & Kenny: Real Love, a 1985 concert special with Kenny Rogers, filmed during their joint concert tour.

(Parton and Rogers also filmed a popular 1984 holiday special for CBS, and the two teamed up with Willie Nelson in 1989 for another concert special Something Inside So Strong.)

She starred in the television movies A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986); Wild Texas Wind (1991); Unlikely Angel (1996), portraying an angel sent back to earth following a deadly car crash; and Blue Valley Songbird (1999), where her character lives through her music.^[8]

Parton has done voice work for animation for television series, playing herself in the Alvin and the Chipmunks (episode "Urban Chipmunk", 1983) and the character Katrina Eloise "Murph" Murphy (Ms. Frizzle's first cousin) in The Magic School Bus (episode "The Family Holiday Special", 1994).

She also has guest-starred in several of sitcoms, including a 1990 episode of Designing Women (episode "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century") as herself, the guardian movie star of Charlene's baby.^[82]

She made a guest appearance on Reba (episode "Reba's Rules of Real Estate") portraying a real-estate agency owner and on The Simpsons (episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", 1999).

She appeared as herself in 2000 on the Halloween episode of Bette Midler's short-lived sitcom Bette, and on episode 14 of Babes (which was produced by Sandollar Productions, Parton and Sandy Gallin's joint production company).^[8]

She made cameo appearances on the Disney Channel as "Aunt Dolly" visiting Hannah and her family in the fellow Tennessean Miley Cyrus' series Hannah Montana (episodes "Good Golly, Miss Dolly", 2006, "I Will Always Loathe You", 2007, and "Kiss It All Goodbye", 2010).

She was nominated for an Outstanding Guest Actress in Comedy Series.^[83]

Business ventures

In 1998, Nashville Business ranked her to be the wealthiest country-music star.^[84]

The Dollywood Company

Parton invested much of her earnings into business ventures in her native East Tennessee, notably Pigeon Forge.

She is a co-owner of The Dollywood Company, which operates the theme park Dollywood (a former Silver Dollar City), a dinner theatre, Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, and the waterpark Dollywood's Splash Country, all in Pigeon Forge.

Dollywood is ranked as the 24th-most-popular theme park in the United States, with some three million visitors per year.^[85]

The Dixie Stampede business has venues in Branson, Missouri, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A former location in Orlando, Florida closed in January 2008 after the land and building were sold to a developer.^[86]

Starting in June 2011, the Myrtle Beach location became Pirates Voyage Fun, Feast & Adventure; Parton appeared for the opening, and the South Carolina General Assembly declared June 3, 2011, Dolly Parton Day.^[87]

On January 19, 2012, Parton's 66th birthday, Gaylord Opryland and Dollywood announced plans to open a $50 million water and snow park, a fun and family-friendly travel destination that is open each month of the year in Nashville.^[88]

Film and television production company

Parton was a co-owner of Sandollar Productions, with Sandy Gallin, her former manager. A film-and-television-production company, it produced the Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989), which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Feature); the television series Babes (1990–91) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003); and the feature films Father of the Bride (1991), Father of the Bride: Part II (1995) Straight Talk (1992) (in which Parton starred), and Sabrina (1995), among other shows.

In a 2009 interview singer Connie Francis revealed that Dolly had been contacting her for years in an attempt to film the singer's life story.

Francis turned down Parton's offers as she was already in negotiations with singer Gloria Estefan to produce the film, a collaboration now ended.^[89]

After the retirement of her partner, Sandy Gallin, Parton briefly operated Dolly Parton's Southern Light Productions and in 2015, announced her new production company would be called Dixie Pixie Productions and will produce the movies-of-week in development with NBC Television.^[90]

Philanthropic efforts

Since the mid-1980s, Parton has supported many charitable efforts, particularly in the area of literacy, primarily through her Dollywood Foundation.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Her literacy program, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library,^[91] a part of the Dollywood Foundation, mails one book per month to each enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten.

Currently over 1600 local communities provide the Imagination Library to almost 700,000 children each and every month across the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Australia.^[91]

The program distributes more than 8.3 million free books to children annually.
In 2006, Parton published a cookbook, Dolly's Dixie Fixin's: Love, Laughter and Lots of Good Food.^[92]^[93]

The Dollywood Foundation, funded from Parton's net profits, has been noted for bringing jobs and tax revenues to a previously depressed region.

Parton has also worked to raise money on behalf of several other causes, including the American Red Cross and HIV/AIDS-related charities.^[94]

In December 2006, Parton pledged $500,000 toward a proposed $90-million hospital and cancer center to be constructed in Sevierville in the name of Dr. Robert F. Thomas, the physician who delivered her.

She announced a benefit concert to raise additional funds for the project.

The concert played to about 8,000 people.^[95] That same year, she and Emmylou Harris allowed their music to be used in a PETA ad campaign that encouraged pet owners to keep their dogs indoors rather than chained outside.^[96]

In May 2009, Parton gave the commencement address at the University of Tennessee.

Her speech was about her life lessons, and she encouraged the graduates to never stop dreaming.^[97]

Awards and honors

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Dolly Parton

Parton is one of the most-honored female country performers of all time.

The Record Industry Association of America has certified 25 of her single or album releases as either Gold Record, Platinum Record or Multi-Platinum Record.

She has had 26 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist. She has 42 career top-10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 career-charted singles over the past 40 years.

All inclusive sales of singles, albums, collaboration records, compilation usage, and paid digital downloads during Parton's career have reportedly topped 100 million records around the world.^[98]

Parton during a reception for The Kennedy Center honorees in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on December 3, 2006

Parton has earned eight Grammy Awards (including her 2011 Lifetime Achievement Grammy) and a total of 46 Grammy Award nominations, the most nominations of any female artist in the history of the prestigious awards, a record tied by Beyoncé.^[99]

At the American Music Awards, she has won three awards out of 18 nominations. At the Country Music Association, she has won 10 awards out of 42 nominations.

At the Academy of Country Music, she has won seven awards and 39 nominations. She is one of only six female artists (including Reba McEntire, Barbara Mandrell, Shania Twain, Loretta Lynn, and Taylor Swift), to win the Country Music Association's highest honor, Entertainer of the Year (1978).

She has also been nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award. She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her music in 1984, located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California; a star on the Nashville Star Walk for Grammy winners; and a bronze sculpture on the courthouse lawn in Sevierville.

She has called that statue of herself in her hometown "the greatest honor," because it came from the people who knew her. Parton was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1969, and in 1986 was named one of Ms. Magazine's Women of the Year.

In 1986, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.^[100]^[101]

In 1999, Parton received country music's highest honor, an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.^[102]

She received an honorary doctorate degree from Carson-Newman College (Jefferson City, Tennessee) in 1990.^[103]

This was followed by induction into the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001.^[104]

In 2002, she ranked No. 4 in CMT's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music.

Parton was honored in 2003 with a tribute album called Just Because I'm a Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton.

The artists who recorded versions of Parton's songs included Melissa Etheridge ("I Will Always Love You"), Alison Krauss ("9 to 5"), Shania Twain ("Coat of Many Colors"), Me'Shell NdegéOcello ("Two Doors Down"), Norah Jones ("The Grass is Blue"), and Sinéad O'Connor ("Dagger Through the Heart"); Parton herself contributed a rerecording of the title song, originally the title song for her first RCA album in 1968.

Parton was awarded the Living Legend Medal by the U.S. Library of Congress on April 14, 2004, for her contributions to the cultural heritage of the United States.^[105]

Former U.S. President George W. Bush and Former First Lady Laura Bush, with the Kennedy Center honorees in the Blue Room of the White House during a 2006 reception. From left: singer/songwriter William "Smokey" Robinson; composer Andrew Lloyd Webber; Dolly Parton; film director Steven Spielberg; and conductor Zubin Mehta

In 2005, she was honored with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given by the U.S. government for excellence in the arts and is presented by the U.S. President. On December 3, 2006, Parton received the Kennedy Center Honors from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for her lifetime of contributions to the arts.

During the show, some of country music's biggest names came to show their admiration. Carrie Underwood performed "Islands in the Stream" with Rogers, Parton's original duet partner.

Krauss performed "Jolene" and duetted "Coat of Many Colors" with Twain. McEntire and Reese Witherspoon also came to pay tribute.

On November 16, 2010, Parton accepted the Liseberg Applause Award, the theme park industry's most prestigious honor, on behalf of Dollywood theme park during a ceremony held at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2010 in Orlando, Florida.^[106]

Hall of Fame Honors

During her career, Parton has gained induction into numerous Halls of Fame. Those honors include:

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1986)

Small Town of America Hall of Fame (1988)

East Tennessee Hall of Fame (1988)

Country Music Hall of Fame (1999)

Songwriters Hall of Fame (2001)

Junior Achievement of East Tennessee Business Hall of Fame (2003)

The Americana Highway Hall of Fame (2006)

Grammy Hall of Fame Award – "I Will Always Love You – 1974 Recording" (2007)

Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame – Songwriter Category (2008)

Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2009)

Music City Walk of Fame (2009)

Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2010)

Grammy Hall of Fame Award – "Jolene – 1974 Recording" (2014)

The National Hall of Fame for Mountain Artisans (2014)

Philanthropy-related honors

In 2003, her efforts to preserve the bald eagle through the American Eagle Foundation's sanctuary at Dollywood earned her the Partnership Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.^[107]

Parton received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution at a ceremony in Nashville on November 8, 2007.^[108]

For her work in literacy, Parton has received various awards including:

Association of American Publishers – AAP Honors Award (2000)

Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval (2001) (the first time the seal had been awarded to a person)

American Association of School Administrators – Galaxy Award (2002)

National State Teachers of the Year – Chasing Rainbows Award (2002)

Parents as Teachers National Center – Child and Family Advocacy Award (2003)

With Tennessee Senator Bob Corker at the re-dedication ceremony for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in September 2009

On May 8, 2009, Parton gave the commencement speech at the commencement ceremony for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's College of Arts and Sciences.^[97]

During the ceremony she received an honorary DHL from the university.

It was only the second honorary degree given by the university, and in presenting the degree, the university's Chancellor, Jimmy G. Cheek, said, "Because of her career not just as a musician and entertainer, but for her role as a cultural ambassador, philanthropist and lifelong advocate for education, it is fitting that she be honored with an honorary degree from the flagship educational institution of her home state."^[109]

Image

Parton has turned down several offers to pose for Playboy magazine, although she did appear on the cover of Playboy's October 1978 issue wearing a Playboy bunny outfit, complete with ears (the October 1978 Playboy issue featured Lawrence Grobel's extensive and candid interview with Parton, representing one of her earliest high profile interviews with the mainstream press).

The association of breasts with Parton's public image is illustrated in the naming of Dolly the sheep after her, since the sheep was cloned from a cell taken from an adult ewe's mammary gland.^[110]^[111]

She is also known for having undergone considerable plastic surgery.^[112]^[113] On a 2003 broadcast of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Winfrey asked what kind of cosmetic surgery Parton had undergone.

Parton replied that cosmetic surgery was imperative in keeping with her famous image, but jokingly admitted, "If I have one more facelift, I'll have a beard!"^{[episode needed]}
Parton has also become a gay icon within the gay community.

Parton supports LGBT equality and has said that "Christians who judge LGBT people are sinners".

She is currently^[when?] working on a dance album catered to her gay audience.^{[citation needed]}
Parton has repeatedly joked about her physical image and surgeries, saying, "If I see something sagging, bagging, and dragging, I'm going to nip it, suck it and tuck it.

Why should I look like an old barn yard dog if I don't have to?"^{[this quote needs a citation]} and "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap."^[114]

Her breasts have garnered mention of her in several songs including: "Dolly Parton's Hits" by Bobby Braddock, "Marty Feldman Eyes" by Bruce Baum (a parody of "Bette Davis Eyes"), "Talk Like Sex" by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, "Dolly Parton's Tits" by MacLean & MacLean, "Kokayne" by RiFF RAFF, "Colt 45" by Afroman, "Jokes on you" by Fabolous, "Lollipop Remix" by Lil Wayne ft. Kanye West, "Where Pigs Fly" by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, "Day In, Day Out" by Dujeous, "Game Over" by Eminem ft. Slaughterhouse & Yelawolf and "Make Me Proud" by Drake ft. Nicki Minaj.^{[citation needed]}

Source: Wikipedia.org

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