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Introduction
From Nashville to Hollywood, these Dolly Parton pictures prove that this one-of-a-kind icon has remained amazing throughout her 50 years in the spotlight.
If there was ever a Venus of rural Appalachia, Dolly Parton is it — and has been for decades. Indeed, it’s obvious from these glamorous pictures of her why she is widely considered the country-western icon of our time.
For those who don’t know what a musical marvel Parton is, she can play at least eight different instruments and has written hundreds of songs. Parton even managed to write two of her biggest hits, “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You,” on the very same day.
Her thoughtful narratives and enchanting arrangements have captivated audiences and inspired droves of other artists to sample and pay homage to her work.
It’s easy to gloss over the fact that this Venus of Appalachia is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, prolific singer, producer, sometimes-actress, and businesswoman because — as these pictures of Dolly Parton show — her style is louder than her bragging. Parton’s historically been humble about her career and is often even quick to remind interviewers about her meager beginnings.
Dolly Parton’s Humble Beginnings
Dolly Parton was born in the Great Smoky Mountains of rural East Tennessee in 1946. Her parents were farmers and so impoverished that the family lived in a one-room cabin with no electricity. Parton was the fourth of 12 children in a bursting and bustling backcountry home.
“The kids peed on me every night. We slept three and four in the bed,” Parton recalled in a 1978 interview for Playboy. “I would wash every night. And as soon as I go to bed, the kids would wet on me and I’d have to get up in the morning and do the same thing.”
There was hardly any cash to go around and certainly no extra money for emergency room visits. So when Parton almost severed three of her toes on broken glass, her mother had to doctor her. “My dad and my brothers, they had to hold me down… They put kerosene on it for antiseptic and momma took her sewing needles… and she literally had to sew my toes back on.”
Parton recalled how with so many children, she was expected to care for them as though she were a mother too. “My mother, since there were so many of us, used to say, ‘This one’s gonna be your baby.'”
Unfortunately, Parton lost ‘her baby’ – her newborn brother, Larry — when she was nine. “There is a lot of heartache and stuff that goes on with that.”
Amidst this chaos, Parton claimed that the family’s saving grace was their battery-operated radio on which they listened to the Grand Ole Opry.
Video