SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The family of Dolly Parton, country music icon and “queen of East Tennessee,” announced her death Tuesday, saying she was “in the arms of Jesus.” Dolly has long been one of the most well-known and beloved people to call East Tennessee home, thanks not only to her legendary music career, but also her philanthropic works.
Born Jan. 19, 1946, Dolly was the fourth of 12 children born to Robert Lee and Avie Lee Parton. She had deep mountain roots, coming from deep Appalachia, where music was an staple part of her life.
Dolly’s love of music started from a young age. Her musical beginnings are outlined in her membership biography from the Country Music Hall of Fame, one of the many honors those musical beginnings earned her.
“Her mother was a singer who taught Dolly both church music and the Elizabethan ballads her ancestors brought to America,” the biography reads. “Dolly’s grandfather was a fiddling preacher who wrote ‘Singing His Praise,’ which was recorded by Kitty Wells.”
Though her family struggled to make a living at times, she’s long been on record saying that struggle instilled in her a mission to escape her circumstances and bring her family with her.
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And escape those circumstances she did, becoming a country music legend with song releases like “Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You” and “Coat of Many Colors,” an anthem about the patchwork coat her mother had sewn her from different fabrics.
By age 10, Dolly was appearing on television, and by 13 she was on stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Just a few years later, Dolly made her way to Nashville at 18 to chase her dream of becoming a country star.
It was there that she met her future husband: Carl Dean. Dean would die at 82 in 2025 after spending nearly 60 years married to Dolly.
Opens in new windowDolly’s first No. 1 solo hit was “Joshua” in early 1971. She followed that with three more in as many years, before winning the Entertainer of the Year Country Music Award in 1978.
From there, Dolly dived into the world of theme parks, redeveloping with the Herschend family Silver Dollar City into Dollywood, a major destination to this day, in 1985. She’s quoted saying “I can remember looking up at the Hollywood sign the first time I was in L.A. and thinking I would like to change that ‘H’ to a ‘D.’”
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Dollywood has had a major impact on her East Tennessee home. Located in Pigeon Forge, it’s the largest job provider in Sevier County. Her impact didn’t stop with the park, however, nor did it stop in Sevier County.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library launched in 1995. The program offers free books to children and is credited with giving out more than 200 million books. The Imagination Library grew quickly from just Sevier County to countries as far as Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
In 2004, the Library of Congress honored her with the Living Legend Award for her contributions to culture across the nation. Just a year later, she was awarded the highest honor given to artists by the U.S. government: the National Medal of Arts.
Throughout her career, Dolly earned 11 Grammys. She also holds the Guinness World Record for the most No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs by a female artist at 25.
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