Singer-songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and country legend Dolly Parton turned 70 on January 19. For this Throwback Thursday, let's celebrate with a look back at her career.
A prolific musician with 46 Grammy nominations and 25 No. 1 hits on Billboard's country charts, Dolly Parton is adored by her legion of fans for her pure voice and simple melodies about growing up poor in rural Appalachia. She maintains credibility with middle Americans, hipster musicians (Neko Case, Jack White and Joanna Newsom all name her as an influence.) and rock critics alike.
The small-town Tennessee native, a performer since childhood, became nationally known in 1967 as a featured artist on country singer Porter Wagoner's syndicated music-variety TV show, which ran from 1960 to 1981. She released a string of singles on RCA in the early 1970s, which made the Billboard Country and Western charts, including the classics "Coat of Many Colors," "The Bargain Store," "I Will Always Love You," "My Blue Tears," "Love Is Like a Butterfly" and the incomparable "Jolene," which has been covered by myriad artists. Coat of Many Colors is an album from this era.
For me, Parton's music is a throwback to the '70s and early '80s, when she released some of her most enduring songs but also to a period in the 1990s when my college roommate got a boxed set of RCA singles, which we played non-stop the winter of our senior year. I'll never forget singing along to "Jolene" in the studio of our college radio station during my roommate's 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. thrash-punk show, the station's ban of commercial music happily ignored. Find this and other hits on The Essential Dolly Parton.
Although she has said she's not a feminist in interviews, Parton consistently sings about the female experience. The tribute album Just Because I'm A Woman, the title referencing the pioneering song released in 1968, is an anthology of covers of her songs by female artists.
There's also her starring role in the hit movie 9 to 5, ahead of its time in its advocacy for issues such as fair pay, flexible schedules and sexual harassment laws. You might be surprised to learn that the movie was inspired by 9 to 5, a real organization fighting for working women.
What's your favorite Dolly Parton song, album or movie?
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