Dolly-Parton

Dolly Parton, born Jan. 19, 1946 in Locust Ridge Tenn. to a family of 12 poor children that would be raised together eventually, learned very young how to overcome of the difficulties she faced by using her rich and imaginative imagination. Before she learned to write or read, she began to compose her own songs. She got her first guitar at age 8 and began singing on a Knoxville Tenn radio station at the age of 11. That following year, Gold Band Records was a tiny independent record label. Her name was made for herself locally while still in high school, however she wanted to perform on a larger stage. The day she graduated from the high school in 1964. Dumb Blonde, Something Fishy and Dumb Blonde both charted on Monument Records in 1967. Porter Wagoner, a syndicated show on TV at the time was searching for a singer for his show. Parton was offered the gig in 1967 signed with RCA Records in 1968 and joined in the Grand Ole Opry in 1969. However, it wasn't until 1974 that she decided to leave Wagoner's program as the popularity of her solo albums such as Joshua Coat, Many Colors, and Jolene exceeded their collective efforts. Parton wrote "I Will Always Love You" to Wagoner shortly after they separated. It reached the top spot at No. In 1974, Parton's song"I Will Never Love You climbed to No.