ShivamA singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, multi-instrumentalist, author, businesswoman, and philanthropist, Dolly Parton does it all. But, there are many interesting and hidden aspects of her life that no one knows about. Did you know that she even tried to commit suicide? Probably not, this is just one of many. Let’s take a look at how this Tennessee girl, who came from an extremely poor family went on to become one of America’s living legends.
Birth
Dolly Rebecca Parton was born in an extremely poor family. You can just imagine the condition in which she was brought up in, by the fact that she was the fourth child out of twelve. With her father being a construction worker and a farmer, he could only manage a single room cabin for his big family to live. Parton was a born artist and had started to perform in the church near her house in Sevierville, Tennessee. Born on January 19, 1946, seeing her talent her uncle gifted her a guitar when she was eight years old.
Child Performances
Parton was extremely talented from a very young age. She did total justification with her passion for singing and went on to sing for local television and radio programs in her hometown. We all know that The Almighty helps those who help themselves. This saying totally implies on Parton’s life as she was extremely lucky during her early days of singing in Grand Ole Opry hotel where she met legend Johnny Cash who gave her some very important advice which she made sure to implement in her life.
After High School
Interestingly, it was not her childhood passion of singing which helped her climb the stairs of success, rather it was songwriting. As mentioned before she was a woman of many talents and once again proved her mettle in the field of songwriting. Despite the fact that she wrote two hit songs named “Put It Off Until Tomorrow” and ” Fuel the Flame” with her uncle Bill Owens, she still had the hidden desire of singing her own songs. The fact that she moved to Nashville after completing her graduation from Sevier County High School in 1964, proves how determined she was to make a career in singing.
Record Deal and Bubblegum Pop
It seemed that The Almighty was on her side, as despite her initial failure while singing bubblegum pop music, a genre designed exclusively for teenagers, she was signed to Monument Records aged just 19 in the year 1965. Later she switched to country music and released her first full-length album titled Hello. This time her hard work paid and two of her songs made it to No. 24 and No. 17 on the country charts.
Career in Motion
There is a very interesting incident which just gives a hint about the tough character of Parton. Parton was riding the chariot of success after her album’s release. For the same reason, she was called on to make an appearance in The Porter Wagoner Show. The twist was that the producers had decided to originally bring Norma Jean on the show but later dropped the idea and called Parton. This was a decision that the people didn’t take very well and consequently, started chanting Norma’s name in front of Dolly. A calm Dolly was successful in making the audience accept her. This was the start of a successful career for her on the show which ended after seven years in the year 1974.
Struggling Solo Career
Dolly was a little disappointed to see her solo single’s not doing well as expected. Despite releasing her single tracks on a frequent basis throughout the late ’60s, her songs were not getting the recognition that her songs with Wagoner got. Luckily, it was Wagoner who convinced her to sing ” Mule Skinner Blues” which kick-started her career as a solo artist.