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The legendary Dolly Parton turns 77 this weekend. No one deserves a celebration more than this woman. Between her songs, movies, books and philanthropic efforts, there is nothing she hasn’t done. I mean, she even has her own theme park named after her! But are you aware of all Dolly’s accomplishments? Join me in celebrating her this week by learning more about Dolly Parton.
Why is Dolly Parton so Popular?
I became aware of Dolly Parton at a pretty early age. My family took a trip to Dollywood and Gatlinburg back when I was about 8 or 9. As all memories from childhood go, I can’t say I remember the entire trip in detail. But there are flashes of memories that stuck in my brain (or have perhaps been told in stories enough times I feel like I remember).
We went to the then Dixie Stampede and Dollywood. I also remember Dolly’s one-room cabin in Pigeon Forge. It seemed impossible to me for a famous celebrity like Dolly Parton to have come from such humble roots.
My fascination with Dolly Parton continued as I aged. I knew she was responsible for the Bodyguard ballad I Will Always Love You that blasted everywhere in the 90s. But as I grew older, and especially once I moved south to Virginia and got hooked on the country station, I became familiar with more of her “Girl Power” country songs. 9-5, Jolene, Coat of Many Colors. She laid it all on the table. Not only did she give me ALL the feels, there was literally no song of hers I heard that I did not like.
That’s who Dolly is though. Yes, she’s an American singer-songwriter and actress known for her decades long career in country music. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Her bio alone demonstrates that Dolly Parton is no usual performer. She transcends music genres, being inducted into both the Country Music and the Rock and Roll Halls of Fame. She’s also managed both a longevity of career spanning over fifty years and fame around the world, selling over 100 million records worldwide.
In addition to all that, Dolly has broken ceilings embodying the strong female spirit she preaches. She’s one of a select few ever in history to have received a nomination for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. Dolly has also won Lifetime Achievement awards, People’s Choice Awards, and is one of only seven females to win Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year.
Pretty amazing, right? But in addition to being an amazing musician and actress, I think what has made me such a Dolly Parton fan over the years is who she is as a human being. Circling back to that one-room cabin in Pigeon Forge, it hit me that Dolly never forgot those humble beginnings. In fact, she’s done all she could to give others a leg up to get ahead and create their own success. And that is something we should all take away as a lesson. So, how exactly does she do that?
The Dollywood Foundation
Dolly Parton is the fourth of twelve children. As I mentioned above, she grew up “dirt poor” living in a one-room cabin on the Little Pigeon River of East Tennessee. Dolly credits her upbringing for being her inspiration for most her career. She demonstrates this in many of her songs and especially in her charitable work.
The East Tennessee region had always been a depressed region lacking in jobs and support. Dolly opened the Dollywood theme park in 1986 to bring jobs and revenue to the region. Soon after she founded The Dollywood Foundation. She began by offering scholarships to local high school students. It eventually grew to offer additional support to children and families in need in the region.
Today, Dollywood has roughly 4,000 employees on the payroll, making it the largest employer in the area. It hosts nearly 3 million visitors each season and is the 24th most popular theme park in the United States.
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library
As a former English teacher, Dolly’s Imagination Library program was always my favorite of her philanthropies. There is no greater gift that getting a book in a child’s hand!
Dolly Parton created her Imagination Library program in 1995 in honor of her father who never learned to read or write. The program began by providing a free book monthly to enrolled children from birth to the age of five in the East Tennessee region. It grew so popular she decided to expand it to any community that would partner with her and provide local support. It is now available in over 1,800 communities worldwide.
In 2020, Dolly celebrated the delivery of the program’s 150 millionth book. The Library of Congress hosted an event honoring Dolly and the program for their contributions to children’s literacy.
Today the Imagination Library program sends an estimated 2 million books per month. The Imagination Library had at least 1.7 million children in the U.S. enrolled in 2021.
Dolly Parton- The Author
And, as a girl after my own heart, Dolly has made her own personal contributions to literacy as well. She has authored a number of books, including a few for children. See them listed below.
Happy Birthday Dolly Parton! Thank you for your very many contributions to making the world a better place! “If you see someone without a smile today, give ’em yours.” – Dolly Parton
Enjoy Dolly’s most recent book that focuses on her life-long love of fashion and developing her own iconic “Dolly” style.
Dolly teamed up with famous thriller author, James Patterson, to write about a Nashville singer with a shadowy past. Can she survive long enough to escape her past?
Dolly pulls from her past in rural East Tennessee to tell this special story for children. She uses the lyrics from her song to tell the story of a child in need of a warm winter coat. When her mother sews the coat from rags, she is made fun of by her classmates. But Parton teaches the important lesson that the coat was stitched with love and that’s way more important.
In this colorful tale, Dolly teaches children how to identify their emotions by associating them with a color. By finding ways to talk about them they can not only learn how to cope, but also how to empathize with those around them.
Thanks so much for joining me this week. Did you enjoy this post? Learn about some other amazing women on my blog here!
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