A Cup of Ambition
Born into a family of twelve children who shared a one-room dirt-floor cabin, Dolly Parton's story is a true rags-to-riches tale. When Dolly's father could not afford to pay the medical bills for her birth, the doctor accepted a sack of oatmeal in exchange for the delivery.
In her bio and in interviews, Dolly recalls an impoverished but loving childhood full of hardship and — the freedom to dream of a better life.
Without running water or electricity, her family used fireflies in mason jars to light their cabin at night and bathed in the river with homemade soap. With four children per bed, Dolly once described a time she didn't mind when one of her younger siblings had an accident in the night, explaining, “That was the only warm thing we knew in the winter time. It was as cold in the cabin as it was outside."
As the fourth born, Dolly raised her youngest siblings as if they were her own. She was the one to get up with the babies at night. When her infant brother passed away when he was only 4-days-old, Dolly felt responsible for many years.
Deep in Appalachia, music was an integral part of life for Dolly's family. Music was the cure for hardship. Growing up with a mother who played guitar and sang, Dolly was writing songs well before she even learned to read. When her uncle gave her a guitar at the age of 8, she decided she would grow up to become a star. Much of Dolly's ambition came from a strong desire to escape the difficult circumstances of her childhood.
Her mother once made her a patchwork coat from old quilts. When she wore it to school, the other children made fun of her. She wrote about it in her biographical song, “Coat of Many Colors.”
By the age of 10, Dolly was performing professionally, appearing on local television and radio shows in Knoxville. In 1959, Johnny Cash introduced a 13-year-old Dolly to the stage at the Grand Ole Opry. By 1962, she recorded a single for a small Louisiana label, and one for Mercury Records.
As soon as she graduated high school, Dolly was on the first bus to Nashville to pursue a music career full time. After making a name for herself on The Porter Wagoner Show, Dolly began releasing No. 1 hits like “Jolene,” a haunting 1973 single in which a woman begs another beautiful woman not to take her man, and “I Will Always Love You,” a 1974 tribute to Wagoner as the two parted ways professionally.
Elvis Presley once asked to record a cover of “I Will Always Love you” but Dolly refused when he insisted she sign away half the song’s publishing rights. She happily gave Whitney Houston permission to use the song years later. Houston's cover is iconic and Dolly made $20 million in royalties alone.
In the 1980's Dolly made her film debut in 9 to 5, a feminist comedy with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Dolly wrote the title song with one of the most memorable and empowering opening lines in music history: "Tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition." Dolly used the sound of her acrylic nails as percussion on the track. It became a No. 1 hit on both the pop and country charts and she took home two Grammy Awards—
One for Best Country Song and one for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. She also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
With a career in music, film and many successful business ventures spanning seven decades, Dolly has won numerous awards and lifetime honors. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. In 2004, the Library of Congress presented Dolly with the Living Legend Award for her contributions to the United States’ cultural landscape. In 2005, she received the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists by the U.S. government. A year later, she received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors.
Dolly has founded charitable organizations and supported many causes over the years, establishing her own Dollywood Foundation in 1996. Dolly's own father never learned to read. With the goal of improving literacy among young children, she created Dolly’s Imagination Library, a program that donates more than 10 million books to children annually. Though many of her charitable contributions are anonymous, Dolly has used her success to give back to her community by providing scholarships for children, donating thousands to hospitals, funding the COVID-19 vaccine and providing technology and supplies for classrooms across the country.
You will find an exact replica of Dolly Parton’s humble childhood home at the entrance of her Dollywood theme park. It was build by her brother Bobby, and the interior was designed by her mother. Most of the items throughout the cabin are original family treasures.
Dolly released her first ever rock album in November of 2023. It features covers of famous rock songs, as well as collaborations with many artists like her God-Daughter Miley Cyrus' hit “Wrecking Ball.”
Dolly is one of 12 female musicians featured in the Lady Rockers Collection.
Of all the qualities I admire about the women in this collection — I admire their resilience most. One trait of a “Lady Rocker” is an ability to overcome and create beauty out of hardship. Dolly Parton is my favorite example of this.
Read her story in the children’s book Little People Big Dreams: Dolly Parton.
Celebrate the Queen of Country with a Dolly tee or onesie.
Or shop the Dolly Rattle for our tiniest fans.
“Above everything else I've done, I've always said I've had more guts than I've got talent.”
—DOLLY PARTON
