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Dolly Parton

  • Hit songs include "Jolene," "I Will Always Love You," "Coat of Many Colors," and "9 to 5"
  • Member of the Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and Grammy Hall of Fame
  • Has won multiple Grammy, CMA, ACM, and American Music Awards
  • Sold 100 million records worldwide
  • Has Dollywood Theme Park, Dollywood Foundation, Dolly Records, and Sandollar Productions

Dolly Parton is the most honored female country performer of all time. She has had 25 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts, a record for a female artist, and has 41 Top 10 country albums. All-inclusive sales of singles, albums, hit collections, paid digital downloads and compilation usage during her career has topped a staggering 100 million records worldwide.

An internationally-renowned superstar, the iconic and irrepressible Parton has contributed countless treasures to the world of music entertainment, penning classic songs such as "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors," and her mega-hit "I Will Always Love You."

In 1967, her career took off when country music star Porter Wagoner began featuring her on his syndicated television show, exposing Dolly to over 45 million people in more than 100 markets and attracting the attention of record executives at RCA. Dolly and Porter had 14 Top 10 hits. She was voted the CMA Female Artist of the Year two years in a row, and in 1978 she was named the CMA Entertainer of the Year.

With 1977's crossover hit "Here You Come Again," she successfully erased the line between country and pop music without noticeably altering either her music or her image.

Making her film debut in the 1980 hit comedy 9 to 5, Dolly earned rave reviews for her performance and an Oscar nomination for writing the title tune, along with her second and third Grammy Awards. Roles in Steel Magnolias, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Rhinestone followed along with television series, specials and movies. In 2006, Dolly earned her second Oscar nomination for "Travelin Thru," which she wrote for the film Transamerica.

Dolly saw a dream become reality in 1986 with the opening of her own theme park at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains in Pigeon Forge. In 1988 she founded Dixie Stampede and in 2001 she built Dollywood's Splash Country. Dolly's entertainment businesses draw 4.5 million visitors annually and employ more than 3,000 people. The state's No. 1 attraction, Dollywood was selected by the theme park industry as one of the top three theme parks in the world in 2006.

In 1988, she began the Dollywood Foundation which funds the Dolly Parton Imagination Library across America and in Canada. The Library gives every preschool child a book each month from the time the child is born until he or she reaches kindergarten. The Library has given away over 85 million books in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia since its inception.

Long respected for her business savvy, Dolly established Velvet Apple Music (BMI) and owns her own successful record label, Dolly Records. She transitioned her flair for making hit music into producing hit movies and television shows when she established Sandollar Productions with former manager, Sandy Gallin. Sandollar has produced feature films such as Father of the Bride and the Academy Award-winning Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt along with such television shows as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

She has released more than 40 albums, garnered seven Grammy Awards, 10 CMA Awards, five ACM Awards, three American Music Awards, and is one of only five female artists to win the CMA Entertainer of the Year award. Always dreaming and always looking forward, Dolly is busier than ever. The phenomenon of Dolly Parton continues to flourish, as she remains one of the world's true superstars.

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Inducted to the Music City Walk of Fame on November 8, 2009.