Aug 26, 2026 · 3 min · 4 segments
Our season is over but Producer Emily will be giving you quick bites of history until we return for next season. Today's History Bite: Dolly Parton. Some questions we answered: Why was Dolly Parton…
If you are just now finding out that Dolly Parton passed, I apologize you learned about this on a kids podcast, but this podcast is about history, and Dolly Parton was a historic talent.
Dolly had a popular career as a singer-songwriter.
She wrote over 3,000 songs, including some of her most memorable tracks like Jolene, 9 to 5, and of course, I Will Always Love You.
That last song, I Will Always Love You, hit the top of the charts three separate times in three different decades.
The first two times it was sung by Dolly herself, first as a part of an album in 1974, and then in a movie she was in in 1982.
The third time it was sung by the iconic Whitney Houston and hit the top of the charts again in 1992.
By the way, according to Dolly, she wrote both Jolene and I Will Always Love You on the same day.
Dolly was one of 12 children born to her parents in a one-room cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Her family were sharecroppers, which means they rented land to grow crops so they could make a living, eventually saving enough money to buy their own land.
Dolly started playing guitar at age seven and recorded her first single at age 13.
That same year, she sang at the Grand Ole Opry, which is a radio show that has been running since 1925 and still is broadcasting two to five nights a week out of Nashville, Tennessee.
42 albums reached the top 10 and has sold over 100 million records.
She's had a hit on the country music charts for each of the last seven decades, which is astonishing.
But what Dolly would most like to be remembered for is probably her charity work.
She donated millions of books to children who don't have access to reading materials.
She was honored by the FBI for her work fundraising for wildfire aid.
She was honored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for her efforts to preserve the bald eagle.
And most recently, she donated over $2 million for relief efforts during Hurricane Helene.
She also has a theme park, and she partially funded the early development of Moderna's COVID vaccine.
She was living her best life, honestly.
If you are just now finding out that Dolly Parton passed, I apologize you learned about this on a kids podcast, but this podcast is about history, and Dolly Parton was a historic talent.
Dolly had a popular career as a singer-songwriter.
She wrote over 3,000 songs, including some of her most memorable tracks like Jolene, 9 to 5, and of course, I Will Always Love You.
That last song, I Will Always Love You, hit the top of the charts three separate times in three different decades.
The first two times it was sung by Dolly herself, first as a part of an album in 1974, and then in a movie she was in in 1982.
The third time it was sung by the iconic Whitney Houston and hit the top of the charts again in 1992.
By the way, according to Dolly, she wrote both Jolene and I Will Always Love You on the same day.
Dolly was one of 12 children born to her parents in a one-room cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Her family were sharecroppers, which means they rented land to grow crops so they could make a living, eventually saving enough money to buy their own land.
Dolly started playing guitar at age seven and recorded her first single at age 13.
That same year, she sang at the Grand Ole Opry, which is a radio show that has been running since 1925 and still is broadcasting two to five nights a week out of Nashville, Tennessee.
42 albums reached the top 10 and has sold over 100 million records.
She's had a hit on the country music charts for each of the last seven decades, which is astonishing.
But what Dolly would most like to be remembered for is probably her charity work.
She donated millions of books to children who don't have access to reading materials.
She was honored by the FBI for her work fundraising for wildfire aid.
She was honored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for her efforts to preserve the bald eagle.
And most recently, she donated over $2 million for relief efforts during Hurricane Helene.
She also has a theme park, and she partially funded the early development of Moderna's COVID vaccine.
She was living her best life, honestly.
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