5 Fun Facts About Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton is a legendary performer.

The 68-year-old singer feels ”blessed” to have achieved so much in her career but Dolly Parton thinks success can be ”wearing”.

Below are are eight fun facts about Dolly Parton, one of America’s favorite performers and so much more.

Her name is on everything from the Dolly Parton Stampede in Branson to a theme park in the Smoky Mountains. Dolly Parton has remained a beloved iconic figure throughout her decades-long career, and she hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. 

1. Dolly Has Composed Thousands of Songs

We often think about Dolly Parton as a singer and actress but less so as a songwriter. In reality, Parton has written an estimated 3,000 songs throughout her career, and around 450 have been recorded.

Parton isn’t always the artist singing them. In fact, Kenny Rogers, Hank Williams Jr., and Merle Haggard have all recorded songs written by Dolly Parton. 

Dolly said in her 2020 book, “Dolly Parton. Songteller: My Life in Lyrics,” that she used to like to write songs for men because there weren’t that many women in country music to write for. She said since there weren’t many women in the business, she would purposely write songs she felt men would be able to record. 

Parton has also written a number of hits for women, including Emmylou Harris and Whitney Houston. 

Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You,” which was one of Whitney Houston’s biggest hits of all time after being featured in The Bodyguard. 

Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” at the same time as “Jolene.” She said she thinks she wrote them both in the same night, after going back over her archives and cassettes that she would use while writing. 

2. The Imagination Library Has Mailed More Than 170 Million Books

Dolly Parton founded Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 1995. The program encourages literacy by mailing free books to kids. Initially, the program was only available in the U.S. but has gone global.

Parton said she created Imagination Library as a tribute to her father. 

She described him as the most intelligent man she ever knew, but she felt that it kept him from fulfilling his dreams in life since he couldn’t read. 

3. Dolly Parton Has Been Married for More Than 55 Years

Dolly Parton is married to Carl Thomas Dean, and the two have been together since 1964. Even so, her husband has a private life, and rarely have the two ever been seen or photographed together. 

During an interview in 2020, Parton told ET that her husband doesn’t want to be in the spotlight at all. She said he’s a quiet and reserved person. 

Dolly said during interviews that she met her husband outside a laundromat in Nashville on her first day in the city. 

4. She’s Miley Cyrus’s Godmother

Miley Cyrus is a popstar who also happens to have Dolly Parton as a godmother. In 2019 during an interview on the Just Jenny SiriusXM show, Dolly Parton explained how she became Miley’s godmother. She told the host that she worked with Billy Ray Cyrus for years in the early 90s during the Achy Breaky Heart era. 

Dolly said she got to know him well, and they became friends. When Billy Ray’s daughter came along, it was a natural fit that she’d be her godmother. 

5. She Doesn’t Ride the Rides At Her Theme Park

Finally, Dollywood is a destination for travelers from around the world. Located near her hometown of Sevierville, Dollywood has plenty of thrill rides, but Dolly says she doesn’t ride them. She told The New York Times she’s never ridden them due to her tendency to get motion sickness.