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Working time is the period of time that an individual spends at paid occupational labor. Unpaid labors such as personal housework are not considered part of the working week. Many countries regulate the work week by law, such as stipulating minimum daily rest periods, annual holidays and a maximum number of working hours per week.

Some economists have recommended moving to a 21 hour standard work week to address problems with unemployment, high carbon emissions, low well-being, entrenched inequalities, overworking, family care, and the general lack of free time, though others have pointed to European laws designed to shorten the work week as a failure.^[1][2][3] Actual work week lengths have been falling in the developed world.^[4]

Hunter-gatherer[link]

In the 1960s, the consensus among anthropologists, historians and sociologists has been that early hunter-gatherer societies enjoyed more leisure time than is permitted by capitalist and agrarian societies;^[5][6] For instance, one camp of !Kung Bushmen was estimated to work two-and-a-half days per week, at around 6 hours a day.^[7] Aggregated comparisons show that on average the working day was less than five hours.^[5]

Subsequent studies in 1970s examined the Machiguenga of the Upper Amazon and the Kayapo of Northern Brazil. These studies expanded the definition of work beyond purely hunting-gathering activities, but the overall average across the hunter-gatherer societies he studied was still below 4.86, while the maximum was below 8 hours.^[5] Popular perception is still aligned with the old academic consensus.^[6]

History[link]

The industrial revolution made it possible for a larger segment of the population to work year-round, since this labor was not tied to the season and artificial lighting made it possible to work longer each day. Peasants and farm laborers moved from rural areas to factories, and working time during the year increased significantly.^[8] Before collective bargaining and worker protection laws, there was a financial incentive for a company to maximize the return on expensive machinery by having long hours. Records indicate that work schedules as long as twelve to sixteen hours per day, six to seven days per week were practiced in some industrial sites.^{[citation needed]}

The automobile manufacturer, Henry Ford, was an ardent proponent of shorter work hours, which he introduced unilaterally in his own factories. Ford stated that he pursued this policy for business rather than humanitarian reasons. He believed that workers (who were also the main consumers of products) needed adequate leisure time to consume products and thus perceive a need to purchase them. Over the long term, consumer markets needed to be grown. This view of the economy has become the predominant one since then.

Recent studies^[9][10] supporting a four-day week have shown that reduced work hours not only increase consumption and invigorate the economy, but also improve worker's level of education (due to having extra time to take classes and courses) and worker's health (less work-related stress and extra time for exercise). Reduced hours also save money on day care costs and transportation, which in turn helps the environment with less carbon-related emissions. These benefits increase workforce productivity on a per-hour basis.

Over the 20th century, work hours declined by almost half, mostly due to rising wages brought about by renewed economic growth, with a supporting role from trade unions, collective bargaining, and progressive legislation. The workweek, in most of the industrialized world, dropped steadily, to about forty hours after World War II. The decline continued at a faster pace in Europe: for example, France adopted a 35-hour workweek in 2000. In 1995, China adopted a 40-hour week, eliminating half-day work on Saturdays. Working hours in industrializing economies like South Korea, though still much higher than the leading industrial countries, are also declining steadily.

Technology has also continued to improve worker productivity, permitting standards of living to rise as hours declined.^[11] In developed economies, as the time needed to manufacture goods has declined, more working hours have become available to provide services, resulting in a shift of much of the workforce between sectors.

Economic growth in monetary terms tends to be concentrated in health care, education, government, criminal justice, corrections, and other activities that are regarded as necessary for society rather than those that contribute directly to the production of material goods.^{[citation needed]}

Importance[link]

Working time is a quantity that can be measured for an individual or, in the aggregate, for a society. In the latter case, a 40-hour workweek would imply that employed individuals within the society, on average, worked 40 hours per week.

Some industrialized nations legally mandate a maximum work week length of between 35 and 45 hours per week and require 2 to 5 weeks per year of holiday.

If the work week is too short compared to that society's ideal, then the society suffers from low availability of labor and human capital. All else being equal, this will tend to result in lower real incomes and a lower standard of living than what could be had with a longer work week in the same society.

In contrast, a work week that is too long will result in earning more money at the cost of stress-related health problems as well as a "drought of leisure." Furthermore, children are likely to receive less attention from busy parents, and childrearing is likely to be subjectively worse. The exact ways that long workweeks affect culture, public health, and education are debated.

Several nations have imposed limits on working time in an effort to combat unemployment. The theory is that less work hours per a worker will create a demand for more workers, and give those that are already hired more leisure time. This has been done both on a national level, as in France's 35-hour workweek, and on the company-union level, for example the agreement between Volkswagen and its union to temporarily reduce the workweek to 29 hours to preserve jobs. This policy is controversial among economists.

Decrease in staff working hours[link]

The New Economics Foundation has recommended moving to a 21 hour standard work week to address problems with unemployment, high carbon emissions, low well-being, entrenched inequalities, overworking, family care, and the general lack of free time.^[1][2][3] Actual work week lengths have been falling in the developed world.^[4]

Many people think that the increased use of ICT has caused a reduction in the number of hours employees are required to work. This is because ICT has allowed people to work from the distance regardless of their location (via the internet). As a result, this leads to a decrease into the time spent in an office or away from the family. A general study also proves that most people (children) desire to spend more time with their family and are deprived of that fact due to the excess time spent at work. Nowadays this has changed and people split their time from the main office. An increase in number of people working part-time is also more evident as people realize that the internet allow people to work from their home and therefore allowing them to spend the desired time with the family, resulting in shorter work hours for the staff. Consequently, in order for this to be successful, a company must be organized in order to allow the employees to work fewer hours at the office but still do the same amount of work if they were to stay full-time.

9-to-5[link]

9-to-5 is a phrase used to describe a conventional and possibly tedious job. Negatively used, it connotes a tedious or unremarkable occupation, the idea being that, because the job is so boring, the workplace shuts down outside of required hours.^{[citation needed]} The phrase also indicates that a person is an employee, usually in a large company, rather than self-employed. More neutrally, it connotes a job with stable hours and low career risk, but still a position of subordinate employment.

The phrase is an expression in the United States originating from the traditional American business hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, representing a workweek of five eight hour days comprising 40 hours in total. The actual time worked, or rather at work, often varies between 35 and 48 hours in practice due to the inclusion, or lack of inclusion, of breaks. In many traditional white collar positions, employees were required to be in the office during these hours in order to take orders from the bosses, hence the relationship between this phrase and subordination. Workplace hours have become more flexible but even still, the phrase is commonly used.

The structure of the work week varies considerably for different professions and cultures. Among salaried workers in the western world, the work week often consists of Monday through Friday or Saturday with the weekend set aside as a time of personal work and leisure. Sunday is set aside in the western world because it is the Christian sabbath.

Several countries have adopted a workweek from Monday morning until Friday noon, either due to religious rules (observation of shabbat in Israel whose workweek is Sunday to Friday afternoon) or the growing predominance of a 35-37.5 hour workweek in continental Europe. Several of the Muslim countries have a standard Sunday through Thursday or Saturday through Wednesday workweek leaving Friday for religious observance, and providing breaks for the daily prayer times.

Day nicknames and expressions[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

Among salaried workers in the western world, Monday through Friday structure of the work week has led to the coining of phrases reflecting shared states of mind or moods among workers as they traverse the week.

'Blue Monday'

'Hump day' is a synonym for Wednesday. The idiom is based on the notion that if a worker has made it half-way through the week, struggling uphill from Monday, that the rest of the week is an easier slide toward Friday and the weekend; the end is in sight from the hump, the top of the hill.

'TGIF' is an acronym meaning "Thank God It's Friday" or "Thank Goodness It's Friday" an expression of relief that the work week is finally over and that even if the weekend is not full of leisure, at least the drudgery of the workplace is temporarily over.

'Pau Hana' (pronounced "pow hana") is a Hawaiian phrase literally meaning "finished work" but generally refers to the practice of leaving work early on Friday to start the weekend.

POETS day is an acronym meaning "Piss Off Early Tomorrow's Saturday", a term for Fridays, used in industries where it is common practice to finish work early at the end of the week. Variations on this are "Punch Out Early Tomorrow's Saturday" (referring to a manual punch time clock), "Push Off Early Tomorrow's Saturday" and "Push Off Early Tomorrow's Sunday" (based on the old 6 day work week). Used in UK^[12] and Australia but appears less popular in the US.

Differences among countries[link]

South Korea and Japan[link]

South Korea's declining working hours is the result of the government's proactive move to lower working hours at all levels in order to increase leisure and relaxation time, which introduced the mandatory forty hours, five-day working week in 2004 for companies with over 1,000 employees. This expanded to companies with 300 employees or more in 2005, 100 employees or more in 2006, 50 or more in 2007, 20 or more in 2008 and a full inclusion to all workers nationwide in July 2011.^[13] Since 2006, all primary and secondary schools have held classes every other Saturday and from 2012, South Korea will enact a five-day school week nationwide.^[14]

Work hours in Japan are decreasing, but many Japanese still work long hours.^{[citation needed]} Recently, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has issued a draft report recommending major changes to regulations that govern working hours. The centerpiece of the proposal is an exemption from overtime pay for white-collar workers.^{[citation needed]}

Western Europe[link]

In most Western European countries, working time is gradually decreasing.^[15] The European Union's working time directive imposes a 48 hour maximum working week that applies to every member state except the United Kingdom (which has an opt-out meaning that UK-based employees may work longer than 48 hours if they wish, but they cannot be forced to do so).^[16] France has enacted a 35-hour workweek by law, and similar results have been produced in other countries such as Germany through collective bargaining.^{[citation needed]} A major reason for the low annual hours worked in Europe is a relatively high amount of paid annual leave. Fixed employment comes with four to six weeks of holiday as standard.

Mexico[link]

Law in Mexico provides for a maximum of 48 hours of work a week. However, due to loopholes in the law, the precariousness of labor rights in Mexico and its underdevelopment in relation to other OECD member nations, this is rarely observed in the private sector, with workers more often than not working overtime without getting any due compensation for it. Fear of the employees' losing their job or threats by the employer partly explains the reason for these irregularities .^{[citation needed]}

Colombia[link]

Law in Colombia provides for a maximum of 48 hours of work a week.^{[citation needed]}

Australia[link]

In Australia, between 1974 and 1997 no marked change took place in the average amount of time spent at work by Australians of "prime working age" (that is, between 25 and 54 years of age). Throughout this period, the average time spent at work by prime working-age Australians (including those who did not spend any time at work) remained stable at between 27 and 28 hours per week. This unchanging average, however, masks a significant redistribution of work from men to women. Between 1974 and 1997, the average time spent at work by prime working-age Australian men fell from 45 to 36 hours per week, while the average time spent at work by prime working-age Australian women rose from 12 to 19 hours per week. In the period leading up to 1997, the amount of time Australian workers spent at work outside the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays also increased.^[17]

In 2009, a rapid increase in the number of working hours was reported in a study by The Australia Institute. The study found the average Australian worked 1855 hours per year at work. According to Clive Hamilton of The Australia Institute, this surpasses even Japan. The Australia Institute believes that Australians work the highest number of hours in the developed world.^[18]

United States[link]

NSC-68 and labor force size, participation, and the steady growth of working time in the United States from 1950-2007:

By 1946 the federal government had already inaugurated the 40-hour work week for all federal employees.^[19] Beginning in 1950, under the Truman Administration, and continuing with all administrations since, the United States became the first known industrialized nation to explicitly (albeit secretly) and permanently forswear a reduction of working time. Given the military-industrial requirements of the Cold War, the authors of the then secret National Security Council Document 68 ^[20] proposed the US government undertake a massive permanent national economic expansion that would let it “siphon off” a part of the economic activity produced to support an ongoing military buildup to contain the Soviet Union:

… the United States could achieve a substantial absolute increase in output and could thereby increase the allocation of resources to a build-up of the economic and military strength of itself and its allies without suffering a decline in its real standard of living … With a high level of economic activity, the United States could soon attain a gross national product of $300 billion per year, as was pointed out in the President's Economic Report (January 1950). Progress in this direction would permit, and might itself be aided by, a buildup of the economic and military strength of the United States and the free world; furthermore, if a dynamic expansion of the economy were achieved, the necessary build-up could be accomplished without a decrease in the national standard of living because the required resources could be obtained by siphoning off a part of the annual increment in the gross national product. These are facts of fundamental importance in considering the courses of action open to the United States (cf. Ch. IX).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSC-68

This proposal was adopted by President Truman, who, in his 1951 Annual Message to the Congress, stated:

In terms of manpower, our present defense targets will require an increase of nearly one million men and women in the armed forces within a few months, and probably not less than four million more in defense production by the end of the year. This means that an additional 8 percent of our labor force, and possibly much more, will be required by direct defense needs by the end of the year. These manpower needs will call both for increasing our labor force by reducing unemployment and drawing in women and older workers, and for lengthening hours of work in essential industries. These manpower requirements can be met. There will be manpower shortages, but they can be solved.^[21]

Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, working time has remained unchanged by subsequent administrations and Congress. A 2007 C.I.A. estimate of United States labor force participation placed it at approximately 153.1 million individuals.^[22] Assuming each individual worked a 1987 average work week of 1949 hours, working time rose from 121 billion man hours per year to 398 billion man hours per year. This represents an actual extension of the working time by 247 percent over the fifty-seven year period. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics states that between 1950 and 2000 the number of individuals in the active labor force grew 227 percent from 62 million to 141 million, and was projected to reach 192 million by 2050.

Working time and female labor force participation – 1950-2000:

Most significant, as President Truman’s 1951 message predicted, the share of working women rose from 30 percent of the labor force, in 1950, to 47 percent, by 2000 – growing at a particularly rapid rate from 1970 to 1980.^[23]

“In the 1950–60 period, population growth alone was responsible for the growth of the labor force. During the 1960–70 period, population growth contributed about 94 percent of the growth in the labor force. In the 1970–80 period, when the labor force participation of women underwent rapid growth, 76 percent of the labor force growth was the result of population growth, and the rest was related to the growth of participation rates, mainly of women.”^[23]

The report continues:

“In 1950, the overall participation rate of women was 34 percent. […] The rate rose to 38 percent in 1960, 43 percent in 1970, 52 percent in 1980, and 58 percent in 1990 and reached 60 percent by 2000. The overall labor force participation rate of women is projected to attain its highest level in 2010, at 62 percent.”^[23]

The inclusion of women in the work force is seen as a symbol of social progress, but, since this participation has not been offset by an overall reduction of individual average work time, the net effect, once the vastly improved productivity of the United States labor force is factored in, has been a labor force that is today worked to more extreme lengths than any earlier period in United State history.

The price impact of United States lengthening working time – 1950-2007:

Although it is not yet supported by independent research, one argument states the lengthening of work time in the United States may be implicated in the secular persistence on inflation. Between 1950 and 2007 official price inflation was measured to 861 percent. President Truman, in his 1951 message to Congress, predicted correctly that his military buildup “will cause intense and mounting inflationary pressures.” Yet even he did not appear to sense the permanent and long term price implications of a longer working time.

The official inflation statistics may actually understate the real impact of the lengthening work week on prices. To give a closer estimate, it is necessary to correct for productivity increase during the same period. Using the data provided by the United State Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erik Rauch has estimated productivity to have increased by nearly 400%.^[24] Says, Rauch:

“… if productivity means anything at all, a worker should be able to earn the same standard of living as a 1950 worker in only 11 hours per week.”

The increase in productivity since 1950, ideally, should have had the effect of lowering prices of material goods. Given this, a truer measure of inflation during this period might be as much as four times higher than government figures.

In the United States, the working time for upper-income professionals has increased compared to 1965, while total annual working time for low-skill, low-income workers has decreased.^[25] This effect is sometimes called the "leisure gap".

Social impact[link]

Because of the pressure of working, time is increasingly viewed as a commodity.^[26] This trend, as well as the amount of working time being found to affect gender roles, has been notably researched by Sociology professor Dr. Stephen C. Smith.^[27] In 2006, the average man employed full-time worked 8.4 hours per work day, and the average woman employed full-time worked 7.7 hours per work day.^[28]

There is no mandatory minimum amount of paid time off for sickness or holiday. However, regular, full-time workers often have the opportunity to take about nine days off for various holidays, two weeks of sick leave and two weeks of paid holiday time, with some workers receiving additional time after several years.^[29]

Overtime rules[link]

Many professional workers put in longer hours than the forty-hour standard. In professional industries like investment banking and large law firms, a forty-hour workweek is considered inadequate and may result in job loss or failure to be promoted.^[30][31] Medical residents in the United States routinely work long hours as part of their training.

Workweek policies are not uniform in the U.S. Many compensation arrangements are legal, and three of the most common are wage, commission, and salary payment schemes. Wage earners are compensated on a per-hour basis, whereas salaried workers are compensated on a per-week or per-job basis, and commission workers get paid according to how much they produce or sell.

Under most circumstances, wage earners and lower-level employees may be legally required by an employer to work more than forty hours in a week; however, they are paid extra for the additional work. Many salaried workers and commission-paid sales staff are not covered by overtime laws. These are generally called "exempt" positions, because they are exempt from federal and state laws that mandate extra pay for extra time worked.^[32] The rules are complex, but generally exempt workers are executives, professionals, or sales staff.^[33] For example, school teachers are not paid extra for working extra hours. Business owners and independent contractors are considered self-employed, and none of these laws apply to them.

Generally, workers are paid time-and-a-half, or 1.5 times the worker's base wage, for each hour of work past forty. California also applies this rule to work in excess of eight hours per day.^[34]

In some states, firms are required to pay double-time, or twice the base rate, for each hour of work past 60, or each hour of work past 12 in one day in California.^[34] This provides an incentive for companies to limit working time, but makes these additional hours more desirable for the worker. It is not uncommon for overtime hours to be accepted voluntarily by wage-earning workers. Unions often treat overtime as a desirable commodity when negotiating how these opportunities shall be partitioned among union members.

Other countries[link]

The Kapauku people of Papua think it is bad luck to work two consecutive days. The !Kung Bushmen work just two-and-a-half days per week, rarely more than six hours per day.^[35]

The work week in Samoa is approximately 30 hours,^[36] and though average annual Samoan cash income is relatively low, by some measures, the Samoan standard of living is quite good.

In India at the managerial level, particularly in smaller Indian companies, a person generally works for 11 hours a day and 6 days a week. A typical office will open at 09:00 or 09:30 and officially end the work day at about 19:00. However, many workers and especially managers will stay later in the office due to additional work load. However, large Indian companies and MNC offices located in India tend to follow a 5-day, 8-9h-hour per day working schedule. The Government of India in some of its offices also follows a 5-day week schedule^{[citation needed]}.

Nigeria has public servants work 35 hours per week.

The work time in Brazil is 44 hours per week, usually 8 hours per day and 4 hours on Saturday or 8.8 hours per day, on duty jobs are 6 hours per day.

Recent trends[link]

Many modern workplaces are experimenting with accommodating changes in the workforce and the basic structure of scheduled work. Flextime allows office workers to shift their working time away from rush-hour traffic; for example, arriving at 10:00 am and leaving at 6:00 pm. Telecommuting permits employees to work from their homes or in satellite locations (not owned by the employer), eliminating or reducing long commute times in heavily-populated areas. Zero-hour contracts establish work contracts without minimum-hour guarantees; workers are paid only for the hours they work.

See also[link]

Organized labour portal

• Leisure
• Paul Lafargue
• Eight-hour day
• Business hours
• Soviet calendar
• Waiting for the Weekend
• Workweek
• Labour market flexibility
• Work-life balance

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Deirdre McCann (2005), Working Time Laws: A global perspective, ILO, ISBN 92-2-117323-2
• Madeleine Bunting (2004), Willing Slaves: How the Overwork Culture is Ruling Our Lives, HarperCollins
• John de Graaf (2003), Take Back Your Time, Berrett-Koehler, ISBN 1-57675-245-3
• Eugene J. McCarthy and William McGaughey (1989), "Nonfinancial Economics: The Case for Shorter Hours of Work", Praeger
• William McGaughey (1981), "A Shorter Workweek in the 1980s", Thistlerose
• Heejung Chung, Marcel Kerkhofs and Peter Ester "Working Time Flexibility in European Companies", European Foundation.
• Colette Fagan, Ariane Hegewisch and Jane Pillinger "Out of Time: why Britain needs a new approach to working time flexibility", TUC
• Ute Klammer, Ton Wilthagen, Heejung Chung, Anke Thiel (2008) "Take it or leave it: flexible working-time arrangements and the synchronization of business cycle and life cycle" (as part of the European Foundation project "Flexibility and Security over the lifecourse")
• Thirsk, Joan (1967) (editor) The agrarian history of England and Wales vol. IV

External links[link]

• Hours of Work in U.S. History from EH.NET by Robert Whaples
• The Guardian, August 20, 2005, "Work until you drop: how the long-hours culture is killing us" (UK focus)
• Evans, J., D. Lippoldt and P. Marianna(2001), Trends in Working Hours in OECD Countries, OECD Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Papers n° 45, OECD, Paris.
• Hart, Bob 'Working time and employment' Routledge Revivals, 2010.
• Explanation of Working Time Limits (48 hour week) in the UK and how the opt-out works
• Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) resources on the UK Working Time Regulations
• OECD Average annual hours actually worked per worker

Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton in a Press Conference, 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Dolly Rebecca Parton
Born	(1946-01-19) January 19, 1946 (age 66) Sevierville, Tennessee, United States
Genres	Country, country pop, pop, bluegrass
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, author, musician, businesswoman
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, banjo, autoharp, piano, drums, appalachian dulcimer, harmonica, pennywhistle, recorder, fiddle, bass guitar, saxophone
Years active	1955[1]–present
Labels	Goldband (1957–59) Mercury Records (1962–64) Monument (1965–67) RCA (1967–86) CBS (1987–95) Rising Tide (1995–97) Decca (1997–98) Sugar Hill (1999–2006) Dolly Records (2007–present)
Associated acts	Brad Paisley, Reba McEntire, Porter Wagoner, Cat Stevens, Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Shania Twain, Juice Newton, Stella Parton, The Larkins, Altan, Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus, Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss, Ricky Van Shelton, Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood
Website	dollypartonmusic.net

Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946^[2]) is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. As a songwriter, she has composed over 3,000 songs^[3], the best known of which include "I Will Always Love You" (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper for Parton, as well an international pop hit for Whitney Houston), "Jolene", "Coat of Many Colors", "9 to 5" and "My Tennessee Mountain Home". As an actress, she starred in the movies 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias, Straight Talk, Unlikely Angel and Joyful Noise. She is one of the most successful female country artists of all time; with an estimated 100 million in album sales, Dolly Parton is also one of the best selling artists of all time.^[4] She is known as "The Queen of Country Music".^[1]

Early years[link]

She was born in Sevierville, Tennessee, the fourth of twelve children of Avie Lee Parton (née Owens; October 5, 1923 – December 5, 2003) and Robert Lee Parton (March 22, 1921 – November 12, 2000), a tobacco farmer.^[5][6] Her siblings are: Willadeene Parton (born March 24, 1940), David Wilburn Parton (born March 30, 1942), Coy Denver "Denver" Parton (born August 16, 1943), Bobby Lee Parton (born February 18, 1948), Stella Mae Parton (born May 4, 1949), Cassie Nan Parton (February 12, 1951), Randel Huston "Randy" Parton (born December 15, 1953), Larry Gerald Parton (born and died July 6, 1955), Floyd and Frieda Estelle Parton (born June 1, 1957), and Rachel Ann Parton (born August 31, 1959). Her family was, as she has described them, "dirt poor".^[7] She outlined her family's lack of money in a number of her early songs, notably "Coat of Many Colors" and "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)". They lived in a rustic, dilapidated one-room cabin in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, a hamlet just north of the Greenbrier Valley, in the Locust Ridge area of the Great Smoky Mountains in Sevier County, a predominantly Pentecostal area.

Music played an important role in her early life, and her grandfather was a Pentecostal "holy-roller" preacher.^[8] When appearing in live concerts, she frequently performs spiritual songs.

Career discovery[link]

Dolly Parton began performing as a child, singing on local radio and television programs in the Eastern Tennessee area. By age nine, she was appearing on The Cas Walker Show on both WIVK Radio and WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. At thirteen, she was recording (the single "Puppy Love")^[9] on a small Louisiana label, Goldband Records, and appeared at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. It was at the Opry, where she first met Johnny Cash, who encouraged her to go, where her heart took her, and not to care, what others thought.^[10] The day after she graduated from high school in 1964, Parton moved to Nashville taking many traditional elements of folklore and popular music from East Tennessee with her.

Parton's initial success came as a songwriter, writing two top ten hits with her uncle Bill Owens: Bill Phillips's "Put it off Until Tomorrow" and Skeeter Davis' 1967 hit "Fuel to the Flame". She also wrote a minor chart hit for Hank Williams Jr during this period.^[11] She had signed with Monument Records in late 1965, where she was initially pitched as a bubblegum pop singer,^[12] earning only one national-chart single, "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby", which did not crack the Billboard Hot 100.

The label agreed to let Parton sing country music after her composition, "Put It Off Until Tomorrow," as recorded by Bill Phillips (and with Parton, uncredited, on harmony), went to number six on the country music charts in 1966. Her first country single, "Dumb Blonde" (one of the few songs during this era, that she recorded but did not write), reached number twenty-four on the country music charts in 1967, followed the same year with Something Fishy, which went to number seventeen. The two songs anchored her first full-length album, Hello, I'm Dolly.

Marriage[link]

On May 30, 1966, she and Carl Thomas Dean were married in Ringgold, Georgia.^[13] She had met Dean at the Wishy-Washy Laundromat two years earlier on her first day in Nashville. His very first words to her were: "Y'all gonna get sunburnt out there, little lady."^[14]

Dean, who runs an asphalt road-surface-paving business in Nashville, has always shunned publicity and rarely accompanies her to any events. According to Parton, he has only ever seen her perform once. However, she has also commented in interviews that, although it appears they do not spend much time together, it is simply that nobody sees him. She also commented on Dean's romantic side claiming, that he will often do spontaneous things to surprise her, and sometimes even writes her poems.^[15]

The couple partly raised several of Parton's younger siblings at their home in Nashville, leading her nieces and nephews to refer to her as "Aunt Granny". She has no children of her own. Parton is also the godmother of actress and singer Miley Cyrus.^[16]

On May 30, 2011, they celebrated their 45th anniversary. Later, she said, "We're really proud of our marriage. It's the first for both of us. And the last."^[17]

Music career[link]

1967–75: Country music success[link]

In 1967, country entertainer Porter Wagoner invited Parton to join his organization, offering her a regular spot on his weekly syndicated television program The Porter Wagoner Show, as well as in his road show.

As in Her 1994 Autobiography,^[18] Initially, much of Wagoner's audience was unhappy, that Norma Jean, the performer whom Parton had replaced, had left the show, and was reluctant to accept Parton (sometimes chanting loudly for Norma Jean from the audience).^{[citation needed]} With Wagoner's assistance, however, Parton was eventually accepted. Wagoner also convinced his label, RCA Victor, to sign Parton. RCA decided to protect their investment by releasing her first single as a duet with Wagoner. That song, a cover of Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind", released in late 1967, reached the country top ten in January 1968, launching a six-year streak of virtually uninterrupted top-ten singles for the pair.

Parton's first solo single for RCA, "Just Because I'm a Woman", was released in the summer of 1968 and was a moderate chart hit, reaching number seventeen. For the remainder of the decade, none of her solo efforts – even "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)", which later became a standard – were as successful as her duets with Wagoner. The duo was named Vocal Group of the Year in 1968 by the Country Music Association, but Parton's solo records were continually ignored. Wagoner and Parton were both frustrated by her lack of solo success, because he had a significant financial stake in her future: as of 1969, he was her co-producer and owned nearly half of Owepar, the publishing company Parton had founded with Bill Owens.

By 1970, both Parton and Wagoner had grown frustrated by her lack of solo chart success, and Porter had her record Jimmie Rodgers' "Mule Skinner Blues", a gimmick that worked. The record shot to number three on the charts, followed closely, in February 1971, by her first number-one single, "Joshua." For the next two years, she had a number of solo hits – including her signature song "Coat of Many Colors" (number four in 1971) – in addition to her duets. Though she had successful singles, none of them were blockbusters until "Jolene". Released in late 1973, the song topped the singles chart in February 1974 (it eventually also charted in the UK, reaching No. 7 in 1976, representing Parton's first UK success). Parton and Wagoner performed their last duet concert in April 1974, and she ceased appearing on his TV show in mid-1974, though they remained affiliated, with him helping to produce her records through 1975.^[18] The pair continued to release duet albums, their final release being 1975's Say Forever You'll Be Mine.

In 1974, her song, "I Will Always Love You", written about her professional break from Wagoner, went to number one on the country music charts. Around the same time, Elvis Presley indicated, that he wanted to cover the song. Parton was interested until Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, told her, that it was standard procedure for the songwriter to sign over half of the publishing rights to any song Elvis recorded.^[19] Parton refused, and that decision is credited with helping to make her many millions of dollars in royalties from the song over the years.

1976–86: Branching out into pop music[link]

From 1974 to 1980, she consistently charted in the country Top 10, with no fewer than eight singles reaching number one. Parton had her own syndicated-television variety show, Dolly! (1976–1977). During this period, many performers, including Rose Maddox, Kitty Wells, Olivia Newton-John, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt, covered her songs, and her siblings Randy and Stella all received recording contracts of their own.^[18]

It was also during this period, that Parton began to embark on a high-profile crossover campaign, attempting to aim her music in a more-mainstream direction and increase her visibility outside of the confines of country music. In 1976, she signed with the Los Angeles public-relations firm Katz-Gallin-Morey, working closely with Sandy Gallin, who served as her personal manager for the next twenty-five years.

With her 1976 album All I Can Do, co-produced by herself with Porter Wagoner, Parton began taking more of an active role in production, and began specifically aiming her music in a more mainstream, pop direction. Her first entirely self-produced effort, 1977's New Harvest ... First Gathering, highlighted Parton's pop sensibilities, both in terms of choice of songs - the album contained covers of the pop and R&B classics "My Girl" and "Higher and Higher" – and the album's production. While receiving generally favorable reviews, however, the album did not achieve the crossover success Parton had hoped for. Though it topped the country albums charts, it stalled at No. 71 on the pop albums chart; the album's single, "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" only reached No. 87 on the Hot 100.

After New Harvest's disappointing chart performance, Parton turned to high profile pop producer Gary Klein for her next album. The result, 1977's Here You Come Again, became her first million-seller, topping the country albums chart and reaching No. 20 on the pop albums chart; the Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil-penned title track topped the country singles chart, and became Parton's first top-ten single on the pop charts (reaching number three). A second single, the double A-sided single "Two Doors Down"/"It's All Wrong but It's All Right" also topped the country singles chart and crossed over to the pop top twenty. For the remainder of the 1970s and into the early 1980s, many of Parton's subsequent singles charted on both pop and country charts, simultaneously. Her albums during this period were developed specifically for pop-crossover success.

In 1978, Parton won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her Here You Come Again album. She continued to have hits with "Heartbreaker" (1978), "Baby I'm Burning" and "You're the Only One" (both 1979), all of which charted in the pop singles Top 40, and all of which also topped the country-singles chart; 1979's "Sweet Summer Lovin'" became the first Parton single in two years to not top the country singles chart (though it still nonetheless reached the top ten). During this period, Parton's visibility continued to increase, with television appearances in 1977, 1978 and 1979. A highly publicized candid interview on a Barbara Walters Special in December 1977 (timed to coincide with Here You Come Again's release) was followed by appearances in 1978 on Cher's ABC television special, and her own joint special with Carol Burnett on CBS, Carol and Dolly in Nashville. She also served as one of three co-hosts (along with Roy Clark and Glen Campbell) on the CBS special Fifty Years of Country Music. In 1979, Parton hosted the NBC special The Seventies: An Explosion of Country Music, performed live at the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C., and whose audience included President Jimmy Carter.

Parton's commercial success continued to grow during 1980, with three number-one hits in a row: the Donna Summer-written "Starting Over Again", "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You", and "9 to 5", which topped the country and pop charts in early 1981.^[18]

With less time to spend songwriting as she focused on a burgeoning film career, during the early 1980s Parton recorded a larger percentage of material from noted pop songwriters, such as Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Rupert Holmes, Gary Portnoy and Carole Bayer Sager.

Dolly Parton in Honolulu, Hawaii, 1983.

"9 to 5", the theme song to the feature film 9 to 5 (1980) Parton starred in along with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, not only reached number one on the country charts, but also, in February 1981, reached number one on the pop and the adult-contemporary charts, giving her a triple-number-one hit. Parton became one of the few female country singers to have a number-one single on the country and pop charts simultaneously. It also received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Parton's singles continued to appear consistently in the country Top 10: between 1981 and 1985, she had 12 Top 10 hits; half of those were number-one singles. Parton continued to make inroads on the pop charts as well with a re-recorded version of "I Will Always Love You" from the feature film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) scraping the Top 50 that year and her duet with Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" (written by the Bee Gees and produced by Barry Gibb), spent two weeks at number one in 1983.^[18] Other chart hits during this period included Parton's chart-topping cover of the 1969 First Edition hit "But You Know I Love You" and "The House of the Rising Sun" (both 1981), "Single Women", "Heartbreak Express" and "Hard Candy Christmas" (1982) and 1983's "Potential New Boyfriend", which was accompanied by one of Parton's first music videos, and which also reached the U.S. dance charts.

She also continued to explore new business and entertainment ventures such as her Dollywood theme park, that opened in 1986 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

By the mid-1980s, her record sales were still relatively strong, with "Save the Last Dance for Me", "Downtown", "Tennessee Homesick Blues" (all 1984); "Real Love" (another duet with Kenny Rogers), "Don't Call It Love" (both 1985); and "Think About Love" (1986) all reaching the country-singles Top 10. ("Tennessee Homesick Blues" and "Think About Love" reached number one. "Real Love" also reached number one on the country-singles chart and also became a modest pop-crossover hit). However, RCA Records did not renew her contract after it expired that year, and she signed with Columbia Records in 1987.^[18]

1987–94: Return to country roots[link]

Along with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, she released the decade-in-the-making Trio (1987) to critical acclaim. The album strongly revitalized Parton's somewhat stagnant music career, spending five weeks at number one on Billboard's Country Albums chart, selling several million copies and producing four Top 10 country hits including Phil Spector's "To Know Him Is to Love Him", which went to number one. Trio won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 1987, she revived her television variety show, Dolly.

After a further attempt at pop success with 1987's Rainbow, Parton refocused on recording country material. White Limozeen (1989) produced two number-one hits in "Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' Like That" and "Yellow Roses". Although it looked like Parton's career had been revived, it was actually just a brief revival before contemporary country music came in the early 1990s and moved all veteran artists out of the charts.^[18]

A duet with Ricky Van Shelton, "Rockin' Years" (1991) reached number one but Parton's greatest commercial fortune of the decade came when Whitney Houston recorded "I Will Always Love You" for the soundtrack of the feature film The Bodyguard (1992); both the single and the album were massively successful.

Parton's soundtrack album from her own 1992 film, Straight Talk, however was less successful, though her 1993 album Slow Dancing with the Moon won critical acclaim, and did well on the charts, reaching #4 on the country albums charts, and #16 on the Billboard 200 albums charts.

She recorded "The Day I Fall in Love" as a duet with James Ingram for the feature film Beethoven's 2nd (1993). The songwriters (Sager, Ingram, and Clif Mangess) were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and Parton and Ingram performed the song on the awards telecast.

Similar to her earlier collabrative album with Harris and Ronstadt, Parton released Honky Tonk Angels in the fall of 1993 with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.^[20] It was certified as Gold Album by the Recording Industry Association of America and helped revive both Wynette's and Lynn's careers.

Also in 1994, Parton contributed the song "You Gotta Be My Baby" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization.

A live acoustic album, Heartsongs, featuring version of some of Parton's hits, as well as a number of traditional songs, was released in late 1994.

1995–present[link]

Dolly Parton in a Press Conference (Australia, 2011).

Parton's recorded output during the mid- to late-1990s remained steady, though somewhat eclectic.

Her 1995 re-recording of "I Will Always Love You" (performed as a duet with Vince Gill), from her album Something Special won the Country Music Association's Vocal Event of the Year Award for Parton and Gill.

The following year, Treasures, an album of covers of 1960s and '70s hits was released, and featured a diverse collection of material, including songs by Mac Davis, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell. (A number of the acts who wrote or initially popularized the songs appeared on the album). Parton's recording of Stevens' "Peace Train" was later remixed and released as a dance single, reaching Billboard's dance singles chart.

Her 1998 country-rock album Hungry Again was made up entirely of her own compositions. Though neither of the album's two singles, "(Why Don't More Women Sing) Honky Tonk Songs" and "Salt in my Tears", charted, videos for both songs received significant airplay on CMT.

A second and more contemporary collaboration with Harris and Ronstadt, Trio II (1999), was released and its cover of Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush" won a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. Parton was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.^[20]

She recorded a series of bluegrass-inspired albums, beginning with The Grass Is Blue (1999), winning a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album, and Little Sparrow (2001), with its cover of Collective Soul's "Shine" winning a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. The third, Halos & Horns (2002) included a bluegrass version of the Led Zeppelin classic "Stairway to Heaven".

Parton released Those Were The Days (2005), her interpretation of hits from the folk-rock era of the late 1960s through the early 1970s. It featured such classics as John Lennon's "Imagine", Cat Stevens's "Where Do the Children Play?", Tommy James's "Crimson and Clover", and Pete Seeger's anti-war song "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?".

Parton earned her second Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Travelin' Thru," which she wrote specifically for the feature film Transamerica (2005). Because of the song's theme of uncritical acceptance of a transgender woman, Parton received death threats.^[21] She also returned to number one on the country charts later in 2005 by lending her distinctive harmonies to the Brad Paisley ballad, "When I Get Where I'm Goin'".^[20]

In September 2007, Parton released her first single from her own record company, Dolly Records, entitled, "Better Get to Livin'," which eventually peaked at number forty-eight on the Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. It was followed by the studio album, "Backwoods Barbie," which was released February 26, 2008, and reached number two on the country charts. The album's debut at number seventeen on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart has been the highest in her career.^[22] Backwoods Barbie produced four additional singles, including the title track, which was written as part of her score for 9 to 5: The Musical, an adaptation of her feature film Nine to Five.

After the sudden death of Michael Jackson, whom Parton knew personally, she released a video in which she somberly told of her feelings on Jackson and his death.^[23][24]

On October 27, 2009, Parton released a four-CD box set entitled "Dolly" that features 99 songs and spans most of her career.^[25] She released her second live DVD and album, Live From London in October 2009, which was filmed during her sold out 2008 concerts at London's O2 Arena.^[26] She is also working on a dance-oriented album, Dance with Dolly, which she hopes to release in 2010.^{[dated info][27]}

Longtime friend Billy Ray Cyrus, singer of Brother Clyde, released their self-titled debut album on August 10, 2010. Parton is featured on "The Right Time," which she co-wrote with Cyrus and Morris Joseph Tancredi.

She said in 2010 that she would like to start recording a country-dance album in November, and that it should be set for release in 2011. On January 6, 2011, Parton announced her new album would be titled, Better Day. In February 2011, she announced that she would embark on the Better Day World Tour on July 17, 2011, with shows in northern Europe and the U.S.^[28] The album's lead-off single, "Together You and I," was released on May 23, 2011, and Better Day was released on June 28, 2011.^[29]

In 2011, Parton voiced the character Dolly Gnome in the animated film Gnomeo and Juliet.

On February 11, 2012, after the sudden death of Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton stated, "Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston. I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, “Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.”^[30]

In concert and on tour[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)

Parton toured extensively from the late 1960s until the early 1990s. In the 1960s and 1970s, Parton toured alongside other country musicians including Porter Wagoner, George Jones and Linda Ronstadt. Parton toured as a headline act in 1977 and 1978 for promote her albums, Here You Come Again and Heartbreaker. In 1982, she toured to support her Heartbreak Express album, but health problems resulted in the cancellation of a number of that tour's dates. From 1984 to 1985, she toured alongside Kenny Rogers for the "Real Love Tour". She continued touring in 1986 with the "Thinkin' About Love Tour" and in 1989 for the "White Limozeen Tour". Her only tour in the 1990s was the "Eagle When She Files Tour," in 1991 and 1992. In 2002 she returned to the concert stage; she later went on the Backwoods Barbie Tour in 2008 promoting Backwoods Barbie.

Dollywood Foundation Shows[link]

From the early 1990s through 2001, her concert appearances were primarily limited to one weekend a year at Dollywood to benefit her Dollywood Foundation. The concerts normally followed a theme (similar to a Legends in Concert or, for example, a "fifties-music"-tribute concert). They have also included holiday shows during the Christmas season.

Halos & Horns Tour[link]

After a decade-long absence from touring, Parton decided to return in 2002 with the Halos & Horns Tour, an 18-city, intimate club tour to promote Halos & Horns (2002). House of Blues Entertainment, Inc. produced the tour and it sold out all its U.S. and European dates (her first^{[clarification needed]} in two decades).

Parton performing on the Grand Ol' Opry, 2005.

Hello, I'm Dolly Tour[link]

She returned to mid-sized-stadium venues in 2004 with her 36-city, U.S. and Canadian Hello, I'm Dolly Tour, a glitzier, more-elaborate stage show than two years earlier. With nearly 140,000 tickets sold, it was the tenth-biggest country tour of the year and grossed more than $6 million.

The Vintage Tour[link]

In late 2005, Parton completed a 40-city tour with The Vintage Tour promoting her new Those Were the Days (2005).

An Evening with Dolly Parton[link]

Parton scheduled mini concerts in late 2006 throughout the U.S. and Canada as a gear-up to her 17-city, 21-date An Evening with Dolly Parton. Running from March 6 to April 3, 2007, this was her first world tour in many years and her first tour in the United Kingdom since 2002.^[31]

The tour sold out in every European city and gained positive reviews. It grossed just over $16 million. The most-noted feature of the shows, despite Parton being 60, was that most in attendance had never seen her in concert before. This, coupled with Parton's European popularity, led to a rapturous reception whenever she took to the stage.

Backwoods Barbie Tour[link]

In 2008, Parton went on the Backwoods Barbie Tour. It was set to begin in the U.S. (February–April 2008) to coincide with the release of Backwoods Barbie (2008), her first mainstream-country album in 17 years.^[32] However, because of back problems she postponed all U.S. dates. The tour started March 28, 2008, with 13 U.S. dates,^[33] followed by 17 European shows.^[31][34]

She returned to the U.S. with a concert at Humphrey's By The Bay in San Diego, California, on August 1, 2008. She performed her Backwoods Barbie Tour on August 3, 2008, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California, to a sold-out crowd and standing ovations. From August 1 to November 1, she has scheduled 16 dates on both the east and west coasts of the U.S.^{[dated info][34]}

Better Day World Tour[link]

In 2011, Parton embarked on the Better Day World Tour to promote her 41st studio album, Better Day (2011). The tour began on July 17 and ended on December 1. With 49 shows, she visited the United States, Northern Europe, and Australia. The ticket sales were nearly 275,000 and the overall gross was $34 million, making the tour Parton's most successful. This tour was her first to visit Australia in 30 years.

Songwriting[link]

Parton is a successful songwriter, having begun by writing country-music songs with strong elements of folk music, based upon her upbringing in humble mountain surroundings, and reflecting her family's evangelical-Christian background. Her songs "Coat of Many Colors", "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene" have become classics in the field, as have a number of others. As a songwriter, she is also regarded as one of country music's most-gifted storytellers, with many of her narrative songs based on persons and events from her childhood. On November 4, 2003, Dolly Parton was honored as a BMI Icon at the 2003 BMI Country Awards.^[35] She has earned over 35 BMI Pop and Country Awards throughout her prolific songwriting career.^[36] In 2001, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.^[37]

In a 2009 interview with CNN's Larry King Live, Parton indicated that she had written "at least 3,000" songs, having written seriously since the age of seven. Parton went on to say that she writes something every day, be it a song or an idea.^[38]

Compositions in films and television and covers[link]

Parton's songwriting has been featured prominently in several films.

In addition to the title song for Nine to Five (1980), she also recorded a second version of "I Will Always Love You" for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). The second version was another number-one country hit and also managed to reach the pop charts going to number 53 in the U.S.

"I Will Always Love You" has been covered by many country artists, including Ronstadt, on Prisoner In Disguise (1975); Kenny Rogers, on Vote for Love (1996); and LeAnn Rimes, on Unchained Melody: The Early Years (1997). Whitney Houston performed it on The Bodyguard (1992) film soundtrack and her version became the best-selling hit ever both written and performed by a female vocalist, with worldwide sales of over twelve million copies. In addition, the song has been translated into Italian and performed by the Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins, a fact referred to by Dolly herself in the Birmingham (UK) concert of the 'Backwoods Barbie' Tour.

As a songwriter, Parton has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, for "9 to 5" (1980) and "Travelin' Thru" (2005). "Travelin' Thru" did win as Best Original Song award at the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards (2005). The song was also nominated for both the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song (2005) and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award (also known as the Critics' Choice Awards) for Best Song (2005).

A cover version of "Love Is Like A Butterfly", recorded by singer Clare Torry, was used as the theme music for the British TV show Butterflies.

[edit] American Idol appearance

The music-competition, reality-television show American Idol (since 2002) has weekly themes and the April 1–2, 2008, episodes' theme was "Dolly Parton Songs" with the nine then-remaining contestants each singing a Parton composition. Parton participated as a "guest mentor" to the contestants and also performed "Jesus and Gravity" (from Backwoods Barbie and released as a single in March 2008) receiving a standing ovation from the studio audience.

[edit] 9 to 5: The Musical

Parton wrote the score (and Patricia Resnick wrote the book) for 9 to 5: The Musical, a musical-theatre adaptation of Parton's feature film Nine to Five (1980). The musical ran at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, California, in Fall 2008.

It opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre in New York City, on April 30, 2009, to mixed reviews.^[39] The title track of her Backwoods Barbie (2008), was written for the musical's character Doralee.^[40] Though her score (as well as the musical debut of actress Allison Janney) was praised, the show struggled and closed on September 6, 2009 after 24 previews and 148 performances.

Developing the musical was not an overnight process. According to a broadcast of the public-radio program Studio 360 (October 29, 2005),^[41] in October 2005 Parton was in the midst of composing the songs for a Broadway musical-theatre adaptation of the film. In late June 2007, 9 to 5: the Musical was read for industry presentations. The readings starred Megan Hilty, Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, Bebe Neuwirth and Marc Kudisch.^[42]

Ambassador Theatre Group announced a 2012 UK tour for Dolly Parton's 9 to 5: The Musical, commencing at Manchester Opera House, on October 12, 2012.^[43]

Musician[link]

Parton plays the autoharp, banjo, drums, dulcimer, fiddle, guitar, harmonica, flute, pennywhistle and piano.^[44] She began composing songs at the age of four, her mother often writing down the music as she heard Parton singing around the house. Parton often describes her talent as having "the gift of rhyme".

Acting career[link]

During the mid-1970s, Parton wanted to expand her audience base. Although her first attempt, the television variety show Dolly! (1976–1977), had high ratings, it lasted only one season, with Parton requesting to be released from her contract because of the stress it was causing her vocal cords. (She later tried a second television variety show, also entitled Dolly (1987–1988); it also lasted only one season.)

Film[link]

In her first feature film Parton portrayed a secretary in a leading role with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the comedy film 9 to 5 (1980). She received nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress.^[45][46]

Parton also wrote and recorded the biggest solo hit of her career^{[citation needed]} with the film's title song. It received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Song and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.^[46] Released as a single, the song won both the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and the Grammy Award for Best Country Song. It also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and in was placed number 78 on the "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs" list released by the American Film Institute in 2004. Parton was also named Top Female Box Office Star by the Motion Picture Herald in both 1981 and 1982.^[47]

Her second film, the musical film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), co-starring Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise,^[45] earned her a second nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.^[46]

Parton was teamed with Sylvester Stallone for the comedy film Rhinestone (1984). The film was released with high-hopes, but upon release was critically panned, and is noted for being a box-office failure.^{[citation needed]}

She regained her success with the comedy-drama film Steel Magnolias (1989) which co-stars Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine and newcomer Julia Roberts.

Parton co-starred, with James Woods, in the comedy film Straight Talk (1992); critically panned, the film met with little success at the box-office.^{[citation needed]}

She then tried to launch a television series entitled The Dolly Show, but the project never bore fruit.^[45]

Parton made a cameo appearance as herself in the comedy film The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), an adaptation of the long-running television situation comedy of the same name (1962–1971).

She appeared as an overprotective mother in the comedy film Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002), with Dave Sheridan, Cameron Richardson and Randy Quaid.

Parton made a cameo appearance in the comedy film Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, starring Sandra Bullock.

She was featured in The Book Lady (2008), a documentary film about her campaign for children's literacy.^[48]

Parton had expected to repeat her television role as Hannah's godmother in the musical comedy film Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009), but the character was omitted from the final screenplay.^[49]

She had a voice role in the comedy family film Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), a computer-animated film with gnomes about William Shakespeare's tragedy play Romeo and Juliet (16th century).

Parton co-starred with Queen Latifah in the musical film Joyful Noise (2012), which finished filming in April 2011.^[50] Parton plays a choir director's widow who joins forces with Latifah's character, a mother of two teens, to save the Pacashau, Georgia, gospel choir after the death of her husband.^[51] The film was released in theaters on January 13, 2012, to mixed reviews.^{[citation needed]}

Television[link]

In addition to her performing appearances on The Porter Wagoner Show in the 1960s and into the 1970s; her two self-titled television variety shows in the 1970s and 1980s; and on American Idol in 2008 and other guest appearances, Parton has also acted in television roles. In 1979 she received an Emmy award nomination as "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Variety Program" for her guest appearance in a Cher special. During the 1980s, she starred in two popular television concert specials: 1983's Dolly in London, filmed live in London's Dominion Theatre, and Dolly & Kenny: Real Love, a 1985 concert special with Kenny Rogers, filmed during their joint concert tour. (Parton and Rogers also filmed a popular 1984 holiday special for CBS, and the two teamed up with Willie Nelson in 1989 for another concert special Something Inside So Strong.)

Parton has appeared as a frequent presenter and performer on a number of awards shows, from the 1960s through the 2010s, and she remains a popular guest on a number of talk shows.

She starred in the television movie A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986); Wild Texas Wind (1991) Unlikely Angel (1996), portraying an angel sent back to earth following a deadly car crash; and Blue Valley Songbird (1999), where her character lives through her music.

Parton has also done voice work for animation for television series, playing herself in the Alvin and the Chipmunks (episode "Urban Chipmunk", 1983) and the character Katrina Eloise "Murph" Murphy in The Magic School Bus (episode "The Family Holiday Special", 1994).

Parton has guest starred in a number of sitcoms, including a 1990 episode of Designing Women (episode "The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century") as herself, the guardian movie star of Charlene's baby.^[52] She also appeared in the situation comedy series Reba (episode "Reba's Rules of Real Estate") portraying a real-estate agency owner, and on The Simpsons (episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", 1999). She also appeared as herself in 2000 on the Halloween episode of Bette Midler's sitcom Bette, and episode 14 of the Fox sitcom Babes (which was produced by Sandollar Productions, Parton and Sandy Gallin's joint production company).

She also made cameo appearances on the Disney Channel as "Aunt Dolly" visiting Hannah and her family in the fellow Tennessean Miley Cyrus's series Hannah Montana (episodes "Good Golly, Miss Dolly", 2006, "I Will Always Loathe You", 2007, and "Kiss It All Goodbye", 2010). The role came about because of her real-life relationship as Cyrus's godmother. She was nominated for an Outstanding Guest Actress in Comedy Series.^[53]

Businesses[link]

In 1998, Nashville Business ranked her as the wealthiest country-music star.^[54]

The Dollywood Company[link]

Parton invested much of her earnings into business ventures in her native East Tennessee, notably Pigeon Forge. She is a co-owner of The Dollywood Company, which operates the theme park Dollywood (a former Silver Dollar City), a dinner theatre, Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, and the waterpark Dollywood's Splash Country, all in Pigeon Forge.

Dollywood is ranked as the 24th-most-popular theme park in the U.S., with about three million visitors annually.^[55] The area is a thriving tourist attraction, drawing visitors from large parts of the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. This region, like most areas of Appalachia, had suffered economically for decades; Parton's business investment has helped revitalize the area.

The Dixie Stampede business also has venues in Branson, Missouri, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A former Dixie Stampede location in Orlando, Florida closed in January 2008 after the business's land and building were sold to a developer.^[56] Starting in June 2011, the Myrtle beach location became Pirates Voyage Fun, Feast & Adventure; Parton appeared for the opening, and the South Carolina General Assembly declared June 3, 2011, Dolly Parton Day.^[57]

On January 19, 2012, Parton's 66th birthday, Gaylord Opryland along with Dolly Parton and her Dollywood Co. announced plans to open a $50 million water and snow park, a fun and family-friendly travel destination that's open each month of the year in Nashville, Tennessee.^[58]

Film and television production company[link]

Parton is a co-owner of Sandollar Productions with Sandy Gallin, her former manager. A film-and-television-production company, it produced the Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989), which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Feature); the television series Babes (1990–1991) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003); and the feature films Father of the Bride (1991), Father of the Bride: Part II (1995) Straight Talk (1992) (in which Parton also starred), Sabrina (1995), among other shows. In a 2009 interview singer Connie Francis revealed that Dolly had been contacting her for years in an attempt to film the singer's life story. Francis turned down Parton's offers as she was already in negotiations with singer Gloria Estefan to produce the film, a collaboration now ended.^[59]

Other businesses[link]

Briefly from 1987, Parton owned Dockside Plantation, a restaurant in the upscale neighborhood of Hawaiʻi Kai in Honolulu, Hawaii. She also had a "signature line" of wigs from Revlon in the early 1990s. The best-selling style, "Dolly's Own", is still sold by Revlon, albeit under a new style name.

Philanthropic efforts[link]

Since the mid-1980s, Parton has supported many charitable efforts, particularly in the area of literacy, primarily through her Dollywood Foundation.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library[link]

Her literacy program, "Dolly Parton's Imagination Library",^[60] a part of the Dollywood Foundation, mails one book per month to each enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten. It began in Sevier County but has now been replicated in 566 counties across 36 U.S. states (as well as in Canada).^[61] In December 2007 it expanded to Europe with the South Yorkshire town of Rotherham, United Kingdom, being the first British locality to receive the books. The program distributes more than 2.5 million free books to children annually.

In 2006 Parton published a cookbook Dolly's Dixie Fixin's: Love, Laughter and Lots of Good Food.^[62][63] The net profits support the Dollywood Foundation.

Other philanthropy[link]

Dollywood has been noted for bringing jobs and tax revenues to a previously depressed region. She has also worked to raise money on behalf of several other causes, including the American Red Cross and a number of HIV/AIDS-related charities.

In December 2006, Parton pledged $500,000 toward a proposed $90-million hospital and cancer center to be constructed in Sevierville in the name of Dr. Robert F. Thomas, the physician who delivered her. She also announced a benefit concert to raise additional funds for the project. The concert played to about 8,000 people.^[64]

In May 2009, Parton gave the commencement address at the University of Tennessee. Her speech was about her life lessons, and she encouraged the graduates to never stop dreaming.^{[citation needed]}

Awards and honors[link]

Parton is one of the most-honored female country performers of all time. The Record Industry Association of America has certified 25 of her single or album releases as either Gold Record, Platinum Record or Multi-Platinum Record. She has had 26 songs reach number one on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist. She has 42 career top-10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 career-charted singles over the past 40 years. All inclusive sales of singles, albums, collaboration records, compilation usage, and paid digital downloads during Parton's career have reportedly topped 174 million records around the world.^[65]

Parton during a reception for The Kennedy Center honorees in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on December 3, 2006.

She has received eight Grammy Awards and a total of 45 Grammy Award nominations.^[66][67] At the 2011 Grammies she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award. At the American Music Awards she has won three awards, but has received 18 nominations. At the Country Music Association, she has received 10 awards and 42 nominations. At the Academy of Country Music, she has won seven awards and 39 nominations. She is one of only six female artists (including Reba McEntire, Barbara Mandrell, Shania Twain, Loretta Lynn, and Taylor Swift), to win the Country Music Association's highest honor, Entertainer of the Year (1978). She has also been nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award.

She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording in 1984, located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California; a star on the Nashville Star Walk for Grammy winners; and a bronze sculpture on the courthouse lawn in Sevierville. She has called that statue of herself in her hometown "the greatest honor," because it came from the people who knew her.

Parton was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1969, and in 1986 was named one of Ms. Magazine's Women of the Year. In 1986, Parton was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1999, Parton received country music's highest honor, an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She received an honorary doctorate degree from Carson-Newman College (Jefferson City, Tennessee) in 1990. This was followed by induction into the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2002, Parton ranked number four in CMT's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music.

She was honored in 2003 with a tribute album called Just Because I'm a Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton. The artists who recorded versions of Parton's songs included Melissa Etheridge ("I Will Always Love You"), Alison Krauss ("9 to 5"), Twain ("Coat of Many Colors"), Me'Shell NdegéOcello ("Two Doors Down"), Norah Jones ("The Grass is Blue"), and Sinéad O'Connor ("Dagger Through the Heart"); Parton herself contributed a rerecording of the title song, originally the title song for her first RCA album in 1968. Parton was awarded the Living Legend Medal by the U.S. Library of Congress on April 14, 2004, for her contributions to the cultural heritage of the United States.^[68]

U.S. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, with the Kennedy Center honorees in the Blue Room of the White House during a 2006 reception. From left: singer/songwriter William "Smokey" Robinson; composer Andrew Lloyd Webber; Dolly Parton; film director Steven Spielberg; and conductor Zubin Mehta.

This was followed in 2005 with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given by the U.S. government for excellence in the arts and is presented by the U.S. President.

On December 3, 2006, Parton received the Kennedy Center Honors from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for her lifetime of contributions to the arts. Other 2006 honorees included Zubin Mehta, Steven Spielberg, Smokey Robinson and Andrew Lloyd Webber. During the show, some of country music's biggest names came to show their admiration. Carrie Underwood performed Parton's hit "Islands in the Stream" with Rogers, Parton's original duet partner. Krauss performed "Jolene" and duetted "Coat of Many Colors" with Twain. McEntire and Reese Witherspoon also came to pay tribute.

On November 16, 2010, Parton accepted the Liseberg Applause Award, the theme park industry's most prestigious honor, on behalf of Dollywood theme park during a ceremony held at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2010 in Orlando.

Philanthropy-related honors[link]

In 2003, her efforts to preserve the bald eagle through the American Eagle Foundation's sanctuary at Dollywood earned her the Partnership Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Parton received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution at a ceremony in Nashville on November 8, 2007.

For her work in literacy, Parton has received various awards including:

• Association of American Publishers – AAP Honors Award (2000)
• Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval (2001) (the first time the seal had been awarded to a person)
• American Association of School Administrators – Galaxy Award (2002)
• National State Teachers of the Year – Chasing Rainbows Award (2002)
• Parents as Teachers National Center – Child and Family Advocacy Award (2003)

With Tennessee Senator Bob Corker at the rededication ceremony for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2009.

On May 8, 2009, Parton gave the commencement speech at the commencement ceremony in Knoxville, Tennessee, for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's College of Arts and Sciences.^[69] During the ceremony she received an honorary degree, a doctorate of humane and musical letters, from the university. It was only the second honorary degree given by the university, and in presenting the degree, the university's chancellor, Jimmy G. Cheek, said, "Because of her career not just as a musician and entertainer, but for her role as a cultural ambassador, philanthropist and lifelong advocate for education, it is fitting that she be honored with an honorary degree from the flagship educational institution of her home state."^[70]

Image[link]

Parton has turned down several offers to pose for Playboy magazine, although she did appear on the cover of Playboy's October 1978 issue wearing a Playboy bunny outfit, complete with ears (the October 1978 Playboy issue also featured Lawrence Grobel's extensive and candid interview with Parton, representing one of her earliest high profile interviews with the mainstream press). The association of breasts with Parton's public image is illustrated in the naming of Dolly the sheep after her, since the sheep was cloned from a cell taken from an adult ewe's mammary gland.^[71][72] When Parton was asked whether she minded being an eponym in this way, she joked, "No, there's no such thing as baa-ad publicity."

She has had plastic surgery.^[73][74] On a 2003 broadcast of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Winfrey asked what kind of cosmetic surgery Parton had undergone. Parton stated that she felt that cosmetic surgery was imperative in keeping with her famous image, but jokingly admitted, "If I have one more facelift, I'll have a beard!" Parton has repeatedly joked about her physical image and surgeries, saying, "If I see something sagging, bagging, and dragging, I'm going to nip it, suck it and tuck it. Why should I look like an old barn yard dog if I don't have to?" and "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap." Her breasts also garnered mention of her in several songs in the 1980s and 1990s, including "Dolly Parton's Hits" by Bobby Braddock, "Talk Like Sex" by Kool G Rap and DJ Polo, "Dolly Parton's Tits" by MacLean & MacLean,"Crazy Rap" by Afroman,"Jokes on you" by Fabolous, "Lollipop Remix" by Lil Wayne ft. Kanye West, and "Make Me Proud" by Drake ft. Nicki Minaj.

Press agent Lee Solters represented Parton and has remarked that he knew her "since she was flat-chested".^[75]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Country music portal
	Pop music portal
	Film portal
	Musical theatre portal
	Television portal
	Tennessee portal

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Cash, Johnny (1998). Cash; the Autobiography. 
• Nash, Alanna (1978). Dolly. Los Angeles, California: Reed Books. ISBN 0-89169-523-0. 
• Parton, Dolly (1994). Dolly: My Life And Other Unfinished Business. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-017720-9. 
• Whitburn, Joel (2005). Top Country Songs 1944–2005. Billboard/Record Research Inc.. ISBN 0-89820-165-9. 

Further reading[link]

• Miller, Stephen (2008). Smart Blonde: Dolly Parton. Omnibus Press. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/978186097607|978186097607]] .
• Nash, Alanna (2002). Dolly: The Biography. Cooper Square Press. ISBN 978-0-8154-1242-7 .
• Pasternak, Judith Mahoney (1998). Dolly Parton. Sterling Publishing. ISBN 978-1-56799-557-2 .

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Dolly Parton

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dolly Parton

• Official website
• dollypartonmusic.net (official music website)
• Dolly Parton at the Internet Movie Database
• Dolly Parton discography at MusicBrainz
• Works by or about Dolly Parton in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• "Dolly Parton", inductee page at countrymusichalloffame.com Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's official website
• "Dolly Parton" biography at legacyrecordings.com, Legacy Recordings's official website
• "Dolly Parton – Interview", posted November 18, 2008, at countrymusicpride.com
• "A Conversation with Singer and Actress Dolly Parton", a June 5, 2009, video interview (requires Adobe Flash) from the Charlie Rose (talk show), a PBS television program, at charlierose.com, Rose's official website
• Dolly Parton video interview from the talk show 'Parkinson' at BBC
• Reporter: Morley Safer (June 7, 2009). "Dolly Parton: The Real Queen Of All Media". 60 Minutes. CBS. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/02/60minutes/main4914137_page1.shtml. 

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2008)

Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton on 7 November 2009
Background information
Birth name	Sheena Shirley Orr
Born	(1959-04-27) 27 April 1959 (age 53)
Origin	Bellshill, Scotland
Genres	Adult Contemporary, Pop/Rock, Dance, R&B, Country
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, producer, actress, voiceover, designer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1980–present
Labels	EMI UK, EMI US, MCA, Universal
Website	www.sheenaeaston.com

Sheena Easton (born Sheena Shirley Orr; 27 April 1959) is a Scottish recording artist. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television programme The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records. Easton is a two-time Grammy winner and has 15 US Top 40 singles on the Billboard US Pop Singles chart to date. She is the only artist in the history of the Billboard chart to have a Top Five single on all the key charts: Pop/Rock, R&B, Country, Dance, and Adult Contemporary.

Easton rose to fame in the early 1980s with the pop hits "9 to 5" (known as "Morning Train" in the United States), "For Your Eyes Only," "Strut," "Sugar Walls," "U Got the Look" with Prince, and "The Lover in Me." She went on to become successful in the United States and Japan, working with prominent vocalists and producers, such as Prince, Christopher Neil, Kenny Rogers, Luis Miguel, L.A. Reid and Babyface, and Nile Rodgers.

Early life[link]

Easton was born Sheena Shirley Orr in the Scottish town of Bellshill, the youngest of six children to steel mill labourer Alex Orr and his wife Annie. She had two brothers (Robert and Alex) and three sisters (Marilyn, Annessa and Morag). Her earliest known public performance as a singer was at the age of five (in 1964), when she sang "Early One Morning" for her uncle and aunt and various relatives at the couple's 25th wedding anniversary celebration.^{[citation needed]}

Easton's father died in 1969 and her mother had to support the family. Easton's website states that despite her mother's heavy workload she was always available for her children: "Sheena always speaks very highly of her mum and the wonderful job she did in bringing up her and her siblings, including teaching each of them all to read at home before they were even enrolled in school."^[1]

Easton did not consider a singing career until viewing the movie The Way We Were, with Barbra Streisand. Streisand's singing over the opening credits "overtook" the young Scottish girl and convinced her that what she wanted most was to be a singer and to have the same effect on others.^{[citation needed]} Her top grades in school earned her a scholarship to attend the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, where she trained from 1975 to 1979 as a speech and drama teacher by day, while singing with a band called "Something Else" by night at local clubs.^{[citation needed]} She chose to study teaching rather than performing, because it was a course of study that would let her perfect her craft as a singer.^{[citation needed]}

In 1979, she married Sandi Easton, the first of her four husbands. They divorced after eight months, and Sheena decided to keep the surname Easton. That year, one of her Academy tutors coaxed her into auditioning for Esther Rantzen, producer of the BBC programme The Big Time. Rantzen was planning a documentary film to chronicle a relative unknown's rise to pop-music stardom. Easton was selected as the subject for the programme, where she met Lulu (another Scottish singer), who told her that she was unlikely to make the "big time."^{[citation needed]} Within a year of the programme airing, Sheena Easton proved Lulu wrong as EMI executives awarded her a contract, and Christopher Neil was assigned as her recording producer. Deke Arlon became her first manager, and Easton spent much of 1980 being followed by camera crews, who filmed her throughout the process of making her first EMI single, "Modern Girl".