A young Dolly Parton felt confined by her partnership with country star and TV host Porter Wagoner.

Dolly Parton hosted two separate variety television shows called 'Dolly.'

Dolly Parton jumped to Hollywood in the 1980s, where she became a bona fide movie star.

Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' was written as a goodbye for her musical collaborator, Porter Wagoner.

Dolly Parton released her first recording at age 13, a rockabilly number she cowrote called 'Puppy Love.'

Dolly Parton recorded two albums with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris under the name Trio.

'9 to 5' was Dolly Parton's first No. 1 pop hit.

Read a 1984 interview with Dolly Parton, conducted by artist Andy Warhol.

Before becoming a country superstar, Dolly Parton recorded girl group-style singles as a teenager, including one that became a hit outside the US.

Explore the best Dolly Parton songs, including 'Jolene,' '9 to 5,' and many more.

Dolly Parton produced the original 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' movie.

As disco grew more popular, country star Dolly Parton experimented with the genre.

Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers' 'Islands in the Stream' was written by the Bee Gees.

Dolly Parton initially declined her nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, though the Hall inducted her anyways.

Dolly Parton's 'Jolene' was based on a real woman who flirted with Parton's husband.

Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' is a widely covered standard that's been a No. 1 hit multiple times.

Elvis Presley wanted to record 'I Will Always Love You,' but Dolly Parton refused.

Dolly Parton wrote the song '9 to 5' on the set of the movie '9 to 5.'

A Tennessee children's hospital changed its name to Dolly Parton Children's Hospital.

'The Grand Ole Opry' radio show debuted in 1925

The Grand Ole Opry began as "The WSM Barn Dance," broadcasting from downtown Nashville. The name changed when its host, transitioning from the station's previous program, said, "You've been up in the clouds with Grand Opera; now get down to earth with us in a shindig of Grand Ole Opry!"

Parton was famously apolitical and consistently declined opportunities to align herself with politicians.

Every ‘SNL’ host who's doubled as musical guest

This chronological list details every entertainer who’s both hosted and performed as musical guest through the show’s five decades. You’ll find some interesting tidbits, like Paul Simon breaking ground as the first to do it in 1975, and some serious headscratchers, like Garth Brooks performing as his alter ego Chris Gaines.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program provides free books to kids.

Jean Carroll was one of the first women to make a name in stand-up comedy

Carroll cut her teeth in vaudeville alongside Buddy Howe, her husband, who later became her manager. Despite operating in a male-dominated field, she became a popular headliner and was a mainstay as a stand-up on "The Ed Sullivan Show," which led to her own sitcom.

'Islands in the Stream' was another massive crossover hit for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

Before he was known as a folk singer, Woody Guthrie was a popular radio host in Los Angeles.

Country musicians grappled with the outlaw archetype on screen

As country grew more popular, some of its biggest stars leapt to the silver screen, with Johnny Cash in "Five Minutes to Live," Kris Kristofferson in "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid," and Dolly Parton in "9 to 5." Kristin Hunt notes that all of these films featured country stars toying with the outlaw archetype, a prevalent theme throughout the history of country music.

'The Grand Ole Opry' turned Nashville into the country music capital

By 1932, country was being broadcast to 30 states and parts of Canada. That influence turned the Tennessee city into a destination for those interested in working in the budding industry.

A 2026 survey found that Dolly Parton is far more popular in the US than the world's politicians.

Honky-tonk features a rollicking stomp

Widely considered the first honky-tonk song, Ernest Tubb’s "Walking the Floor Over You" is a perfect example of the subgenre's upbeat percussion, barroom piano, and chippy lyricism. The song is a country music classic, being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and preserved in the Library of Congress.

The classic girl group sound arrived with doo-wop

Doo-wop was a type of vocal-based pop music popular in the '50s that coincided with the rise of early rock 'n' roll. The mid-tempo, harmony-heavy songs about teenage life provided the template for the girl group sound, which arrived at the end of the decade.

In the late '80s, Dylan formed the Traveling Wilburys with other rock legends

The word “supergroup” gets tossed around plenty in rock ‘n’ roll, but it’s never been more apt than with the Traveling Wilburys, a late '80s band featuring Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. At the time, Dylan was feeling creatively adrift and far removed from the passion of his earlier work. The winking alter-egos of the Wilburys reinvigorated him, leading to a great record and a renaissance in Dylan’s solo career.

Explore 'The Grand Ole Opry' radio archive

"The Grand Ole Opry" changed the course of country music, bringing the music from the mountains and hollers to a nationwide audience through its weekly show. This archive of the radio program offers hundreds of hours of Opry radio programs from several decades of the show's existence.

'Truth or Consequences' was the first TV quiz show

The game—which forced contestants who answered questions incorrectly to face "consequences" in the form of wacky stunts—debuted in 1941 with a one-off experimental broadcast on WNBT, then reappeared on NBC in 1950. In 1956, a fresh-faced Bob Barker made his television debut as the show's new host.

Bob Hope's radio shows brought stand-up to the masses

Bob Hope’s 1930s variety shows featured comedic monologues. Unlike the tightly scripted and evergreen sets of vaudeville, Hope’s monologues leaned into topical and political humor, sometimes to the disapproval of his network.

Dylan's raucous 1976 tour was one piece of an ongoing reinvention

In the mid-70s, Dylan assembled a ragtag group of musicians and poets—including Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Allen Ginsberg—he called the Rolling Thunder Revue. Rather than playing stadiums in major markets, they played smaller venues in smaller cities for a more intimate experience. The tour yielded some of the most exuberant versions of Dylan songs, captured in this 1976 performance in Fort Collins, which originally aired on NBC as “Hard Rain.”