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

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

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

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

Dolly Parton teamed up with country star Porter Wagoner in 1967 as a cohost on his popular TV show.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Billboard's first No. 1 single was Tommy Dorsey Orchestra's 'I'll Never Smile Again'

The song was No. 1 on Billboard’s Best Selling Retail Records chart, the predecessor to the Hot 100. The chart only measured record copies sold, excluding other indicators of popularity, like sheet music sales or jukebox plays, that were used on other charts.

The Shirelles' 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow' was the first girl group record to reach No. 1

The 1960 song, composed by husband-and-wife Brill Building occupants Gerry Goffin and Carole King, was more than a little suggestive. The main character wondered if her partner would abandon her after a night of passion, leading to some stations banning the record. But it also propelled the song to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

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

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

'Over the Rainbow' became a widely covered standard

Judy Garland’s original 1939 version won the Academy Award for best original song, though it never appeared on the Billboard pop singles chart (which didn’t appear until 1940). Twenty different versions of the song by other artists—including Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle, and Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole—have appeared on numerous Billboard charts.

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

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

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

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 artists with the most No. 1 singles

Scoring a No. 1 single is a difficult task—less than 4% of the songs that have made Billboard's Hot 100 chart have ever reached the top spot. This list breaks down the most elite hitmakers in Billboard history, including the Supremes, Taylor Swift, and the Beatles, who released an incredible 20 No. 1 singles.

Whitney Houston's 1991 Super Bowl rendition is the only recording of the national anthem to reach the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Barrett Strong's 'Money (That's What I Want)' was Motown's first hit record, reaching both Billboard's R&B and pop charts in 1960.

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

Bob Newhart was the first comedian to have a chart-topping album with his 1960 record 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart.'

The 1927 'Bristol Sessions' birthed the modern country industry

Country music has been around since the early American colonies, but the modern country industry began in 1927 in a small town on the Tennessee-Virginia border. Here, Ralph Peer recorded songs from the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and a dozen more artists through a 12-day stint called "The Bristol Sessions."

Taylor Swift was the first artist to occupy all of Billboard's Top 10

Swift's 2022 release "Midnights" led to an unprecedented feat: For the first time in Billboard history, the entire top 10 of the Hot 100 was occupied by the same artist. Two years later, "The Tortured Poets Department" would occupy the first 14 slots on the chart.

A year before Elvis appeared on 'Ed Sullivan,' Bill Haley brought rock 'n' roll to the program

Although Elvis Presley's 1956 appearance on the popular TV show is viewed as a key moment in the rise of rock 'n' roll, the music appeared on the program a year earlier, on August 5, 1955, when Bill Haley and His Comets performed their hit "Rock Around the Clock."

Taylor Swift was 16 when she released her debut album

When Taylor Swift released her first album, she was a little-known country singer-songwriter. A decade later, she was a world-famous pop superstar. In the first 10 years of Swift's career, her songwriting talent, savvy marketing, and engagement with fans helped propel her into stardom.

Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' is the longest-running No. 1 single

In 2025, the 1994 track spent 20 weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The song has been a popular Christmas number since its release, but streaming has elevated it to a perennial chart-topper: Every time someone plays the song on a service like Spotify (something that’s likely to happen every holiday season), they’re effectively casting a vote for it to hit the chart.