The Dolly Parton Quiz

Dolly Parton was born on January 19, 1946, to Avie Lee Parton and Robert Lee Parton. She was one of 11 children. Sadly, one of her brothers, Larry, died in 1955, just four days after he was born.

Dolly was born in a small shack, just a single room that was built near the Little Pigeon River in Pittman Center, Tennessee. She grew up on the family farm located at Locust Ridge, near the Smoky Mountains.

Dolly's parents, Avie Lee Parton and Robert Lee Parton, gave her the second name of Rebecca after her maternal great-grandmother, Rebecca Whitted. In turn, actress Rebecca Romijn named her one daughter Dolly Rebecca. She is a huge Dolly fan!

Dolly Parton recorded "Puppy Love" in 1959 at the age of 13. She had written the song two years earlier, with the help of her uncle, Bill Owens. The B-side of the single was another song written by Dolly, also with the help of her uncle, "Girl Left Alone."

Dolly Parton met Johnny Cash after performing at the Grand Ole Opry. Cash encouraged the young performer to follow her dreams and to trust her own feelings and instincts when it came to decisions about her career.

Stella Parton, four years younger than Dolly, entered the country music scene in 1967. In 1975, she had her first country hit, "I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonight," which made it into the Top 10 on the country charts.

Released in 1980, "9 to 5" starred Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. The movie, which cost $10 million to make, was a big success and brought in more than $100 million in the United States alone.

Incredibly, it is true. In 1984, Freida Parton released an album called "Two Faced." She even appeared on MTV with her single, Oriental Dolls. Today, Freida is an ordained minister.

The entertainment park now known as "Dollywood" has been in operation since 1961. In 1986, Dolly Parton purchased a stake in the park and it was renamed to its current name. In 2010, she was fully involved in its operation. The park employs 3,000 people and in 2018, USA Today readers ranked it the 6th best amusement park in America.

Dolly's parents were extremely poor and lived off the meager earnings from their tobacco farm. The doctor who helped deliver Dolly was paid, not in money, but with a sack of oatmeal.

Carl Dean has stayed out of the limelight since marrying Dolly Parton in 1966. A former asphalt paver, Dean does not tour with Dolly and she says he has only seen her perform once. They renewed their wedding vows in 2016 for their 50th anniversary.

Dolly Parton and Judy Ogle first met in the third grade and remain firm friends. Ogle was even portrayed in the movie that shows Dolly's early life, "Coat of Many Colors."

Dolly Parton had a crush on Johnny Cash when she started out in the music business. Parton met Cash after performing at the Grand Ole Opry where the country legend advised her to follow here heart and instincts when it came to career decisions.

Dolly Parton had a lot of success writing songs for others at the beginning of her career. She penned two Top 10 songs with her uncle, Bill Owens, in the mid-'60s. These were “Put It Off Until Tomorrow" for Bill Phillips and “Fuel to the Flame” for Skeeter Davis.

"Dumb Blonde" was Dolly Parton's first country single. It was written by Curly Putman. It was a relative success for Dolly and managed to climb to No. 24 on the country charts.

The Porter Wagoner Show was a musical television variety show hosted by country artist Porter Wagoner. Dolly Parton made 218 appearances on the show between 1967 and 1975 which helped launch her into superstardom.

Released in 1983, "Islands in the Stream" was a massive hit for Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. It went to No. 1 on the Billboard, Country and Adult Contemporary charts in America. It was written by the Gibb brothers of Bee Gees fame.

Starring Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise and Dolly Parton, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" was released in 1982. Parton received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for her role as Mona Stangley. The movie grossed $69 million in the United States.

Dolly Parton has won eight Grammy Awards during her career. She has been nominated a staggering 46 times. She has also won three American Music Awards, 10 Country Music Association Awards and seven Academy of Country Music Awards.

It's actually fewer than that. Only seven female artists have won the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award, including Dolly Parton.

That's some feat, is it not? Dolly Parton has had 41 of her albums reach the Top 10 of the country music charts over the course of her career. From those 41 albums, 110 singles have charted as well! Incredible!

First launched in 1995, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a huge undertaking that sends free books to children around the world. It is aimed at children from their birth until they begin school. By 2003, the Imagination Library had sent more than 1 million books to kids. It now runs in not only the United States but Canada, the United Kingdom, ​and Australia and recently gifted its 100 millionth book!

Released in 1974, "Jolene" gave Dolly Parton her second solo No. 1 song. It was nominated for two Grammy's that year but didn't win. "Jolene" reached No. 60 on the Billboard charts and No. 7 in the United Kingdom. In 2017, Parton won a Grammy for the song when Pentatonix released an acapella version on which she sang.

With Sylvester Stallone contributing to the screenplay, 1984's "Rhinestone" saw Dolly Parton in a starring role. Stallone commented after the release of the movie that it certainly was not one of his favorites but that Parton was a brilliant leading lady and a pleasure to work with.

Released in 1977, "Here You Come Again" quickly went to No. 1 on the country charts. It soon gained traction on the Billboard Hot 100 and worked its way to No. 3. At the time, Dolly Parton said of her crossover success: "I am not leaving country. I am just taking it with me."

Dolly Parton has been nominated for two Academy Awards. The first time was in 1981 when "9 to 5" was nominated for Best Music, Original Song. The second time was in 2006 when "Travelin' Thru" was nominated for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song. Unfortunately, neither won its category.

A true legend of country music, Dolly Parton was inducted into the Country Hall of Fame in 1999. It was the same year in which she released her first bluegrass album, "The Grass is Blue."

Yes, she does! In 2018, Dolly Parton entered the Guinness Book of World Records for most hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart by a female artist (107) and most decades with a top 20 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart (six).

Dolly Parton has won Country Music Association Female Artist of the Year on two occasions and they came two years in a row, in 1975 and 1976. In 2016, the Country Music Association presented Dolly with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dolly Parton is always seen with her arms covered by long sleeves. Many believed this was because she had tattoos, a fact she confirmed in a 2014 interview. Parton said her long sleeves mostly cover scars because she is so fair, but the few small tattoos she has were for her husband.

Dolly Parton was not out of her depth surrounded by acting talent such as Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Darryl Hannah, Julia Roberts and Shirley MacLaine in 1989's "Steel Magnolias." Made on a budget of $15 million, it grossed more than $80 million in the United States alone! That's what a cast of great actors does for you!

Not a bad godmother to have at all. And Dolly Parton has appeared with Miley on numerous occasions, including on "Hannah Montana" as well as singing together on various occasions.

Well, there was no other place she was going to go, was there? Nashville is considered the home of country music in America and Dolly Parton knew that if she was to have a successful career, this is where it would take off.

"Hello, I'm Dolly" was released on February 13, 1967, and reached No. 11 on the country charts. The first single, "Dumb Blonde," reached No. 24 on the country charts as well. A second single, "Something Fishy," managed to chart as high as No. 17.

In 1996, scientists in Scotland successfully cloned the first mammal. This was a sheep named Dolly. She was named after Dolly Parton since the cell used to clone her was taken from a female sheep's mammary glands.