Main content

What a way to make a living: 9 Dolly Parton facts in 5 minutes

Even superfans of the country music legend might learn something new.

She refused to let Elvis Presley record I Will Always Love You

At the time, the song was Dolly’s most important copyright and the demands of Elvis’s team were too great for her to approve.

• From Another Country with Ricky Ross (April 2019)

She had an influence on Kylie Minogue鈥檚 album Golden

She saw Dolly live for the first time at the Hollywood Bowl in California in 2016. “It was like seeing the light.”

• From The Chris Evans Breakfast Show (March 2018)

She entered a Dolly Parton lookalike contest ...and lost!

At a Hallowe’en party in a Santa Monica gay bar, Dolly “walked across the stage to the least applause of any of the drag queens.”

• From The Michael Ball Show (August 2016)

There鈥檚 an amazing Scottish folk cover of her song Jolene

Radio 2 folk award winner Rachel Newton recorded the track live at the 大象传媒.

• From The Quay Sessions (March 2018)

She鈥檚 got a huge fanbase in Uganda

Dolly’s song Coat of Many Colours is the most requested song on Hello Uganda.

• From The Why Factor (April 2016)

She usually gets up each morning by 3am

“I get more work done by six o’clock in the morning than most people get done in a week and a half!”

• From Front Row (July 2014)

She gave a masterclass to help a charity choir perform on TV

Music teacher Annie Smart learned how to handle the nerves when performing on stage.

• From Tonight’s the Night (July 2011)

鈥楾he town tramp鈥 inspired her high-gloss image

A person her mother described as trash was “beautiful to me ... a country girl’s idea of what glamour is”.

• From Dolly Parton: Platinum Blonde (April 2011)

She read a CBeebies bedtime story

Dolly read Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates.

• From CBeebies Bedtime Stories (December 2018)

More Dolly around the 大象传媒

Latest features from 大象传媒 Scotland