Dolly Parton, the singer of “9 to 5,” is America’s beloved Queen of Country. While she might be known for her chart-topping hits and iconic blond hairstyle, there are some other hair-raising facts you probably don’t know about this musician. Here are all the tidbits that’ll make your jaw drop.
1. Dolly’s parents paid for her birth with a bag of oatmeal
Dolly Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in a tiny cabin in Sevierville, Tennessee. She was the fourth of 12 children, and her family struggled so much financially that all they could pay the doctor who delivered her was a sack of grains. Dolly’s father, Robert, was a sharecropper before he started his own tobacco farm. Despite her rising success, Dolly never forgot where she came from. As a result, she was very financially generous with her family.
2. “Jolene” was written about a bank teller
Many people think that this 200-word song was written about being jealous of a woman who wanted to steal her man, but the original idea was much more innocent. On stage during a performance, Dolly noticed a little girl with red hair who held up a sign she hoped Dolly would autograph. When Dolly complimented her and asked her name, the girl responded, “Jolene,” to which Dolly responded, “Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about that.” She was also inspired by a pretty redheaded bank teller who flirted with her husband, Carl, and as a result, the song was written!
3. She lost in a Dolly Parton Lookalike Contest
Dolly is quite the prankster; One day, she decided to participate in a celebrity impersonator contest in LA, masquerading as a drag version of herself without revealing her true identity. She claims she made her look “exaggerated” with things like her hair, eyes, and beauty mark, but claims that she got the least amount of applause compared to the other drag queens.
4. She’s named all of her wigs
During a sit-down with Jennifer Aniston and James Corden, Corden took out a famous image of Dolly, claiming she was wearing his favourite wig. She said the wig’s name was “Dragzilla” and told her celebrity colleagues that she always named her wigs so that her hairstylist and wig expert, Cheryl Riddle, would know what look she was aiming for. Her other wigs include the crimped “Chunky Monkey” and the “Twist and Spout.” Dolly admitted to wearing a wig every day, so she must have hundreds! Apparently, her natural hair can’t maintain the volume and lift that it once did due to all the teasing and bleaching over the years.
5. The University of Tennessee teaches a Dolly Parton history course and inspired a podcast
The course is called “History 307: Dolly’s America” and discusses Parton’s effect on culture and history. Taking students from her humble Appalachian upbringing to her international stardom, this thesis seminar is intended to be a new way of understanding Appalachia and the role Dolly played in its history. It even inspired RadioLab to create an award-winning, nine-part podcast called “Dolly Parton’s America,” which was filled with insight from staff, faculty, and students.
6. Each of Dolly’s breasts is insured for $300,000
Seeing as they’re one of the most famous parts of her anatomy at a whopping 40DD, it makes sense that Dolly decided to cover her bust in case anything happened to it. They’re worth a combined total of $600,000. Dolly Parton has made it clear that she’s not afraid of being called fake, as she believes in her authentic talent and personalities. In a CBS interview, she said, it was true that she looked “artificial,” but she believed she was “totally real.”
7. She’s never hopped on a ride at her theme park, Dollywood
Dolly Parton is generally afraid of theme park rides, but she also refuses to get on one of her Tennessee thrills because she’s worried about messing up her famous look and having something happen to her wig, shoes, or makeup. She expanded to the New York Times, “I’m going to have some handsome man mess it up, I don’t want some rides doing it.”
8. She rejected Elvis Presley
Not many women can say they turned down the King of Rock and Roll, but Dolly can! After she topped the charts with “I Will Always Love You, Elvis asked Dolly to do a version of her song and get half the publishing rights. Since the song was already a hit, Dolly turned down Elvis’s offer, but in 1992, she allowed Whitney Houston to cover the song, which earned Dolly $30 million in royalties.
9. She’s worth $600 million
America’s Country Sweetheart is worth over $500 million, which tracks as she’s spent half a century in the industry. Throughout that time, she’s sold more than 130 million records worldwide and released 25 number-one hits. She’s also been nominated 49 times for the Grammys, Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, and many others, including multiple Tony nominations.
10. Does Dolly Parton have secret tattoos?
There’s a hidden reason why Dolly almost always wears fingerless gloves and long-sleeved outfits. Although her creative director said this was to hide her hands and elbows, Dolly addressed rumors that she was covering a sleeve of tattoos. She eventually admitted on the podcast “Dolly Parton’s America” that she did have tattoos to cover up scarring but wasn’t “tattooed all over like a bike woman.” She describes them as delicate, pastel-colored tats with art like lace, bows, and butterflies, but shockingly, the public has never seen these.
