Calling Dolly Parton the Queen of Country is both fitting and wholly insufficient for an artist whose career defined American music—and culture—over the course of nearly 70 years. Her life story—rising from Appalachian poverty (as immortalised in her 1971 song “Coat of Many Colors”) to something as close to sainthood as we will ever see—is the American dream, and her life’s work across 49 studio albums is its soundtrack. The best of that work, all in one place, is a collection of genre-defining and genre-flaunting hits spanning decades, yes, but together the songs tell a story in their own right. Her first charting single, 1966’s “Dumb Blonde”, introduced her as a fun-loving but independent woman confident enough to flout stereotypes and command her own destiny. In the late ’60s, Parton enjoyed huge success as a regular on Porter Wagoner’s weekly TV show and through a long string of collaborative hits like “The Last Thing On My Mind”. But she became even more popular as a solo artist, bolstering her reputation as a master storyteller with a pair of 1974 hits that became her signature songs. The aching “I Will Always Love You” was about needing to strike out on her own without Wagoner, while the timeless, minor-key “Jolene” assumed the vulnerable vantage point of a woman confronting a romantic rival. (She had long mused that she may have written them on the same day, before walking that back later in her life.) In 1981, Parton landed her first pop No. 1 hit, the Oscar-nominated blue-collar anthem “9 to 5”, and co-starred in the comedy film of the same name. She then had the biggest smash of her career in 1983 with “Islands in the Stream”, an easy-going romantic duet with Kenny Rogers. Further collaborations—like her albums with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, plus cameos on songs by Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter and Miley Cyrus (her goddaughter)—expanded Parton’s legacy through the end of the 20th century and well into the 21st. Parton passed away in August 2026 at age 80.

Dolly Parton Essentials

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