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Few don’t know the name Dolly Parton, and that is for a good reason. The legendary performer has been a superstar for decades, and despite her age, she doesn’t seem to have any plans of quitting. At age 18, Parton had decided she would be a star – and it didn’t take long for her to fulfill her dream. Today, she is still living it.
Dolly Parton’s childhood wasn’t easy. As one of 12 children, there wasn’t a lot of money. Though, while she didn’t have much, she always wanted to look good and had gotten inspired by the “town tramp.”
However, that didn’t work out well with one of her family members. Speaking with The Guardian, Dolly Parton now reveals that her grandfather physically abused her over her appearance.
Dolly Parton has been around music all her life, and nothing seems to stop her from doing what she loves most.
She was born on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains. She grew up somewhat poor: as one of 12 children, money was quite an issue.
Dolly Parton – early life
However, music became something her family gathered around. Her mother sang and played guitar, and when Parton performed in church at a young age, she started to learn more about music.
“Music was such a large part of our whole family,” Parton recalled. “All of my mama’s people were musical. They all played some sort of musical instrument. Of course, I took my music really seriously, and I was always plucking along on somebody’s instrument — whatever they would leave lying around or whenever my family would come. But I always loved the guitar.”
Family and music walked hand in hand with the Partons, and her uncles helped her take the next step.
Dolly Parton got her own guitar from one of her uncles. Before long, she began to write her own songs.
By age 10, she had performed on several local television and radio stations in Knoxville, Tennessee, and at age 13, she made her debut on the national country radio station Grand Ole Opry. At the time, she was making about $20 a week.
I had two uncles who played — Uncle Bill, who helped me get into the business, and Uncle Lewis, who was also a great guitar player,” she said. “He had this little Martin guitar that I loved, so when he saw how serious I was about my music, he gave me his little Martin guitar. It was my treasure.”
Dolly Parton has always been interested in fashion, and time and time again she has amazed her fans with her striking looks and outfits.
Dolly Parton reveals her grandfather “whipped” her over her appearance
When she was young, her interest in clothing and being sure of her looks was very much acting. Partn took inspiration from a local woman, called the “town tramp,” who wore tight skirts and high heels. Dolly would always look out for her when out on the town, hopefully seeing something cool the woman was wearing.
“She was flamboyant, she had bright red lipstick, long red fingernails. She had high-heeled shoes, little floating plastic goldfish in the heels of them, short skirts, low-cut tops, and I just thought she was beautiful. When people would say, ‘She ain’t nothing but trash,’ I would always say, ‘Well, that’s what I’m gonna be when I grow up,’” Dolly Parton told The Guardian.
However, looking different – or, in Dolly Parton’s case, glamorous – wasn’t something everyone appreciated. Not least her father, her grandfather, and a preacher.
While her father didn’t like it, he never did something about Dolly’s choice of appearance. But tragically, her grandfather did and physically abused her.
“I was willing to pay for it,” Dolly Parton revealed. “I’m very sensitive, I didn’t like being disciplined – it hurt my feelings so bad to be scolded or whipped or whatever. But sometimes there’s just that part of you that’s willing, if you want something bad enough, to go for it.”
Many years later, in 2011, she wrote a song about it, The Sacrifice.
“it kind of sums it up,” she added. It says, ‘I was gonna be rich no matter how much it cost / And I was going to win no matter how much I lost / Down through the years I’ve kept my eye on the prize / And you ask if it’s worth the sacrifice.’ I think it is, for me.”
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