Her parents were so poor that all they could afford to pay the doctor a sack of oatmeal.

Dolly was born on January 19, 1946, in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Pittman Center, a very small community in Sevier County in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.

Dolly Parton had 11 brothers and sisters, many of whom would also have careers in show business. In order of birth, the six boys and six girls were named Willadeene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Dolly Rebecca, Bobby Lee, Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randel Huston, Larry Gerald, Estel Floyd, and twins Freida Estelle and Rachel Ann.

Parton first laid eyes on the Man in Black as a young teen singing at Nashville's Grand Ole' Opry. "I was sitting in the audience and that's when I first knew about sex appeal," Parton told Nightline. "He had this tick when he moved his shoulder ... and it still gets to me."

Initially, much of Wagoner's audience was unhappy that Norma Jean had left the show and was reluctant to accept Parton (sometimes chanting loudly for Norma Jean from the audience). But with Wagoner's assistance, Dolly soon won over the crowd and became a fan favorite herself.

In "The Bargain Store", second-hand merchandise in a discount store is used as a metaphor for a woman emotionally damaged by an ill-fated relationship.

Parton told NPR a redheaded bank teller with a "terrible crush" on her husband inspired "Jolene". "He just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention," Parton said. "It was kinda like a running joke between us ... I was saying, 'Hell, you're spending a lot of time at the bank. I don't believe we've got that kind of money.'"

Hosting nearly 3 million guests in a typical season, Dollywood is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee.

In 2013-14, Miley's behavior generated a considerable amount of controversy, but Dolly said of her goddaughter "The girl can write. The girl can sing. The girl is smart. And she doesn't have to be so drastic. But I will respect her choices. I did it my way, so why can't she do it her way?"

When asked about the name choice for the world's first cloned sheep, Scientist Ian Wilmut said, "Dolly is derived from a mammary gland cell, and we couldn't think of a more impressive pair of glands than Dolly Parton's."