Dolly Parton, legendary US country singer, dies aged 80
She was the grande dame of country. Someone every songwriter and performer looked up to. A force of nature. A true one of a kind.
One of 12 children, she grew up in “dirt poor” poverty on a rundown farm in Tennessee; but her life changed when her uncle Bill Owens gave her a guitar at the age of seven.
Before long, she was a regular radio performer. She made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry in 1959, introduced by Johnny Cash, at the age of 13.
Her initial attempts at a recording career weren’t successful, however. Early songs like Puppy Love and Happy, Happy Birthday Baby failed to chart.
But after she teamed up with country star Porter Wagoner for the 1968 duet The Last Thing on My Mind, she broke into the country music top 10, kick-starting a six year streak of hits.
The song’s she’ll be remembered for, however, are the ones she wrote herself. Songs like Jolene, Coat of Many Colours and I Will Always Love You. Honest, sincere, and authentic, she captured the trials and tribulations of life in a way that was always relatable, even when her stage outfits and her hairstyle remained larger than life.
| dame | dáma / hölgy |
| to look up to | felnézni valakire |
| one of a kind | egyedülálló / páratlan |
| poverty | szegénység |
| rundown farm | lepusztult tanya |
| to make one’s debut | debütálni / bemutatkozni |
| initial attempts at | kezdeti próbálkozások |
| to team up with | összefogni valakivel |
| to capture | megragadni / elfogni |
| trials and tribulations | megpróbáltatások |
| relatable | azonosulható / közel álló hozzánk |
