VA - Just Because I'm A Woman - Songs Of Dolly Parton (2003)

It's difficult to find a country performer who has moved from her country roots to international fame more successfully than Dolly Parton. Her autobiographical single "Coat Of Many Colors" reveals the poverty of growing up one of 12 children on a rundown farm in Locust Ridge, Tennessee. At the age of 12, she was appearing on Knoxville television; at 13, she was recording on a small label and appearing on the Grand Ole Opry.

Her 1967 hit "Dumb Blonde" (which she's not) caught Porter Wagoner's ear, and he hired Parton to appear on his television show, where their duet numbers became famous. By the time her song "Joshua" reached number one in 1970, Parton's fame had overshadowed her boss' and she struck out on her own.

During the mid-70's, she established herself as a country superstar, and crossed over into the pop mainstream in the early 80's when she smoothed out the rough edges in her music and began singing pop as well as country.

At the same time, she also began appearing in movies, most notably the hit 9 To 5. Over the ensuing decades, Parton maintained mainstream stardom, balancing records and stage shows with film, books, and other multimedia projects, alongside charitable activities.

When country radio turned away from veterans, she started to regularly record albums that reconnected with her bluegrass and country roots, occasionally returning to country-pop and also seizing the opportunity to expand her purview, as she did on "Rockstar", a sprawling, guest-laden 2023 double-album recorded to commemorate her 2022 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.