Dolly Parton

In the first entirely new major biography of Dolly Parton for over 15 years, Stephen Miller goes behind the larger-than-life image to find out what makes Dolly Parton tick. A self-made woman in every sense, Dolly arrived on the Nashville scene as a solo performer bedecked with lurid outfits and exaggerated accessories designed to get her noticed. Later she would bring the same approach to rebuilding her face and figure, but behind the showbiz excesses were always the exquisite voice and an exceptional songwriting talent.
Talking to Dolly’s family members, musicians and producers Miller gets to the core of a remarkable woman from a poor East Tennessee background who made it in the male-dominated world of 1960s Nashville and went on to build a respectable movie career as well.
Dolly Parton’s private life has been the source of endless speculation in the press and this new biography throws light on Dolly’s mysterious and closely guarded relationships with her husband of nearly forty years, Carl Dean, and her lifelong friend Judy Ogle. Also investigated is Dolly’s ongoing use of cosmetic surgery and the question of how much longer she will be able to submit herself to the surgeon’s scalpel in her obsessive drive to maintain her larger-than-life image.


The most famous woman ever to have emerged from the American country music scene, Dolly Parton’s iconic cartoon image – mountainous blonde wigs, pumped up boobs, dazzling over-the-top outfits and five inch heels – is instantly recognised in most parts of the world. However, anyone who assumes Dolly Parton is some airhead hick from the sticks would be making a great mistake. She is an exceptionally talented singer, songwriter and businesswoman who has achieved enormous success in many fields well beyond the confines of country music.
In researching Smart Blonde, Stephen Miller spoke to many people who have been involved in all aspects of Parton’s life – family members, musicians and producers who have worked with her over the years as well as those who have been involved in the business side of things – to reach the core of the person underneath all the make-up. How was it that a girl from a genuinely poor East Tennessee background with few advantages was so determined to succeed that by the age of ten she was appearing on radio and television? And how was she then able to shrug aside the male dominated world of Nashville in the nineteen sixties, take hold of her career, sell millions of albums and get to appear on the silver screen with the likes of Jane Fonda, Burt Reynolds and Sylvester Stallone? Her image as a hugely popular gay icon will also be considered.
What emerges is a unique portrait of a strong woman who came to town looking like a burlesque hooker but who took control of her life, her music and her career with resolute determination. The funniest jokes about her appearance were always the ones Dolly told herself, and perhaps the best joke of all has been how one of America’s greatest singer-songwriters became a legend by being serious about her music while being frivolous about her image.