with a friendly greeting to the crowd and a thank-you to the governor She sang Rocky Top an upbeat bluegrass tune In her speech Parton spoke about four principles dream more learn more care more and be more These principles are the basis of her thriving reading program for children Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library She told that year’s graduates to not confuse dreams with wishes There is a difference Dreams are where you visualize Parton performs at the Thompson Boling Arena She plays many musical instruments during concerts including guitar piano and banjo yourself being successful at what’s important to you to accomplish Dreams build convictions because you work hard to pay the price to make sure that they come true Parton didn’t come from a wealthy family She grew up with eleven siblings in a two-room log cabin in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains Her dreams drive and talent all combined to turn her into a music superstar a Hollywood actor and a household name in the US But Parton is also known for having a big heart and helping others especially children She’s done that in many ways
Growing Up in the Great Smoky Mountains Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19 1946 in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee She was the fourth child of Avie Lee Owens and Robert Lee Parton After Dolly the couple had eight more children Dolly had five sisters and six brothers Dolly’s father was illiterate he couldn’t read or write He grew up with fourteen siblings When he was a child his family needed him to work so he didn’t go to school Though Robert Lee Parton lacked formal education The Great Smoky Mountains
he was intelligent and hardworking He grew crops such as beans corn and tobacco He also worked as a construction laborer Avie Lee Parton was a preacher’s daughter Her father Jake Owens was the pastor of a church that Dolly attended as a child At the age of six Dolly began singing and performing at her grandfather’s church The Partons lived a modest life The walls of their two-room home were covered with floral wallpaper and newspaper Their clothes food and toys were homemade as was most of their entertainment Electricity hadn’t yet reached this rural area of Tennessee but the Partons had a battery-powered radio Tennessee Mountain Home at the Dollywood theme park is a reproduction of the home where Dolly Parton grew up
Music was an important part of the family’s life According to Dolly her mother was always singing particularly English Irish and Welsh folk songs that European immigrants had brought to the United States The songs often told stories Ever since Dolly was a small child she has had a talent for songwriting and rhyme She created her first song about her corncob doll around the age of five Little Tiny Tasseltop had just twelve lines and described how much she Most mandolins have pear-shaped bodies and four to six strings loved the doll that her mother had made for her Avie Lee Parton wrote down the lyrics for her daughter In the evenings after dinner the Parton family would sit on the porch play instruments and sing songs At seven years old Dolly made a guitar out of an old mandolin and two bass guitar strings She later wrote Most of us in the household learned to play early on Every time anybody would show up any uncle or aunt who knew how to play an instrument I’d have them show me how to play a little bit on the banjo the guitar an autoharp or whatever instrument was around
