Dolly Parton was all-American. Born into the dirt-poor Tennessee hills of the Great Smokey Mountains, her upbringing reflected the indigent nature of country life in the South, even as the urban and suburban United States reaped the rewards of peacetime. Her father was, among other things, a tobacco farmer but struggled to support his wife and 12 children, all but one of whom survived infancy. It was a childhood steeped in hard work, mountain wisdom, and most important of all, the Bible.

Dolly Parton’s fame and fortune were built on talent, toil, personality and moral character

Dolly Parton’s fame and fortune were built on talent, toil, personality and moral character

But unlike some country singers, Parton did not wallow in her hardscrabble childhood. In fact, she considered herself to have been rich in love, if lacking in money, a theme she sketched out in her 1971 song “Coat of Many Colors.” Drawing on a true story from her girlhood, Parton recounted how her mother turned a box of multicolored fabric scraps into a winter coat for her daughter. “Momma sewed the rags together/Sewin’ every piece with love/She made my coat of many colors/That I was so proud of.”........

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