Dolly Parton's rags-to-riches-to-giving story

Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Today's Morning Edition music is from "My Tennessee Mountain Home" by Dolly Parton, who celebrates her 70th birthday Tuesday.
Parton was born in rural Tennessee, the fourth of 12 children. She says that her father paid the doctor who delivered her with a bag of oatmeal and that she grew up "dirt poor."
Today, Parton is worth an estimated $500 million. In 1995 she started the "Imagination Library" literacy program in honor of her father, who never learned to read. So far it has given away 70 million books to children around the world.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Dear reader,
Political debates with family or friends can get heated. But what if there was a way to handle them better?
You can learn how to have civil political conversations with our new e-book!
Download our free e-book, Talking Sense: Have Hard Political Conversations, Better, and learn how to talk without the tension.