Dolly Parton

An internationally renowned icon of American music, Dolly Parton is one of her country's most versatile and best-loved entertainers. Born on a farm in the hardscrabble hill country of Eastern Tennessee, she sang and wrote songs from early childhood. By age ten, she was singing on a radio station in nearby Knoxville. The day after she graduated from high school, she headed for Nashville, with a portfolio of original songs. Her career took off when country star Porter Wagoner featured her on his syndicated TV show and in a memorable series of recorded duets. Parton quickly blossomed into one of the best-selling artists in country music history, writing such classic songs as "Coat of Many Colors," "Jolene" and the mega-hit "I Will Always Love You." She moved from music to movies with acclaimed roles in the films Nine to Five and Steel Magnolias. She has also enjoyed success on television as host of her own weekly program and a popular series of Christmas specials. In 1986, she opened the amusement park Dollywood at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains. Today, it is Tennessee's number one tourist attraction, receiving millions of visitors and employing thousands in a historically impoverished region. In addition to her business ventures, she has created the Dollywood Foundation and Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which provides millions of books to pre-school children across the United States and Canada. The most honored female country performer of all time, she has received seven Grammy Awards -- including the Award for Lifetime Achievement, as well as Kennedy Center honors and the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given by the U.S. government for excellence in the arts. This podcast was recorded at historic Hoover Dam, during the evening ceremonies of the Academy of Achievement's 1992 Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada. It opens with a short audio montage of Parton's musical career. In her address to the Academy's student delegates, she discusses her career in music and film, her personal definition of success, and the qualities of conviction and perseverance that success requires.