The Atlas Obscura Podcast · Thursday, August 27, 2026
Dolly Parton's songwriting journey began in her childhood in East Tennessee, where music was a significant bright spot in a difficult life. Her mother's constant singing of Appalachian ballads inspired her, and she honed her craft by creating makeshift instruments and performing for chickens. Her uncle Bill was instrumental in helping her get early gigs and co-wrote her first demo.
“Lydia tells me that Dolly's songwriting life started really early. In fact, I remember reading that her grandfather once said about Dolly, that thing came here singing.”
“Dolly fashioned her own instruments out of broken mandolin parts or piano wire. And in her memoir, she described making a fake microphone by putting a tin can on a tobacco stick.”
“Dolly cut her first demo, which she co-wrote with Uncle Bill, and the day after she graduated from high school in 1964, she set out for Nashville.”