Dolly Parton began performing as a child, singing on local radio and TV programs in Tennessee, including The Cas Walker Show. At 13, she recorded her single “Puppy Love” with a small Louisiana label Goldband Records, and appeared at the Grand Ole Opry where she first met Johnny Cash. After graduating high school, she was successful in Nashville as a songwriter, singing with Combine Publishing. With her frequent songwriting partner, her uncle Bill Owens, she wrote several singles that charted during this time, including Bill Plillips’s “Put It Off Until Tomorrow” and Skeeter Davis’s “Fuel to the Flame.” She signed with Monument Records in 1965 at age 19, where she was made to sing pop even though she wanted to record country, and eventually ended up unsuccessful. Monument finally gave in, and she recorded her first country single “Dumb Blonde”, which reached 24 on the country chart; her next single “Something Fishy” reaching 17. In 1967, musician and country music entertainer Porter Wagoner invited Parton to join his organization and offered her a regular spot on The Porter Wagoner Show. She signed with his label RCA Victor, where her and Porter released a duet which reached the country top 10, followed by a six-year streak of uninterrupted top-10 singles for the duo. Wagoner was frustrated after her failure in the solo chart. After her cover of “Mule Skinner Blues” that shot to number three, the next two years were filled with hits. Her biggest hit of this period was “Jolene” in 1973, topping the country charts in 1974. After making the decision to leave Wagoner’s organization to pursue her solo career, her song “I Will Always Love You” was released and went to 1 on the country chart, written about her professional break from Wagoner. Her song was popularized in 1992 by Whitney Houston, the single spending 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts and is one of the best-selling singles of all time. Parton composed “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” in the same songwriting session, stating “Buddy, that was a good night.” Dolly continues to have success in her music today. She also wrote the score for 9 to 5: The Musical, opening on Broadway in 2009. Aside from music, she has many other successful ventures. She is the co-owner of Dollywood, a theme park in Tennessee with nearly 3 million guests per season. In addition, she was a co-owner of Sandollar Productions, before announcing her new production company would be called Dixie Pixie Productions, producing the movies-of-week in development with NBC and Magnolia Hill Productions. She was also successful in her acting career, appearing in many movies and on television. Since the mid-1980s, Dolly has supported many charitable efforts, particularly in literacy and education. Her Dollywood Foundation offers scholarships to high school students, runs the Imagination Library, and runs the My People Fund. Her Imagination library sends a free book every month to any enrolled child from the time of their birth until kindergarten. She has sent over 100 million books to children, currently with 850,000 children receiving books every month. Through the My People Fund, Dolly donated $1000 per month to all families who lost their homes in the Great Smoky Mountains wildfires. The Dollywood Foundation has been noted for brining jobs and tax revenues to a previously depressed region. Dolly has also worked to raise money for several other causes, included the Red Cross and HIV/AIDS related charities. In 2006, she pledged $500,000 toward a proposed hospital and cancer center to be constructed in the name of the physician who delivered her. She also announced a benefit concert to raise additional funds for the project. Dolly is one of the most-honored female country performers of all time and has spent her life giving back to others less fortunate than her.