Dolly Parton is 77 today!
In 1996, scientists named the world's first cloned mammal -- a sheep -- after Dolly Parton. When asked about the name choice, Scientist Ian Wilmut said, "Dolly is derived from a mammary gland cell, and we couldn't think of a more impressive pair of glands than Dolly Parton's.”
Parton has been married to asphalt-paving business owner Carl Dean since May 30, 1966. She admits to staying faithful despite calling herself a flirt. "He knows I'm a flirt and a tease but it's harmless," said Parton. "I've never met the man that would take his place.
Dolly’s birth was paid for with a sack of oatmeal
Her family -- which included 11 siblings, herself the fourth -- was extremely poor when she was growing up in the backwoods of Tennessee's Great Smokey Mountains. "You know they always talk about two rooms and a bath? We had two rooms and a path. We'd have running water when we'd run to get it," Parton said. "We didn't have any electricity ... if fireflies were out, we'd catch them in a mason jar and put them in our bedroom!”
She once lost a Dolly Parton lookalike contest. "I just over-exaggerated my look and went in and just walked up on stage. I didn't win. I didn't even come in close, I don't think," she said.
She refused to sell Elvis Presley the publishing rights to her hit 'I Will Always Love You.' Elvis' manager called Parton the day before the recording session and told her that he and Presley wouldn't record any songs that they didn't have at least half of the publishing rights to. "It had nothing to do with Elvis, because hopefully he was disappointed too, but I just wouldn't let him have the publishing," said Parton.
Since she was 7-years-old, Parton has written approximately 5,000 songs. Parton considers herself a writer first and foremost -- singing has always come second. According to her website, Parton writes a song every two or three days, and she always makes time to write on her birthday. She wrote her first song about her corn-cob doll. She was not able to write yet, so her mother had to copy the lyrics for her.
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