Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.

I’m Jans your Mnemonic Man and today’s episode our 100 episode is on one of the most loveable people on the planet Dolly Parton. Why I say this, is because there is actually research on Dolly Parton’s likeability, which is represented by her extremely high “Q” score, which is a marketing tool in regard to how well-known and liked a celebrity is.

I for one have very strong memories of Dolly when I was a child, as for every road trip we went on, we had a choice of two tapes. One was Dolly Parton and the other was Chad Morgan. For those that don’t know; Chad Morgan is an Australian country singer, who has the most interesting array of teeth, and he is actually still alive and performing today at the age of 90. If you want check him out. Check out his performance at Tamworth 2022 with his song “There’s Life In The Old Dog Yet”.

But getting back to Dolly Parton, she has done everything from singing, songwriting, acting and business, and all done with a joy and smile on her face that has endeared her to millions of people worldwide.

Today’s mnemonic is on Dolly’s top 7 songs.

So, with no further ado, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Young-Dolly-Parton.jpg

Wikipedia Summary

Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her decades-long career in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album debut in 1967 with Hello, I'm Dolly, which led to success during the remainder of the 1960s (both as a solo artist and with a series of duet albums with Porter Wagoner), before her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Parton's albums in the 1990s did not sell as well, but she achieved commercial success again in the new millennium and has released albums on various independent labels since 2000, including her own label, Dolly Records.

With a career spanning over fifty years, Parton has been described as a "country music legend" and has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female artists of all time. Parton's music includes Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)-certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards. She has had 25 singles reach no. 1 on the Billboard country music charts, a record for a female artist (tied with Reba McEntire). She has 44 career Top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and she has 110 career-charted singles over the past 40 years. She has composed over 3,000 songs, including "I Will Always Love You" (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper, and an international pop hit for Whitney Houston), "Jolene", "Coat of Many Colors", and "9 to 5". As an actress, she has starred in films including 9 to 5 (1980) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), for which she earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress, and Rhinestone (1984), Steel Magnolias (1989), Straight Talk (1992) and Joyful Noise (2012).

She has received 11 Grammy Awards out of 50 nominations, including the Lifetime Achievement Award; ten Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year and is one of only seven female artists to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year Award; five Academy of Country Music Awards, also including Entertainer of the Year; four People's Choice Awards; and three American Music Awards. She is also in a select group to have received at least one nomination from the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards. In 1999, Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2005, she received the National Medal of Arts and in 2022, she was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a nomination she had initially declined but ultimately accepted, and was subsequently inducted.

Outside of her work in the music industry, she also co-owns The Dollywood Company, which manages a number of entertainment venues including the Dollywood theme park, the Splash Country water park, and a number of dinner theatre venues such as The Dolly Parton Stampede and Pirates Voyage. She has founded a number of charitable and philanthropic organizations, chief among them is the Dollywood Foundation, which manages a number of projects to bring education and poverty relief to East Tennessee where she grew up.

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Parton]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dolly_Parton_@_Lanxess-Arena_(K%C3%B6ln).jpg

Mnemonic

Dolly Parton – Top 7 Songs Mnemonic – CHILIN with Jolene

(Picture Dolly chillin with her friend Jolene begging of her to please don’t take her man)

Coat of Many Colours
Here You Come Again
Islands in the Stream
Love is Like a Butterfly
I Will Always Love You
9 to 5
Jolene

Five Fun Facts

1. Dolly Parton was the fourth child born to Robert and Avie Lee Parton of Sevierville, Tennessee. They paid the doctor who delivered her with grain. They must have had a big farm as they went on to have 12 children in total!

2. The second fact gives some idea as to how popular and successful Dolly Parton is. She has had 27 songs reach number 1 on the Billboard country charts which is the most of any female artist. She had had 42 career Top 10 country albums, the most of anyone, and she has had 110 charted singles over the past 40 years. Along with this she has also been nominated for two Academy Awards for best original song. First for “9 to 5” in 1980 and secondly for “Travelin Thru” in 2005.

3. Parton’s first crush was no other than the “Man in Black” Johnny Cash who she saw perform at Nashville’s Grand Ole” Opry.

4. 9 to 5 was a big hit for Dolly along with the movie which was the highest grossing comedy of 1980. The musical of 9 to 5 then opened in 2009 on Broadway and subsequently received five Tony awards.

5. The song “I Will Always Love You” which was written by Dolly back in 1973 was a big hit for her and of course was covered beautifully by Whitney Houston. But someone else wanted to record this song, and that was Elvis the Pelvis who also insisted on the copyright (a bit greedy). Dolly refused and Elvis was left “All Shook Up”, “Crying in the Chapel” in his “Blue Suede Shoes”.

6. Bonus Fact: Dolly’s theme park, Dollywood is the largest employer in Sevier County and her charity “Imagination Library” provides free books to pre-schoolers.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dolly_Parton_en_escena_2014_2.jpg

Three Question Quiz

Q.1. Dolly Parton modelled her look after the “town tramp.” True or False

Q.2. Which famous song did Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers sing together? And who wrote that song?

Q.3. Approximately how many songs did Dolly Parton say she wrote since the age of seven? Options are 1,000, 3,000 or 5,000

Bonus Q. What is the name of Dolly Parton’s husband who she married in 1966? Hint: His initials are C & D

Bonus Q. Dolly Parton is the godmother of which famous musician?

Bonus Q. Was Dolly the world’s first cloned sheep named after Dolly Parton? True or False

Mnemonic Recap

Dolly Parton – Top 7 Songs Mnemonic – CHILIN with Jolene

(Picture Dolly chillin with her friend Jolene begging of her to please don’t take her man)

Coat of Many Colours
Here You Come Again
Islands in the Stream
Love is Like a Butterfly
I Will Always Love You
9 to 5
Jolene

Three Question Quiz Answers

Q.1. Dolly Parton modelled her look after the “town tramp.” True or false

A. True - In an interview, Parton openly brings up the topic of money, "I made a lot of money, and I need a lot of money, because it costs a lot of money to look this cheap," she said with a laugh. Bob Edwards, "Dolly Parton's Stairway to Success,"
NPR, September 24, 2002.

Q.2. Which famous song did Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers sing together? Who wrote that song?

A. Islands in the Stream in 1983 which was written by the Bee Gees

Now, just in regards to this song, I must mention the well-known incident that happened when she was performing one of those famous duets with Kenny Rogers, where Dolly actually passed out on stage. Anyway, after all the commotion settled, apparently, it took four guys to carry her off … two abreast!

Q.3. Approximately how many songs did Dolly Parton say she wrote since the age of seven? Options are 1,000, 3,000 or 5,000

A. 5,000

Bonus Q. What is the name of Dolly Parton’s husband who she married in 1966? Hint: His initials are C & D

A. Carl Thomas Dean who was a construction worker. Dolly and Carl met at a launderette.

Bonus Q. Dolly Parton is the godmother of which famous musician?

A. Miley Cyrus

Bonus Q. Was Dolly the world’s first cloned sheep named after Dolly Parton? True or False

A. Yes. When the Scientist Ian Wilmut was asked about the name choice for the world's first cloned sheep, he 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."

Word of the Week

egalitarian

[ ih-gal-i-tair-ee-uhn ]

adjective

asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, especially in political, economic, or social life.

Example

Dolly’s egalitarian nature comes through in her music.

Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]

Website: https://www.themnemonictreepodcast.com/

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References