Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A larger-than-life new biography of country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton.

In Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton, Martha Ackmann chronicles the life of an American Original. From her impoverished childhood in the Smoky Mountains to international stardom as a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist, Dolly Parton has exceeded everyone's expectations except her own. During a time when the Beatles set the standard for contemporary music, Dolly appeared on a local country music television show that her high school classmates thought was pure cornpone. The day after her high school graduation, she boarded a bus for Nashville, but record executives turned her down. One said her voice sounded like a screech owl.

When Dolly finally got her foot in the door, her talent and focus catapulted her to the top of country charts, the pop world, and movie stardom. Yet her success came at a price. Shunned by many in Nashville who saw her ambition as a betrayal of her country music roots, Dolly became the target of death threats, lawsuits, and a judge who threatened to throw her in jail. She nearly collapsed on-stage and later succumbed to depression that pushed her to the brink, but she refused to be counted out and came back stronger than ever developing Dollywood, the amusement park that became the economic engine of East Tennessee, and founding the Imagination Library that provides free books to children around the world. Her philanthropy to health organizations led to creation of the Moderna COVID vaccine. And, finally, she returned to her roots, recording bluegrass albums that became the most celebrated of her unparalleled 60-year career.

Ain't Nobody's Fool is a deep dive into the social, historical, and personal forces that made Dolly Parton one of the most beloved and unifying figures in public life and includes interviews with friends, family members, school mates, Nashville neighbors, members of her band, studio musicians, producers, and many others. It also features never before seen photographs and unearthed documents shedding light on her family's hardscrabble life. More than anything, Martha Ackmann's fresh and animated new book proves Dolly Parton knows just who she is and she ain't nobody's fool.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Journalist Ackmann (These Fevered Days) traces the life of country music great Dolly Parton in this illuminating biography. Born in a log cabin in poverty-stricken East Tennessee in 1946, Parton expressed her musical interest early on, tapping out beats to her mother while snapping green beans and singing "to an audience of barnyard animals." She began performing on TV and the radio in high school, but her breakthrough came after she moved to Nashville and landed a gig on The Porter Wagoner Show, where she performed until 1974. Ackmann spotlights the relentless "drive and determination" that propelled Parton to fame, and delves into such formative career decisions as holding on to the rights to "I Will Always Love You" when Elvis Presley asked to record a cover, earning her millions of dollars in royalties. Ackmann also details Parton's personal and professional setbacks, and chronicles her later-in-life efforts to remain relevant in an industry that glorifies "new artists at the expense of veterans." The biography's strength lies in its studious attention to how Parton's childhood shaped her career, as evidenced in both her songs ("Coat of Many Colors" references Parton's being bullied over a patchwork jacket made by her mother) and her philanthropic efforts (Imagination Library, a literary-focused philanthropy, is "a testament to her father's lifelong struggle with illiteracy"). The result is a well-rounded portrait of Parton that's firmly grounded in her Smoky Mountain roots. (Dec.)