Dolly Parton photo courtesy of Dolly Records.

Dolly Parton is one of country music’s greatest ambassadors, someone who uses her curvy physique for self-directed humor but is able to write songs of great depth and significance. From her birth into poverty to her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, she’s lived an improbable story, from the rags her mother sewed to the riches she’s stitched together in a successful entertainment career. Follow the history of GAC’s Artist of the Month in Dolly by the Decade:

1940s
• Jan. 1946 Dolly is born in Sevier County, Tennessee, one of 12 kids raised by a poor, Appalachian tobacco farmer and his often-ill wife.

1950s
Key track: "Puppy Love"
• April 1959 Goldband Records issues Dolly’s first single, "Puppy Love."

1960s
Key tracks: "The Last Thing On My Mind"
• May 1964 Dolly graduates from high school and moves to Nashville the next day.

• May 1966 She marries Carl Dean two years after they met in a laundromat.

• Oct. 1967 She begins appearing on Porter Wagoner’s TV show and records with him for the first time. Among their first
recordings: "The Last Thing On My Mind."

• Oct. 1968 Porter & Dolly win their first Country Music Association award as Vocal Group of the Year.

• Jan. 1969 She joins the Grand Ole Opry.

• April 1969 Porter becomes the first artist to record "Coat Of Many Colors."

Dolly Parton photo courtesy of Dolly Records.

• April 1971 She records "Coat Of Many Colors."

• June 1973 She records "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" on successive days.

• Feb. 1974 She announces she’s leaving Porter for a solo career.

• June 1974 Dolly performs her last concert with Porter.

• Sept. 1975 Dolly gets together with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt for the first time.

• Oct. 1975 She wins her first CMA Female Vocalist award.

• July 1976 The Nashville Banner reports Dolly has signed with a Los Angeles management firm. The move becomes a point of controversy on Music Row.

• Sept. 1976 "Dolly," a a syndicated TV show, debuts.

• May 1977 Dolly begins a three-night stand at the Bottom Line in New York, performing for audiences that include Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen and John Belushi. Days later, she performs in Scotland for the Queen of England.

• June 1977 She records "Here You Come Again."

• Jan. 1978 Dolly, Linda and Emmylou announce plans to record an album.

• Oct. 1978 Dolly wins the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year. Her dress splits as she heads to the podium to accept the award.

• May 1979 A highway in Sevier County is renamed the Dolly Parton Parkway.