Dolly Parton is a natural storyteller whose family is full of yarn spinners hailing from the Smoky Mountains region of Tennessee.

Dolly was born to Robert Lee Parton and Avie Lee Owens in January 1946. She was the fourth of 12 children and grew up living an impoverished life, where electricity, heat and toilets were often luxuries. The family would rely on resourcefulness in staying warm during harsh winters and finding ways to stretch meals when money was tight. As she grew up, Dolly remained almost unflappable despite financial woes and her parents’ occasional domestic troubles.

"Ackmann has penned an impressive biography about a pioneer in the music business whose talent, strength and independence are admired and justifiably saluted by her contemporaries and successors."

A song sung to Dolly by one of her aunts stuck with her throughout her youth and sparked her passion for crooning. She viewed music as another way to tell a story and retained a strong lyrical affinity throughout her life. Family members, such as her Uncle Bill Owens, were early promoters of her singing, and she found success performing on the radio and recording songs with Eddie Shuler. While those appearances garnered her attention, they also led to resentment from classmates.

After graduating high school, Dolly knew that her future was in country music. So in 1964, she boldly moved to Nashville to launch her career. That year proved to be a pivotal one as she met her future husband, Carl Dean. Their marriage lasted nearly 60 years (until his death in 2025), the key being a deep love and abiding respect for each other. Carl knew that Dolly’s talent would take her places, yet he preferred to be in the background as she took center stage. He was the stalwart partner who awaited her return to their Tennessee home after each grueling tour.

Dolly received her big break when she joined “The Porter Wagoner Show” in 1967. She performed duets with Wagoner on the program and soon got a recording deal with RCA. While working with Wagoner, Dolly became prolific in her songwriting and released over a dozen albums. One of the reasons for their eventual split was their differing ideas as Dolly began to shift more towards pop music.

As the ’70s ended, Dolly became more assertive in her career and wanted the right management to guide her path. The ’80s witnessed her skyrocketing popularity with her role in the empowering comedy 9 to 5, along with the movie’s theme song that she wrote. As the decades have passed, her music has continued to resonate with a wide audience, and her influence is unquestioned.

The story told in AIN’T NOBODY’S FOOL is both enlightening and entertaining. In her more than six decades in the music industry and show business, Dolly Parton has shown herself to be a versatile singer and performer. As deftly illustrated by author Martha Ackmann, Dolly is an artist with an innate knack for songwriting, the lyrics coming to her faster than she can write them down. She also is shown to be a shrewd businesswoman, whether it be her decision not to sell her rights to “I Will Always Love You” to Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley, or her involvement in her amusement park, Dollywood.

Ackmann has penned an impressive biography about a pioneer in the music business whose talent, strength and independence are admired and justifiably saluted by her contemporaries and successors.