Born on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, as one of 12 children, Dolly Parton‘s family struggled to make ends meet at times, but they were very close and the children grew up in a loving home where music was always present.

Dolly’s mom had a lovely voice and sang to her kids whenever she could. Dolly herself started singing at the church when she was very young and was always excited to see an instrument. Her love for the music was so strong, that her uncle Lewis decided to give her his little Martin guitar, and she considered it her treasure. Her other uncle, Bill, helped her get into the music business, and by the age of 10, Dolly had already performed on local TV and radio stations in Knoxville, Tennessee.

When she turned 13, Dolly made her debut on the national country radio station, Grand Ole Opry.

Dolly was the first person in her family to graduate from high school, but she didn’t attend college because she wanted to fully focus on her music career. “I had a dream,” she recalled. “And I had a talent, I thought. And I really believed it was going to happen.” And it did happen as Dolly Parton’s name is until this day one of the most famous names in the music industry.

She knew that if she wanted to be heard, she should move to the center of the country music, Nashville. There, she worked with Porter Wagoner on The Porter Wagoner Show, and the duo became very popular. It was the start of a career which spans decades. What’s most, Dolly doesn’t seem like she’s planning to slow down. She’s still writing music and performing, and that’s awesome because we can never have enough of her voice, her music, and her energy.

Speaking of one of her most famous songs, Jolene, Dolly shared the story behind the name. “One night, I was on stage, and there was this beautiful little girl — she was probably 8 years old at the time,” she told NPR Music. “And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph. I said, ‘Well, you’re the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?’ And she said, ‘Jolene.’ And I said, ‘Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. ‘That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about that.’”