Latest / Spotlight English: Advanced / Dolly Parton: The Queen of Country Music (Advanced Program)

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Dolly Parton: The Queen of Country Music (Advanced Program) · Spotlight English: Advanced

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Megan Nolet.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: And I'm Colin Lowther. Spotlight uses a special English method
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: matter where in the world they live.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Her family was poor. Her mother knew she needed a
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: coat for the winter. but they did not have the
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  Speaker 1: money to buy her a coat. Her mother took old
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  Speaker 1: pieces of material that were different colors, and she sewed
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: the different pieces together with thread. She made a coat
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: for her daughter. The little girl proudly wore her new
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  Speaker 1: coat to school. She showed it to all the children.
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  Speaker 1: She told them her mother had made it for her.
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  Speaker 1: She said, It reminded her of the story in the
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  Speaker 1: Christian Bible of Joseph, who wore a coat of many colors.
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  Speaker 1: But the other children laughed at her coat. They knew
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  Speaker 1: it was just old pieces of material sewn together. It
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  Speaker 1: was not a new coat. They did not think it
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  Speaker 1: looked good. But the little girl was still proud of it.
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  Speaker 1: She thought, It was the most beautiful coat in the
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  Speaker 1: world because her mother had made it for her.
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  Speaker 2: Today's Spotlight looks at the famous singer Dolly Parton. Parton
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  Speaker 2: sang country music. Country music started in the southern United
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  Speaker 2: States in the early 20th century. The songs celebrate small-town
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  Speaker 2: life in southern cities and states. The stories often deal
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  Speaker 2: with love, loss, and faith.
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  Speaker 1: Parton was born in 1946. She grew up in a
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  Speaker 1: small two-room wood house in the Great Smoky Mountains in
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  Speaker 1: the state of Tennessee. The little house had a room
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  Speaker 1: to prepare food and one bedroom that Parton shared with
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  Speaker 1: her parents and 11 brothers and sisters. Parton's house had
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: no electricity or running water. Parton and her family caught
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: fireflies in glass containers. Scientists classify fireflies as beetles rather
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: than true bugs or flies. Fireflies make a soft light.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: The Parton family used the fireflies they caught for lights
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  Speaker 1: around the house at night.
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  Speaker 2: Parton's father, Robert Lee, was a farmer. Parton later said
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  Speaker 2: that her father was the hardest worker she ever met.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Her mother, A.V. Lee, cooked, cleaned and took care of
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  Speaker 2: the children. She also taught Parton to sing. Parton began
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: singing on their front steps. At six years old, Parton
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: started singing in their church.
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  Speaker 1: There were several talented musicians in Parton's family. Her great-grandfather
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: and grandfather were both skilled musicians. Her mother's brother, Bill Owens,
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: played an instrument called the guitar.
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  Speaker 2: Owens was a singer and songwriter. He taught Parton how
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: to play guitar when she was eight years old. Owens
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  Speaker 2: got Parton the chance to perform on a local radio
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: show called the Kaz Walker Farm and Home Hour. Later,
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  Speaker 2: the show became a television program. Parton became well-known in
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: the area. Owens and Parton started writing songs together.
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  Speaker 3: Parton said, He taught me the guitar because he saw
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: early on that I was serious about my singing.
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  Speaker 1: A local record company named Gold Band Records asked Parton
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: to record the song Puppy Love in their recording studio.
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  Speaker 1: The success of this song led to Parton performing at
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  Speaker 1: the Grand Ole Opry for the first time in 1959.
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  Speaker 1: She was 13 years old.
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  Speaker 2: Parton had dreamed of singing at the Grand Ole Opry
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  Speaker 2: since she was a little girl. The Grand Ole Opry
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  Speaker 2: is the longest-running live radio broadcast in United States history.
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  Speaker 2: It started in 1925. For generations, families gathered around their
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: radios to listen to the live performances at the Grand
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  Speaker 2: Ole Opry. Many singers who sang at the Grand Ole
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: Opry went on to become famous. Parton later said, After
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  Speaker 2: Parton finished high school, she and Owens.
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  Speaker 3: Moved to Nashville, Tennessee to sing and write songs. On
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  Speaker 3: her first day in.
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  Speaker 1: Nashville, Parton met Carl Dean outside of the Wishy-Washy laundromat,
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  Speaker 1: a place where she washed her clothes. Parton and Dean
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  Speaker 1: dated for two years before getting married in 1966.
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  Speaker 2: Parton and Owens continued to write songs. They performed often
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  Speaker 2: around Nashville. They signed an agreement to write songs for
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  Speaker 2: Combine Music. They wrote the song Put It Off Until Tomorrow,
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  Speaker 2: which Bill Phillips sang. It became a popular song on
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  Speaker 2: the Billboard Country Chart, a listing of the top country
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  Speaker 2: music songs.
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  Speaker 1: Parton and Owens wrote several other popular songs, or hits,
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  Speaker 1: for other recording artists. In 1967, Porter Wagner asked Parton
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  Speaker 1: to join his television program, The Porter Wagner Show. Forty-five
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  Speaker 1: million people across the United States watched his show every week.
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  Speaker 2: Norma Jean sang with Waggoner for years on his show.
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  Speaker 2: She was very popular. She left the show after getting married.
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  Speaker 2: She wanted to make more time for her marriage. Waggoner
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  Speaker 2: replaced Jean with Parton.
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  Speaker 1: Parton sang with a pure, clean voice that many people
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  Speaker 1: liked She smiled and had fun. She was full of energy.
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  Speaker 1: People also liked that Parton had grown up poor in
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  Speaker 1: the mountains of Tennessee. They could relate to her. They
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  Speaker 1: felt like she was one of them. Parton did not
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  Speaker 1: seem like a singer who only cared about becoming rich
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  Speaker 1: and famous. She cared about the people listening to her music.
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  Speaker 2: For seven years, Parton performed with Waggoner all over the
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  Speaker 2: United States. Parton was thankful for this. She won many
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  Speaker 2: followers because of their show. Waggoner also helped Parton get
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  Speaker 2: a recording agreement with the company RCA Victor. They sang
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  Speaker 2: many songs together on her first album, or a collection
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  Speaker 2: of songs.
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  Speaker 1: In 1973, Parton wrote one of her most successful songs,
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  Speaker 1: I Will Always Love You. She wrote it for Wagoner
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  Speaker 1: because she decided to leave the Porter Wagoner show. Parton
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  Speaker 1: was ready to perform on her own. I Will Always
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  Speaker 1: Love You became the most popular country music song in
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  Speaker 1: the United States.
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  Speaker 3: So I'll go on.
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  Speaker 1: But I know.
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  Speaker 3: I'll think of you each step of the way And.
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  Speaker 1: I will.
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  Speaker 2: Always love you Almost 20 years later, singer Whitney Houston
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  Speaker 2: recorded her version of Parton's song, I Will Always Love You,
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  Speaker 2: It became an even bigger hit for Houston. The song
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  Speaker 2: spent 14 weeks as the most popular song in the
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  Speaker 2: United States. It became one of the best-selling songs in
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  Speaker 2: the history of United States music. It reminded everyone of
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  Speaker 2: what a talented songwriter Parton was.
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  Speaker 1: Parton had great success in the 1970s, Her songs, Jolene
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: and Here You Come Again, were very popular. She also
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  Speaker 1: wrote a song called Coat of Many Colors. It was
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  Speaker 1: about when she was little and her mother made her
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  Speaker 1: a coat out of different pieces of material. Parton's fans
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  Speaker 1: loved the song because many of them also grew up poor.
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  Speaker 1: They liked Parton's honesty and her respect for her mother.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: In 1980, Parton became a film star. She acted in
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  Speaker 2: a film called Nine to Five, with actresses Jane Fonda
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  Speaker 2: and Lily Tomlin. It was about women not getting the
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  Speaker 2: same chances in the workplace as men. The film was funny,
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  Speaker 2: but also had a powerful message. It was very successful.
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  Speaker 2: Even though Parton had never acted in a film before,
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  Speaker 2: film reviewers and fans loved her performance. Famous film reviewer
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  Speaker 2: Roger Ebert wrote.
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  Speaker 1: Parton wrote the main song for the film 9 to 5.
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  Speaker 1: It was also called 9 to 5. and became one
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  Speaker 1: of Parton's biggest hits. It was popular with fans of
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  Speaker 1: all kinds of music. It became the most popular song
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  Speaker 1: in the United States.
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  Speaker 2: Three years later, Parton sang a song with Kenny Rogers
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  Speaker 2: called Islands in the Stream that became one of the
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  Speaker 2: biggest hits of her life. It was the first song
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  Speaker 2: in history to reach the number one position for three
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  Speaker 2: different music listings at the same time. The Billboard Hot 100,
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: Hot Country Songs and Adult Contemporary. Many years later, country
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  Speaker 2: music television asked fans to choose the greatest country duet
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  Speaker 2: sung by two people. They chose Islands in the Stream.
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  Speaker 1: Parton acted in several other popular films and television programs,
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  Speaker 1: like Steel Magnolias and Hannah Montana. She acted, wrote songs,
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  Speaker 1: recorded albums, and performed shows around the world for the
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  Speaker 1: rest of her life.
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  Speaker 2: Parton wrote 3,000 songs. She recorded 66 albums. She received
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  Speaker 2: the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors.
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  Speaker 2: She was chosen for the Country Music Hall of Fame,
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  Speaker 2: the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll
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  Speaker 2: Hall of Fame. She set 11 Guinness World Records, including
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  Speaker 2: the most popular songs by a female artist on the
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  Speaker 2: United States Hot Country Songs chart. An amazing 113.
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  Speaker 1: But Parton believed the most important work she did was
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  Speaker 1: outside of music. She tried to help people. as much
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  Speaker 1: as possible. She started the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to
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  Speaker 1: help children learn to read. Her program gave out 300
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  Speaker 1: million free books to children from birth to age five.
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  Speaker 1: Parton dedicated the library to her father, who never learned
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  Speaker 1: to read or write. She posted on Facebook.
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  Speaker 3: My daddy just loved it when all the little kids
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  Speaker 3: would call me the book lady. That meant more to
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  Speaker 3: him than my success as a musical star.
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  Speaker 2: Parton started the Dollywood Foundation and Buddy Program, which offered
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  Speaker 2: $ 500 to any student in her home community in Tennessee
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  Speaker 2: who stayed in school. The number of Tennessee high school
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  Speaker 2: students in her community who stopped school early fell from
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: 35% to 6%. She gave money to students who completed
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  Speaker 2: high school and wanted to attend college.
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  Speaker 1: Parton started an amusement park with fun rides and games
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  Speaker 1: called Dollywood in East Tennessee, where she grew up. Dollywood
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  Speaker 1: creates an estimated $ 1. 8 billion each year for the East
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  Speaker 1: Tennessee economy. Thousands of local people have jobs because of Dollywood.
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  Speaker 1: Millions of families visit Dollywood each year.
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  Speaker 2: Parton and her husband Dean were married for almost 60 years.
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  Speaker 2: He was a private man. and was happy to let
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  Speaker 2: the world watch only her. He did not need people
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  Speaker 2: to look at him. Dean died in 2025. Parton joined
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  Speaker 2: him a year later, dying from cancer at the age
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  Speaker 2: of 80.
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  Speaker 1: Parton's fans remember her beautiful songs. Female musicians remember her influence.
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  Speaker 1: Children who read the free books Parton gave them remember
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  Speaker 1: how she changed their lives. Families who were in need
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  Speaker 1: remember the help Parton offered so many times. Women remember
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  Speaker 1: her message of strength and equality that encourages them not
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  Speaker 1: to give up. The world remembers the small woman with
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  Speaker 1: the big hair from the Great Smoky Mountains who never
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  Speaker 1: forgot where she came from. Parton always remained thankful for
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  Speaker 1: everything she received It did not matter if it was
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  Speaker 1: the chance to sing for millions of people, or a
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  Speaker 1: simple coat of many colours her mother once made for her.
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  Speaker 2: Which one of Dolly Parton's songs is your favourite? Did
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  Speaker 2: you know she owned Dollywood? Have you ever wanted to
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  Speaker 2: be a singer? Which do you admire more? Her singing
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  Speaker 2: talents and professional accomplishments or her care for children's reading,
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  Speaker 2: families in need and support for students? You can leave
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: a comment on our website at www.spotlightenglish.com You can also
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: find us on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and X. You
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: can also get Spotlight episodes delivered directly to your Android
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: The writer of this episode was Peter Anderson. The producer
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted
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  Speaker 1: for this episode and voiced by Spotlight. No AI or
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: artificial intelligence was used in this episode. Spotlight episodes are written, voiced,
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  Speaker 1: and produced by real people for real people, no matter
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  Speaker 1: where in the world they live. This episode is called
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: Dolly Parton, the Queen of Country Music.
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  Speaker 2: We hope you can join us again for the next
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: Spotlight episode. Goodbye. Goodbye.