Dolly Parton’s 25 Best Songs: Critics’ Picks
Following the release of her 1967 debut solo album, Hello, I’m Dolly , Dolly Parton spent nearly 60 years changing the face of the entertainment industry.
Kicking down doors for female performers in both country and pop music, she soared in the worlds of books, television, philanthropy and movies — and pretty much whatever else she tackled.
Sadly, Parton died at age 80 on Tuesday (Aug.
25), bringing the nation to a near-standstill as tributes to the beloved artist and entertainer poured in from all across the worlds of music, film, culture and beyond.
Parton’s expansive roster of hits — including two No.
1s on the Billboard Hot 100 and a whopping 25 on Billboard ‘s Hot Country Songs chart — reads like a “best of” list of the 1970s and 1980s, and it remains one of the strongest song catalogs of any singer-songwriter in any genre.
As a writer, she has penned everything from poignant, detailed ballads about life in the Great Smoky Mountains, where she grew up, to some of the most defining love songs of all time.
Her prowess as a songwriter and performer is so great, it earned her a historic induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 — an accomplishment she almost didn’t accept, telling Billboard at the time that she didn’t feel like she “measured up” to past inductees.
A legacy like hers, however, deserves the title of “rock star” no matter what style of music she makes, and the world agreed.
She went on to become the second female country artist (after Brenda Lee) to be inducted in both the Rock & Roll and Country Music Halls of Fame. (Parton has also been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.) “People usually [say] ‘Dolly rocks’ or ‘you rock’ or ‘you’re a rock star,’” she said.
“I thought they just meant that I was cool, and I took that as a great compliment.
But now I’m going to have to take it literally!” In choosing our favorite Dolly Parton songs, we settled on these 25.
Many of them came from her own pen, and all of them will “Always” have staying power.
To be fair, we could do a list of our favorite Dolly duets, too, but wanted to keep this one solo-focused.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.billboard.com — the content belongs to Billboard.
