Editing Dolly Parton (section)

=== 1956–1966: Early work and songwriting ===
Parton began performing as a child,<ref>{{cite web|title=Dolly performs on Cas Walker Show – WIVK Radio|date=July 8, 1956|url=https://dollyparton.com/life-and-career/music/dolly-lands-cas-walker-show/240 |work=Dolly Parton Productions|access-date=June 14, 2015}}</ref> singing on local radio and television programs in the [[East Tennessee]] area.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Magill|first1=Frank Northen|last2=Aves|first2=Alison|title=Dictionary of World Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uiQAaGgOChIC&pg=PA2896|access-date=July 14, 2014|year=1999|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-57958-048-3|page=2896}}</ref> By ten, she was appearing on ''[[Cas Walker#Radio and television|The Cas Walker Show]]'' on both [[WIVK-FM|WIVK Radio]] and [[WBIR-TV]] in [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]], Tennessee. At 13, she was recording (the single "Puppy Love") on a small Louisiana label, [[Goldband Records]],<ref name="Backwoods Glam">{{cite news|title=Backwoods glam|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/nov/30/20061130-090454-4103r/?page=all|access-date=July 15, 2014|work=[[The Washington Times]]|date=November 30, 2006}}</ref> and appeared at the [[Grand Ole Opry]], where she first met [[Johnny Cash]], who encouraged her to follow her own instincts regarding her career.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dolly's first Grand Ole Opry performance 1959|date=July 25, 1959|url=http://dollyparton.com/life-and-career/awards_milestones/grand-ole-opry-performance-1959/|publisher=Dolly Parton|access-date=July 10, 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Happy, Happy Birthday Baby - ad 1965.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' advertisement, September 4, 1965]] 
Parton's initial success came as a songwriter, having signed with [[Combine Music|Combine Publishing]] shortly after her arrival;<ref>{{cite web|title=Special Presentation: Dolly Parton Timeline|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/dollyparton/dollyparton-partontimeline.html|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=July 15, 2014|date=April 8, 2010}}</ref> with her frequent songwriting partner, her uncle [[Bill Owens (songwriter)|Bill Owens]], she wrote several charting singles during this time, including two Top{{spaces}}10 hits for [[Bill Phillips (singer)|Bill Phillips]]: "[[Put It Off Until Tomorrow]]", and "The Company You Keep" (1966), and [[Skeeter Davis]]'s number 11 hit "[[Fuel to the Flame]]" (1967).<ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |year=2006 |publisher=Record Research |pages=101, 267}}</ref> Her songs were recorded by many other artists during this period, including [[Kitty Wells]] and [[Hank Williams Jr.]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Whitburn|2005|pages=108, 422}}.</ref> She signed with [[Monument Records]] in 1965, at age 19; she initially was pitched as a [[bubblegum pop]] singer. She released a string of singles, but the only one that charted, "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby", did not crack the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]. Although she expressed a desire to record country material, Monument resisted, thinking her unique, high [[soprano]] voice was not suited to the genre.

After her composition "[[Put It Off Until Tomorrow]]", as recorded by Bill Phillips (with Parton, uncredited, on harmony), went to number six on the country chart in 1966, the label relented and allowed her to record country. Her first country single, "Dumb Blonde" (composed by [[Curly Putman]], one of the few songs during this era that she recorded but did not write), reached number 24 on the country chart in 1967, followed by "Something Fishy", which went to number 17. The two songs appeared on her first full-length album, ''[[Hello, I'm Dolly]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hello I'm Dolly – Dolly's first solo album 1967|date=February 13, 1967|url=http://dollyparton.com/life-and-career/music/hello-im-dolly-album/|publisher=Dolly Parton|access-date=July 10, 2015}}</ref>