There are many legends in the music business, with a select few considered icons and a smaller elite group known the world over by only their first names. Dolly Parton is one of those rare treasures.
In addition to becoming one of the genre’s great songwriters, Parton has conquered the pop charts and Hollywood. She’s been on the cover of Rolling Stone, owns a successful theme park and a movie production company, is a favorite guest on many television shows and wrote a Tony-nominated Broadway musical (9 to 5).
On top of her amazing success in pretty much any and every endeavor, Parton always takes the time to give back, open minds and spread love through her down-home country personality.
This list of Top 20 Dolly Parton Songs salutes some of Parton’s best works — but they’re just a few from her deep, vast catalog.
Top 20 Dolly Parton Songs: Her Biggest Hits And Most Underrated Deep Cuts
There are many country music legends in the business, but you’d be hard-pressed to find another as universally revered as Dolly Parton. Here are 20 of her greatest songs of all time.
20. “Hard Candy Christmas”
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20. “Hard Candy Christmas”
Parton’s “Hard Candy Christmas” — from the 1982 musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas — is often considered a Christmas song, but the singer herself says it’s not explicitly about the holiday season. Rather, it’s a song about the lean times in life, when families can only afford to buy inexpensive treats like bulk hard candy for their children. Whether you consider “Hard Candy Christmas” a holiday song or not, it’s a beautiful tune year-round about life’s hardest times — and its sweetest.
19. “Backwoods Barbie”
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19. “Backwoods Barbie”
“I’ve always been misunderstood because of how I look / Don’t judge me by the cover, ’cause I’m a real good book,” Parton sings in this quippy, autobiographical song from 2008. The singer wrote “Backwoods Barbie” solo, and it addresses something Parton’s dealt with her whole career: The fact that people only see her signature look, and not necessarily the talent beneath the surface when they lay eyes on her. This song also contains a lyric that’s gone on to become a bona fide Dolly-ism: “I might look artificial, but where it counts I’m real.”
No. 18. “Love Is Like a Butterfly”
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No. 18. “Love Is Like a Butterfly”
Dolly fans know that the singer loves butterflies: They’ve gone on to become a signature image for Parton, appearing in everything from her perfume brand logo to the gardens of her Dollywood theme park. In this 1974 classic, Parton sings about her insect of choice, with a voice that lightly lilts just as delicately as a butterfly landing on a flower.
No. 17: “Eagle When She Flies”
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No. 17: “Eagle When She Flies”
Parton pulls on another animal metaphor — that of an eagle — in “Eagle When She Flies,” a power ballad from 1991. Its evocative story line traces all the different things the same woman can be — a mother, a lover, a friend, a wife and so much else — and underscores her dual powers of vulnerability and resilience, shifting from “a sparrow when she’s broken” to “an eagle when she flies.”
No. 16: “Touch Your Woman”
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No. 16: “Touch Your Woman”
Parton’s Grammy-nominated 1972 hit was a bit of a left turn for the singer at a time: It wasn’t upbeat and anthem like “9 to 5” and “Two Doors Down,” nor was it a heartrending ballad like “I Will Always Love You” or “Coat of Many Colors.” Instead, this R&B-tinged, mid-tempo number takes listeners inside a disagreement between two members of a couple and ultimately resolves with a desire to reconnect, and the assurance that “Everything’s gonna be alright.” This realtime look into mature, complex love marks another kind of story song for Parton, and one that had listeners looking into their own love stories, and rediscovering the good in them.
No. 15: “Light of a Clear Blue Morning”
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No. 15: “Light of a Clear Blue Morning”
If “I Will Always Love You” was written about Parton’s painful professional separation from her longtime mentor and collaborator Porter Wagoner, “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” was written about the positivity and freedom of the aftermath of that split. The singer has said as much in interviews, but even if you haven’t gone through a difficult but ultimately split from a longtime friend, there’s plenty in this song to relate to: Over the course of the power ballad, it’s easy to imagine the clouds parting, the storm clearing, and the hard times giving way to something much more hopeful and new.
No. 14: “Dumb Blonde”
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No. 14: “Dumb Blonde”
All the way back in 1966, when Parton was releasing her very first album, Hello, I’m Dolly, she already knew who she was. The jangly, honky-tonkin’ “Dumb Blonde” is her early-career autobiographical statement, demanding that people look past her bubbly exterior and listen to what she has to say. “Dumb Blonde” was Parton’s first song to ever make waves on the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart, and made it clear to everyone in country music that “This dumb blonde ain’t nobody’s fool.”
No. 13: “Tennessee Homesick Blues”
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No. 13: “Tennessee Homesick Blues”
If you know Dolly Parton, you know she hails from the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee — and she’s dang proud of her country girl roots! Parton’s career has taken her to a whole lot of places, but no bright lights or fast-paced cities could ever drown out her memories of home, and this jumpy, string-filled 1984 chart-topper is a fitting tribute to the place Parton comes from.
No. 12: “Wildflowers”
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No. 12: “Wildflowers”
Parton champions her Appalachian roots in “Wildflowers,” a tender, mid-1980s folk tune that the singer included on Trio, her collaborative album with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. Rondstadt and Harris’ vocals provide powerful, folksy oomph to this performance, but it’s the song’s story — Parton’s tale of freedom and hearty resilience, just like the wildflowers that grow by the highway — that makes “Wildflowers” so special.
No. 11: “Just Because I’m a Woman”
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No. 11: “Just Because I’m a Woman”
“Just Because I’m a Woman” is another early career hit in which Parton demands respect, care and freedom to make her own mistakes — despite her sex. The singer lays out blistering societal double standards, and claps back at men who are just fine engaging in salacious behavior with an unmarried woman that can “ruin her reputation” — but see that same girl as too “tainted” to ever be a respectable long-term partner.
No. 10: “Joshua”
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No. 10: “Joshua”
In 1970, Parton dropped “Joshua,” a rapid-fire story song that cruised to No. 1 on the country charts and eventually earned her her first-ever Grammy nomination. Its lyrics tell the story of a young woman who pays a visit to the town recluse, despite rumors that he’s “a mean and a vicious man,” but instead she finds that — well, you’re just going to have to listen to the song to find out. It’s an important reminder not to judge a book by its cover, and playful proof that sometimes the town grump isn’t quite what he appears.
No. 9: “Why’d You Come in Here Looking Like That”
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No. 9: “Why’d You Come in Here Looking Like That”
It’s easy to see why “Why’d You Come in Here Looking Like That” was a No. 1 hit on country radio: It’s a feel-good, bop-along homage to a cowboy whose looks are just too good to be true, even though there might be a heartbreaker lurking underneath the surface. This playful fan-favorite came out in 1989 off Parton’s White Limozeen album, and here’s a fun fact: Among the all-star session players who cut the song with Parton were banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck and mandolin great and bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs.
No. 8: “Little Sparrow”
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No. 8: “Little Sparrow”
Appalachian folk has always been a big part of Parton’s musical background, and “Little Sparrow” is a great example of her knack for the folksier side of music making. Gentle strings and guitar are featured on the track, but it’s really Parton’s voice that’s at the center of it all: Her delicate soprano and rich, minor-key vocal harmonies paint a picture of a gentle little sparrow who flies high to transcend its fragility — just like the heart of a tender woman who’s been hurt too many times by careless men.
No. 7: “Two Doors Down”
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No. 7: “Two Doors Down”
True story: Parton wrote this bouncy, poppy late-’70s hit about her love of fried clams! Some details were changed in the writing of the song, and Parton’s FOMO about missing a fried clam buffet at a hotel stop transformed into the story of a broken-hearted woman debating whether or not to go to a neighbor’s party. The results were a country chart-topping single that also broke the Top 20 on the pop charts, too, proving that Parton could effortlessly and seamlessly captivate a pop audience without sacrificing her country bona fides.
No. 6: “Here You Come Again”
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No. 6: “Here You Come Again”
Parton is known for her songwriting, but she also occasionally cuts songs she didn’t write, and such is the case with “Here You Come Again.” You’d never know it: Parton’s vocal delivery is so expressive, effortlessly heartbroken and connected to her subject matter that it’s clear she feels every bit as passionate about the song as she would have had she penned it herself. “Here You Come Again” topped the country charts for five weeks straight, won a Grammy Award and also made it all the way up to No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
No. 5: “Islands in the Stream”
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No. 5: “Islands in the Stream”
“Islands in the Stream” is one of the most popular karaoke choices out there, but few karaoke night performers have the vocal chops to match Parton’s powerhouse performance. That’s no knock on them: Parton is at her stellar, stratospheric best in this duet performance with Kenny Rogers, which came out in 1983. The song comes by its poppy, R&B flair honestly, since it was written by members of the BeeGees, who ultimately gave it to Rogers to record. Once Parton signed on to the song, it became a massive crossover hit, and even accomplished the incredible feat of occupying the No. 1 slot on the Billboard pop, adult contemporary and country charts.
No. 4: “Coat of Many Colors”
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No. 4: “Coat of Many Colors”
Parton’s memories of childhood are some of her biggest musical inspirations, and in “Coat of Many Colors,” she describes a coat her mother sewed for her, using rags of all different kinds of colors. A young Parton gets made fun of at school for her unfashionable, handmade coat, but it’s still a source of pride for the young girl, and a lingering memory of how a family’s love can triumph over poverty.
No. 3: “Jolene”
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No. 3: “Jolene”
“Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene!” Parton introduced legions of fans to the red-haired, blindingly beautiful woman who made a pass at her husband in this canonical release from 1974. It was a massive country chart-topper in the mid-’70s, and a moderate crossover hit, too, but the legacy of “Jolene” has endured: Today, it’s one of Parton’s most recognizable songs, and a favorite with fans from all musical backgrounds. Parton has said that the song was inspired by a true story: Specifically, a bank teller who flirted with her husband Carl Dean when they were newly married. The name she chose for her title heroine isn’t based on that story, though. Instead, she came up with the name after a young fan named Jolene approached her and asked for an autograph.
No. 2: “9 to 5”
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No. 2: “9 to 5”
Perhaps Parton’s biggest pop crossover hit, “9 to 5” is a bouncy and infectious ode to life as a career woman. It appears in the comedy film of the same name, which co-starred Parton alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, and Parton borrowed the song’s name for an album title, too. “9 to 5” earned Parton numerous awards and nominations, and made her only the second woman ever to top both the U.S. Country Singles chart and the Billboard Hot 100 with the same single (the first was Jeannie C. Riley’s “Harper Valley PTA.”)
No. 1: “I Will Always Love You”
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No. 1: “I Will Always Love You”
What else could top a list of Dolly Parton’s best songs? “I Will Always Love You” is arguably Parton’s signature song, a plaintive and powerful ballad written about her professional break with longtime mentor and collaborator Porter Wagoner. In its lyrics, Parton professes enduring love for a person, even though she’s moving on with her life, and she hopes he does, too. Whitney Houston delivered a terrific rendition of this song, but to us, Parton will always be the original and ultimate “I Will Always Love You” performer.
