Stella Parton
Encyclopedia
Stella Parton is an American Country Music
singer and songwriter
. She is a younger sister of country music
icon Dolly Parton
, and musician and businessman Randy Parton
. Stella Parton became a mildly successful country singer in the 70s, and though having nowhere near the success of her elder sister, she sold her fair share of records. Her biggest hit was the 1975 song "I Want to Hold You In My Dreams Tonight".
, Tennessee
, Parton is the sixth of twelve children born to father, Robert Lee Parton Sr. and mother, Avie Lee Caroline Owens. Her siblings are Willadeene Parton (a poet, b. 1940), David Wilburn Parton (b. 1942), Coy Denver Parton (b. 1943), Dolly Rebecca Parton
(singer-songwriter and actress, b. 1946), Robert Lee Parton Jr (b. 1948), Cassie Nan Parton (singer, b. 1951), Randel Huston "Randy" Parton
(a singer and businessman, b. 1953), Larry Gerald Parton (b. 1955, d. 1955), twins Floyd Parton (a singer-songwriter, b. 1957), Freida Estelle Parton (a singer, b. 1957), and Rachel Ann (née Parton) Dennison (an actress, b. 1959). Her sister Dolly Parton has stated in interviews that to her knowledge her father had strayed at least once or twice and fathered two other illegitimate children.
At seven, she and sister Dolly appeared on a local Knoxville, Tennessee
television program and two years later, she made her debut on radio. During this time, Stella and her two other sisters, Willadeene and Cassie, formed a group that sang Gospel
and commercial
jingles around the eastern Tennessee
area. During her high school years, Parton began writing songs. She subsequently married Marvin Carroll Rauhuff just prior to her high school graduation in 1966 and the union produced a son, Timothy C. Rauhoff, an attorney, born on November 25, 1968.
, and Stella performed a song with Kin Vassy
for the soundtrack
.
After leaving Elektra, Stella recorded for several independent labels including Accord/Townhouse, Airborne and currently Raptor Records. To date, she has released 22 albums with 28 chart singles. Parton's discography includes: In The Garden, Stella And The Gospel Carrolls, I Want To Hold You In My Dreams, Country Sweet, Stella Parton, Love Ya, The Best Of Stella Parton, So Far, So Good, True To Me, Always Tomorrow, Favorites Vol. 1, Picture In A Frame, A Woman's Touch, Anthology, Appalachian Blues
, Blue Heart
, Appalachian Gospel
, Favorites Vol. 2, Favorites Vol. 3, Songwriter Sessions, and Testimony
.
episode titled "Deputy Dukes" as Mary Beth, a woman who impersonates a police officer in order to settle a family score with a prisoner who Bo and Luke end up transporting during a change of venue.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, she starred in several Broadway touring musicals including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
, Pump Boys & Dinettes, Best Little Whorehouse In Texas and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
. Parton also wrote and staged several Dollywood shows the opening season as well as appearing on The Dukes of Hazzard (the first country artist to have a dramatic role on the series), Regis
, The Today Show and Good Morning America
.
In 2006, Parton made appearances in two films, A Dance for Bethany and Ghost Town, both slated for release in 2007. Each film also includes Stella's music on the soundtrack. Also ready for release in 2007 is her 21st album which is a collection of original Contemporary Christian songs. Followed in 2008, was her twenty-second album, Testimony
.
, Kentucky, using her knowledge of hair and makeup to help women build self-esteem.
Parton has served as national spokesperson for Mothers Against Drunk Driving
and the Christian Appalachian Project
and National Honorary Country Music Ambassador to the American Cancer Society.
Compilation Albums:
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. She is a younger sister of country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
icon Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, and musician and businessman Randy Parton
Randy Parton
Randy Parton is an American singer-songwriter, actor and businessman, best known as the brother of Dolly Parton and Stella Parton. Born in Sevierville, Tennessee, Parton is the eighth of twelve children born to father, Robert Lee Parton Sr. and mother, Avie Lee Caroline Owens. His siblings are...
. Stella Parton became a mildly successful country singer in the 70s, and though having nowhere near the success of her elder sister, she sold her fair share of records. Her biggest hit was the 1975 song "I Want to Hold You In My Dreams Tonight".
Early life
Born in SeviervilleSevierville, Tennessee
Sevierville is a city in Sevier County, Tennessee, located in the Southeastern United States. Its population was 11,757 at the 2000 United States Census; in 2004 the estimated population was 14,101. Sevierville is the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, Parton is the sixth of twelve children born to father, Robert Lee Parton Sr. and mother, Avie Lee Caroline Owens. Her siblings are Willadeene Parton (a poet, b. 1940), David Wilburn Parton (b. 1942), Coy Denver Parton (b. 1943), Dolly Rebecca Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
(singer-songwriter and actress, b. 1946), Robert Lee Parton Jr (b. 1948), Cassie Nan Parton (singer, b. 1951), Randel Huston "Randy" Parton
Randy Parton
Randy Parton is an American singer-songwriter, actor and businessman, best known as the brother of Dolly Parton and Stella Parton. Born in Sevierville, Tennessee, Parton is the eighth of twelve children born to father, Robert Lee Parton Sr. and mother, Avie Lee Caroline Owens. His siblings are...
(a singer and businessman, b. 1953), Larry Gerald Parton (b. 1955, d. 1955), twins Floyd Parton (a singer-songwriter, b. 1957), Freida Estelle Parton (a singer, b. 1957), and Rachel Ann (née Parton) Dennison (an actress, b. 1959). Her sister Dolly Parton has stated in interviews that to her knowledge her father had strayed at least once or twice and fathered two other illegitimate children.
At seven, she and sister Dolly appeared on a local Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
television program and two years later, she made her debut on radio. During this time, Stella and her two other sisters, Willadeene and Cassie, formed a group that sang Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
and commercial
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
jingles around the eastern Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
area. During her high school years, Parton began writing songs. She subsequently married Marvin Carroll Rauhuff just prior to her high school graduation in 1966 and the union produced a son, Timothy C. Rauhoff, an attorney, born on November 25, 1968.
Recording career
In 1967, Parton released her first album, In The Garden (a gospel project with her sisters, Willadeene and Cassie and mother, Avie Lee). Shortly thereafter, she moved to Washington, DC and began performing country music at Hillbilly Heaven. Later moving to Nashville, she started her own record label, Soul, Country And Blues, in 1975 and released an album called I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonight. Its title track was a substantial national hit, climbing into the country Top Ten, and landed her a major-label deal with Elektra in 1976. Her 1977 duet with Carmol Taylor, "Neon Woman," was somewhat successful, and she scored three Top 20 hits over 1977-1978 with "The Danger of a Stranger," "Four Little Letters," and "Standard Lie Number One"; she had an additional top-forty hit with her sister Dolly's composition "Steady as the Rain" in 1979. She recorded a total of three albums for Elektra through 1979. In 1984, Dolly starred in a movie RhinestoneRhinestone (film soundtrack)
Rhinestone was a soundtrack album from the 1984 film starring Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone. The Dolly Parton-composed soundtrack produced two Top Ten country singles: "God Won't Get You" and the chart-topping "Tennessee Homesick Blues"...
, and Stella performed a song with Kin Vassy
Kin Vassy
Charles Kindred "Kin" Vassy was a singer-songwriter who in addition to his solo recordings also recorded with other artists, most notably Kenny Rogers, Frank Zappa and Elvis Presley....
for the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
.
After leaving Elektra, Stella recorded for several independent labels including Accord/Townhouse, Airborne and currently Raptor Records. To date, she has released 22 albums with 28 chart singles. Parton's discography includes: In The Garden, Stella And The Gospel Carrolls, I Want To Hold You In My Dreams, Country Sweet, Stella Parton, Love Ya, The Best Of Stella Parton, So Far, So Good, True To Me, Always Tomorrow, Favorites Vol. 1, Picture In A Frame, A Woman's Touch, Anthology, Appalachian Blues
Appalachian Blues
Appalachian Blues is the fifth studio album by singer Stella Parton. A plaintive collection of songs which combine country with hints of blues, gospel and folk...
, Blue Heart
Blue Heart
Blue Heart is the third compilation album by singer Stella Parton. This is her first album since signing with Raptor Records.-Track listing:The track listing is as follows:#Smooth Talker#My Pride#Sleeping With The Enemy#Bound And Determined...
, Appalachian Gospel
Appalachian Gospel
Appalachian Gospel is the sixth studio album by singer Stella Parton.-Track listing:The track listing is as follows:#Amazing Grace#Leaning On The Everlasting Arms#Farther Along#Keep On The Firing Line#Precious Memories#In The Sweet Bye And Bye...
, Favorites Vol. 2, Favorites Vol. 3, Songwriter Sessions, and Testimony
Testimony (Stella Parton album)
-About:Testimony is the seventh studio album by singer Stella Parton. This is her third album since signing with Raptor Records. Coincidentally, it was released the same year as her older sister, superstar Dolly Parton's Backwoods Barbie. It is an inspirational work that includes all original...
.
Television and film work
In 1979, Parton starred in the Dukes of HazzardDukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
episode titled "Deputy Dukes" as Mary Beth, a woman who impersonates a police officer in order to settle a family score with a prisoner who Bo and Luke end up transporting during a change of venue.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, she starred in several Broadway touring musicals including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (musical)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a musical with a book by Lawrence Kasha and David Landay, music by Gene de Paul, Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn...
, Pump Boys & Dinettes, Best Little Whorehouse In Texas and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a musical with a book by Joseph Fields and Anita Loos, lyrics by Leo Robin, and music by Jule Styne, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Loos...
. Parton also wrote and staged several Dollywood shows the opening season as well as appearing on The Dukes of Hazzard (the first country artist to have a dramatic role on the series), Regis
ReGIS
ReGIS, short for "Remote Graphic Instruction Set", was a vector graphics markup language developed by Digital Equipment Corporation for later models of their famous VT series of computer terminals. ReGIS supported rudimentary vector graphics consisting of lines, circular arcs, and text...
, The Today Show and Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
.
In 2006, Parton made appearances in two films, A Dance for Bethany and Ghost Town, both slated for release in 2007. Each film also includes Stella's music on the soundtrack. Also ready for release in 2007 is her 21st album which is a collection of original Contemporary Christian songs. Followed in 2008, was her twenty-second album, Testimony
Testimony (Stella Parton album)
-About:Testimony is the seventh studio album by singer Stella Parton. This is her third album since signing with Raptor Records. Coincidentally, it was released the same year as her older sister, superstar Dolly Parton's Backwoods Barbie. It is an inspirational work that includes all original...
.
Social work
She devotes much of her time to causes like domestic violence and, typical of her hands-on approach, teaches at the New Opportunity School for Women at Berea CollegeBerea College
Berea College is a liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky , founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,514 students...
, Kentucky, using her knowledge of hair and makeup to help women build self-esteem.
Parton has served as national spokesperson for Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a non-profit organization in the United States that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy...
and the Christian Appalachian Project
Christian Appalachian Project
The Christian Appalachian Project is an interdenominational, non-profit Christian organization committed to serving people in need in Appalachia by providing physical, spiritual and emotional support through a wide variety of programs and services....
and National Honorary Country Music Ambassador to the American Cancer Society.
Consultancy
She also has a consulting business (Attic Entertainment Artist Development & Entertainment Consulting), teaching stage presence, hair, makeup, wardrobe techniques and video coaching. Parton has also written three cookbooks, including her recipe-packed book State Fairs and Church Bazaars.Discography
Studio Albums:- "In the Garden" (with Avie Lee, Willadeene, and Cassie Parton)(1967)
- "Stella And The Gospel Carrolls"
- "I Want To Hold You In My Dreams" (1975)
- "Country Sweet"
- "Love Ya"
- "So Far, So Good"
- "True To Me"
- "Always Tomorrow"
- "Picture In A Frame"
- "A Woman's Touch"
- "Up In the Holler"
- "Appalachian Gospel" (2003)
- "Songwriter Sessions"
- "Testimony" (2008)
Compilation Albums:
- "Favorites, Vol. 1"
- "Anthology"
- "Blue Heart"
- "Appalachian Blues" (2001)
- "Favorites, Vol. 2"
- "Favorites, Vol. 3"