Before she was an internationally famous star, Dolly Parton was a child of the Smoky Mountains, making up songs on a porch with a tin-can microphone.
In this episode, we trace her remarkable journey from dirt-poor Appalachia into one of the shrewdest minds in music who spun moments of shame into anthems of pride, giving voice to millions of working-class women in her distinctive East Tennessee twang.
How did a country singer become the glue of a fractured nation, beloved by the conservative right and gay community? Join us as we look back at the life of a woman who managed to unite America when almost no one else could.
