This BBC feature reflects on the career and character of Dolly Parton, tracing how songs such as 9 To 5 and I Will Always Love You became defining moments of her legacy following her death. It highlights how her cheerful public persona often masked shrewd business instincts and real frustration with the sexism she faced throughout the music industry, from her teenage years onwards.

The piece recounts how Parton wrote 9 To 5 for her 1980 film debut, using her acrylic nails to mimic a typewriter's rhythm, producing her only solo US number one and an Oscar nomination, while its lyrics quietly channelled anger about women's treatment at work. It also details her fraught split from mentor Porter Wagoner, who sued her for $3m before she settled for around $1m, and her decision to refuse Elvis Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who demanded half the publishing rights to I Will Always Love You in exchange for a cover version.