4 Songs By Dolly Parton That Prove 1983 Was The Best Year Of Her Career

Dolly Parton was nothing less than a legend. She didn't just conquer country and pop music — she was also an unapologetic fashion icon, generous philanthropist, and cultural celebrity beloved by just about everyone. What's more, she first rose to fame in the 1960s on the nationally broadcast variety program, "The Porter Wagoner Show," playing sidekick to the established Wagoner, with whom she had a complicated history. With solo albums as recent as 2023's "Rockstar," she has a catalog going back more than 50 years. So, out of all that, what proved to be the best year of Parton's long and storied career? That may well be 1983, in which Parton had firmly established herself as a crossover superstar with tremendously wide appeal.

By that year, Parton had starred in 1980's "9 to 5" alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin and released a single of the same name. That track reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1981, stayed on the chart for 26 weeks, earned her an Oscar nomination, and experienced a major streaming resurgence in 2019. In 1982, she rerecorded "I Will Always Love You" for another film, which hit No. 1 on the Hot Country chart. Still riding that wave of success, she triumphed again in 1983 with an iconic duet that remains a favorite decades later. While there's much to admire about the rest of her career no matter what direction you look, 1983 saw Parton truly cement her role as a multi-hyphenate master of music, film, and our hearts.

For a minute there, "Islands in the Stream" wasn't going to feature Dolly Parton at all. Written by Barry Gibb, who was both a songwriter and member of the Bee Gees, it was actually originally meant as a Bee Gees song. When Gibb found that prospect unsatisfying for their disco sound, he then considered Marvin Gaye, but that didn't pan out, either. Gibb then settled on Kenny Rogers — he was Rogers' producer at the time, after all.

But upon taking it to the studio, Rogers just couldn't find his way to a satisfying rendition of the song. Something, they concluded, was missing. After four days hacking away at the song, the group noticed Dolly Parton was also in-studio and asked her to lend a hand. She agreed, and the resulting duet released in 1983 is darn near magical. The back and forth between Rogers and Parton is playful but heartfelt, with a catchy, synth-rich melody that propelled "Islands in the Stream" to the top of the country and adult contemporary charts, not to mention the Billboard Hot 100.

Not only did this further illustrate Parton's dominance as a crossover artist, but it also kicked off a longstanding professional collaboration and friendship with Rogers. They recorded other duets, including 2013's heartfelt "You Can't Make Old Friends," as well as four TV specials and a holiday album, "Once Upon a Christmas." And, no matter what the lyrics of "Islands in the Stream" imply, the real Parton and Rogers never got romantic, though they were genuinely good friends and collaborators for decades.

Though it was technically released in 1980, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" was such a success that its effects were felt well into 1983 and beyond. The song — recorded for the 1980 comedy "9 to 5," in which Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin play vengeance-minded office workers — netted the singer her first top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. It was a smash hit and has since become one of Parton's most-loved songs. It's an incredibly catchy tune with defiant lyrics that speak to the exploitative grind of work and her refusal to let it crush her dreams. No wonder it led to both Oscar and Grammy nominations for Parton and handily showed that she was bigger than country or any one musical genre.

"9 to 5," both as a song and film, marked a major turning point in Parton's career that was still in major force by 1983. The movie is definitely part of the origin of her sassy, even campy persona that featured teased blonde hair, ample makeup, and unapologetically eye-catching fashion. Besides being the genesis of Dolly Parton as backwoods Barbie (as her 2008 album of that name would proudly claim), "9 to 5" also marked her ascendance to crossover superstar status. She'd enjoyed plenty of acclaim in the world of country music, but 1983 saw her growing into new roles as a pop singer, actor, and cultural figure that would open new paths as she forged ahead.

Even if a Dolly Parton song didn't soar to the absolute heights of the charts, it could still be a significant hit that demonstrated her ability to work in any genre she pleased. "Potential New Boyfriend" may not be a top-of-mind Parton single, but its success on the dance scene can't be ignored. It reached No. 14 on the Dance Club chart in 1983 and a very respectable No. 20 on the Hot Country chart besides. Unsure of its power? Listen to the track and just try not to dance to its driving bass, amped up by cool guitar riffs, era-appropriate synth, and Parton's iconic voice. Certainly, the dancers backing her up on the ultra-popular "Solid Gold" music show were into it (the appearance also included a bit where Parton bantered with the famously saucy Madame puppet — hey, it was the '80s). Oh, and it's definitely stuck in your head now. You're welcome.

At this point in 1983, you'd be just as likely to hear Parton on the radio, at the grocery store, or on your next night out. She did know a thing or two about the wild history of the '70s club scene, after all. If that weren't enough, this occasion marks the first time Parton recorded a music video. In it, a man experiences the travails of nightclub romance, while Parton pops up throughout, sometimes on an old-school television screen. Plus, it's pretty fun. The lyrics are a Parton-classic combo of sass and self-awareness, with the joke being that the "potential new boyfriend" may not strictly be aware of his new role. 

When talking of Dolly Parton's extensive discography, there's no getting around "I Will Always Love You." Not like you'd want to, as it's not just a perfect Parton song for getting over a breakup but one of her all-time classics. First released in the '70s, the song shot back to the cultural fore in 1992, when Whitney Houston's cover absolutely dominated music that year. Houston herself worried what Parton would think and was relieved to hear that the song's originator greatly approved of the cover. But we're here to talk about yet another version of "I Will Always Love You," which Parton rerecorded in 1982 to coincide with another film appearance of hers.

Was it a grand cross-cultural hit like Houston's version? Not exactly, but the 1982 Parton single did get to the top of the Hot Country chart. Her comparatively pared-down rendition easily demonstrated that she wasn't all sparkle and bombast — she remained a performer with real talent and emotional range. Still performing it in 1983, often to adoring crowds of fans, Parton easily reminded listeners that she could make them dance and weep in equally beautiful measure. As she told an audience in London that year before performing the song (via YouTube): "Somebody told me once, early in my career, the best thing to do to perform and please an audience [...] it's to make them laugh, make them cry, scare the hell out of them, and go home!"