Celebrate Dolly Parton's 75th Birthday With Her First-Ever National TV Appearance

The patron saint of country music singer/songwriters Dolly Parton turns 75 years old today, and in honor of her long, storied career, let's flash back to her first-ever national TV appearance on The Porter Wagoner Show in 1967, a syndicated country music program that ran from 1960 until 1981. 

Parton had been performing on radio and local television since she was a child, but this was her first big break. She sang a Curly Putnam song called "Dumb Blonde" that was one of her first big hits, and one of the rare songs she recorded but didn't write herself.

She and Wagoner became a popular team for years, but she eventually left his organization behind, and her famously heartbreaking 1974 hit "I Will Always Love You" served as her final farewell. You can learn all about that in this segment from Drunk History that illustrates just how amazing Dolly Parton is at being a quality human being.

Andy Hunsaker has a head full of sitcom gags and nerd-genre lore, and can be followed @AndyHunsaker if you're into that sort of thing.