She got it from her mama.
It’s well known, and well-documented, that Dolly Parton grew up very poor (well, money-wise), in the mountains of east Tennessee. She’s become an icon because she’s obviously an incredible talent in the music world, but I think it’s safe to say that what most people admire about her is what an amazing person she is. Through philanthropic efforts like her Imagination Library Foundation, giving back is always at the top of her to-do list.
She famously grew up dirt poor in the mountains of east Tennessee with 11 brothers and sisters, though she always notes how much love they had in their family, even if everybody in their area was poor with three o’s. Her mom, Avie Lee, was born on October 5th, 1923, in Lockhart, South Carolina, which was small cotton farming community. Her father was a preacher, and according to Dolly’s website:
“She learned to make the best of what she had, a skill that would come in handy in her life as a wife and mother.”
Avie married Dolly’s dad, Lee Parton, in 1939, and they had 12 children, six boys and six girls. She was very musical, and Dolly often credits her as her first musical influence, as she was a “gifted vocalist, arranger and interpreter of traditional mountain songs.” Dolly was very close with her mom, and she remained close with both of her parents throughout their entire lives. Of course, you probably know that Avie inspired one of Dolly’s most iconic songs, “Coat Of Many Colors.”
And this new project, Smoky Mountain Mama, is a reissue of a rare recording by Owepar Entertainment, which Dolly started with her Uncle Bill Owens in 1967, and is a rare piece of Appalachian musical history as Avie showcases a collection of old mountain songs just beautifully. As a teenager, Avie sang in a trio gospel group with her sisters, Estelle and Dorothy Jo, and they performed at churches, revival meetings, and local radio programs throughout the Smoky Mountain region.
Later, in the ate 1960s, Avie formed a gospel group with her daughters Willadeene, Stella, and Cassie, and they recorded a family project called The Parton Family Sings In The Garden, which was reissued by Owepar in 2024.
Avie Lee was encouraged by her brother, Louis Owens, and of course Dolly, to go back into the studio to preserve the mountain ballads and fold songs she used to sing for her children, which are a very important piece of Appalachian history, that ultimately became Smoky Mountain Mama. She sadly died on December 5th, 2003, at the age of 80 in Sevierville, Tennessee.
Smoky Mountain Mama was sold as a cassette tape only in Dollywood in 1990, and because it was produced in very small quantities, it became a highly sought-after collector’s item and it’s just incredible that they were able to preserve it and release it now for all of Dolly’s fans to enjoy. It was restored using a surviving quarter-inch reel-to-reel master used for the original cassette production, and it really is amazing to hear Avie Lee’s renditions of traditional Smoky Mountain music.
She seems like an incredible person, clearly someone who raised another incredible person and tons of great children, and her influence on Dolly cannot be overstated. These kinds of songs are a dying breed, you’d be hard pressed to find many people at all who know them in the modern age, especially those of younger generations even in this region of the Appalachian mountains where the Parton family lived, but it has been forever persevered as a very important piece of music and history in general here.
Definitely check out some of the songs below… you will find it easy to tell where Dolly got so much of her once-in-a-generation talent:
“The Wedding Bells”
“The Eastbound Train”
“Little Bessie”
Smoky Mountain Mama Tracklist
Track Listing
1. The Wedding Bells
2. Little Rosewood Casket
3. The Eastbound Train
4. Three Babes
5. Orphan Girl
6. Pretty Fair Miss
7. The Blind Child
8. Two Orphans
9. Little Bessie
