Dolly Parton is a godess. My parents tell me I fell in love with Dolly when I was only six months old. By the time I was three, I had taught myself to read by following along on the lyrics sheet to "Best of Dolly Parton."

Today I have more than 100 of her albums, cassettes and CDs. I am in possession of her entire professional recording collection, including a handful of unreleased songs.

Her songs, so filled with emotion, aided me through many tough periods of my life. She is a prolific songwriter, having penned more than 3,000 compositions. "I Will Always Love You" has been a hit three times for her (1974, 1982, 1995) and once for Whitney Houston. It was also covered by Linda Ronstadt in 1975 and dozens of others through the '90s.

Those who recorded Dolly originals include Reba McEntire, Olivia Newton-John, 10,000 Maniacs, Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Sinatra, Hank Williams Jr., The Kenndals, Emma Peel (hard rock), Merle Haggard, Maria Muldahr, Kenny Rodgers, Crystal Gale, Matraca Berg, Skeeter Davis, Kitty Wells, Bill Phillips, Rhonda Vincent, and Margie Joseph (a great R&B version of "Touch Your Woman").

She is a supurb singer, songwriter, actress, bestselling author and successful television and film producer (Sandollar Films, Southern Light Productions).

She has had one double-platinum album, six platinum albums, 14 gold albums, one platinum single, three gold singles, more country No. 1s than any female artist (24 - plus a total of 56 Top10s), most charted country singles for a female artist (107), two pop No. 1s (plus three additional pop Top 25s), seven Grammys (plus 40 nominations), five Academy of Country Music Awards, nine Country Music Association Awards, five American Music Association Awards, an Oscar nomination (for Best Song), four Golden Globe nominations (three for acting), and an Emmy nomination, among other honors. She is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and National Songwriters Hall of Fame.