On this day (December 15) in 1953, Randy Parton was born in Sevierville, Tennessee. He was the eighth of the 12 Parton children and the youngest boy. He was a singer and songwriter who had a brief recording career. Additionally, he sang multiple duets with his older sister, Dolly Parton.
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Parton started his recording career in the mid-1970s. He released his debut single, “Tennessee Born,” in 1975. Later that year, he released his first self-penned single, “Losing Everything.” Then, two years later, he returned with “Down,” penned by his older sister. None of those singles charted.
The peak of Parton’s recording career came in the early 1980s. He released two back-to-back top 40 singles in 1981. “Hold Me Like You Never Had Me” and “Shot Full of Love” both reached No. 30 on the Hot Country Songs chart. He released three more singles that reached the charts in the following two years. However, none of those broke into the top 40.
Interestingly, Parton released the original version of “Roll on (Eighteen Wheeler)” in 1982. His rendition of the Dave Loggins-penned tune failed to chart. Two years later, Alabama released it as a single from Roll On. It became their 12th consecutive No. 1 single.
Randy Parton’s Family Was Part of His Career
Randy Parton was a solo artist and songwriter, but that doesn’t mean other members of his large and talented family didn’t contribute to his career. For instance, he released multiple songs written by his siblings. As mentioned above, Dolly Parton wrote “Down.” Their brother, Floyd, wrote Randy’s debut single, “Tennessee Born.”
While they were never on the same label, it seems that Parton’s older sister helped him along the way. Porter Wagoner, Dolly’s mentor, boss, and duet partner, produced Parton’s early singles. He also contributed the song “Too Much Water” to the Rhinestone soundtrack. His older sister starred in the film.
Dolly and Randy Parton recorded two songs together. He appeared on her 1984 single “Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle to You).” Then, in 2020, he and his daughter, Heidi, appeared on “You Are My Christmas.”
According to Dolly’s website, Randy began performing at Dollywood in 1987. He headlined a show for years. Then, in the late 1990s, he partnered with his sister, Rachel, Lakieta Bagwell-Graves, and Jimmy Bryant to form Honey Creek. The band performed at the park regularly until Parton left the group to resume his show. He performed and used his show to introduce young performers, including his daughter, Heidi.
In 2006, he took time away from Dollywood while attempting to build a theater in North Carolina. Then, in 2013, he returned to the park.
Randy Parton tragically passed away in 2021 after a battle with cancer.
Featured Image by TPLP/Getty Images
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