About
Stella Mae Parton (born May 4, 1949) is an American country singer and songwriter widely known for a series of country singles that charted during the mid-to-late-1970s, her biggest hit being “I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonight” in 1975. She is the younger sister of singer-songwriter Dolly Parton and the older sister of the late Randy Parton and former actress Rachel Parton George.
Stella Mae Parton was born in Sevierville, Tennessee, the sixth of 12 children born to Avie Lee Caroline (née Owens; 1923–2003) and Robert Lee Parton Sr. (1921–2000). Dolly Parton is her elder sister by three years. When Stella was seven, she and Dolly appeared on a Knoxville television program, and two years later she debuted on radio. During this time, Stella and her sisters Willadeene and Cassie formed a group who sang gospel music and made commercials around East Tennessee. During her high school years, she began writing songs. She married Marvin Carroll Rauhuff just before her high school graduation in 1966. She had one son by this marriage.
In 1967, Parton released her first album, In the Garden (a gospel project with Willadeene, Cassie and their mother)…
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