Dolly Parton Quiz: Guess the Song & Test Your Trivia

A Dolly Parton quiz plays a trick few artists can: half her biggest songs you have heard in another singer's voice. Guess the Dolly Parton song from 'Jolene' and '9 to 5' to 'I Will Always Love You', hers in 1974 before Whitney Houston, then test your trivia on her range, from the Appalachian 'Coat of Many Colors' to the Kenny Rogers duet 'Islands in the Stream' and the bluegrass of 'Little Sparrow'. Name her as the writer, not the cover artist, and see how well you really know Dolly Parton.

Main genreCountry (with pop and bluegrass)

ActiveSince the 1960s (1970s, 1980s)

Real nameDolly Rebecca Parton

BornJanuary 19, 1946, in Sevier County, Tennessee, USA

Best-known songs to guessJolene, 9 to 5, I Will Always Love You, Coat of Many Colors, Here You Come Again

Songs others made famous'I Will Always Love You' (Whitney Houston, 1992); 'Jolene' (widely covered)

Deep cuts fans missLittle Sparrow, The Grass Is Blue, Travelin' Thru, Islands in the Stream

Related artistsWhitney Houston, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson

Quiz difficultyEasy on the hits, hard on naming her as the writer

Start your solo quiz

Name as many tracks as you can from short audio clips. The faster you answer, the more you score.

10 questions4 answers each

Guess the Dolly Parton Song: Original or Cover?

Some of these you know cold; others you know in another singer's voice. The real win is naming the track and, better still, naming Dolly as the one who wrote it first.

Jolene

9 to 5

I Will Always Love You

Coat of Many Colors

Here You Come Again

Little Sparrow

The Grass Is Blue

Travelin' Thru

Dolly Parton Trivia: The Songs She Gave Away

Her songwriting hides the surprises, from two standards written in a single day to a chart-topper the world remembers as Whitney Houston's. The credits are where fans come undone.

✦Dolly wrote 'I Will Always Love You' and first recorded it in 1974, long before Whitney Houston's 1992 cover became a global No. 1, a favorite 'who wrote it' trap in any quiz.

✦By her own account, Dolly wrote both 'Jolene' and 'I Will Always Love You' on the same day.

✦Her title song for the 1980 film '9 to 5' topped the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for an Academy Award.

✦The No. 1 duet 'Islands in the Stream', which she sang with Kenny Rogers, was written by the Bee Gees.

✦Dolly was born in a one-room cabin in the mountains of East Tennessee in 1946, one of twelve children, and later founded the Imagination Library book charity.

How Well Do You Know Dolly Parton's Range?

Dolly's catalog swings from mountain bluegrass to polished pop and back. Start with the songs she owns, then test yourself on the covers and the era shifts that trip players up.

The songs you know in another voice

Start with the Dolly Parton trap: the hits most people credit to someone else. 'I Will Always Love You' was hers in 1974, eighteen years before Whitney Houston's version, and 'Jolene' has been remade by everyone from rock bands to pop stars. In a guess-the-song round, the skill is hearing the melody and naming Dolly as the source, not the cover artist who made it a bigger radio hit.

Her own signatures, the easy points

These are the near-automatic answers, the songs Dolly owns outright. '9 to 5' topped the pop chart and earned an Oscar nomination, 'Coat of Many Colors' tells her childhood in a single verse, and the Kenny Rogers duet 'Islands in the Stream' is a sing-along from its first note. Expect a Dolly Parton quiz to start here before the catalog turns tricky.

Country, pop, then back to bluegrass

Dolly rarely stays in one lane, which trips players expecting pure country. 'Here You Come Again' and '9 to 5' are polished pop crossovers, while the 'Trio' album with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris leans into close mountain harmony. Placing a song by its production, twangy or slick, is a real test of how well you know her range.

The mountain deep cuts fans miss

Late in her career Dolly went back to the mountains. Albums like 'The Grass Is Blue' and 'Little Sparrow' strip the sound to banjo and fiddle, and 'Travelin' Thru' earned her a second Oscar nomination. Catch these from a few bars, add the trivia about her one-room Tennessee childhood and her 1999 Country Music Hall of Fame induction, and few Dolly questions will surprise you.

Dolly Parton Quiz FAQ

How well do you know Dolly Parton?

Play the free Dolly Parton quiz on Songtrivia to find out. You will guess songs from a short clip, from 'Jolene' to '9 to 5', and answer trivia about the classics she wrote for herself and for others. Even lifelong fans slip on the deep cuts.

Which Dolly Parton songs are in the quiz?

Expect the signatures: 'Jolene', '9 to 5', 'Coat of Many Colors' and 'I Will Always Love You', plus bluegrass-era deep cuts like 'Little Sparrow' that sort the superfans from the rest.

Did Dolly Parton write 'I Will Always Love You'?

Yes. Dolly wrote and first recorded 'I Will Always Love You' in 1974; Whitney Houston's 1992 version made it a worldwide No. 1. Spotting the original behind the famous cover is the trickiest round in the Dolly Parton quiz.

How hard is the Dolly Parton quiz?

Her signature hits are easy points, but many of her songs are better known in someone else's voice, and her sound shifts from country to pop to bluegrass, so the writer and the era are where scores fall.

What is Dolly Parton's real name and where is she from?

Her full name is Dolly Rebecca Parton. She was born on January 19, 1946, in a one-room cabin in Sevier County, in the mountains of East Tennessee.

Is the Dolly Parton quiz free?

Yes. The Dolly Parton quiz is completely free and needs no signup. Just open the page and start playing.

📚 Sources & methodology

Sources consulted

Wikipedia · AllMusic · Pitchfork · Billboard · Songtrivia editorial team.

Our methodology

Each topic is curated by a Quiz Master with category expertise. Selection crosses cultural impact, chart performance, recognition potential and era variety.