Dolly Parton Tops Billboard’s Hot 100 Songwriters Chart for the First Time

Dolly Parton has reached a new chart milestone, landing at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songwriters ranking for the first time as three of her signature songs surge back into the spotlight.

Dolly Parton is No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songwriters chart for the first time, powered by renewed activity for “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You” on the Sept. 5-dated Hot 100. Billboard Brasil reports that the three classics, all written solely by Parton, helped send the country legend to the top of the songwriter ranking.

“Jolene” reenters the Hot 100 at No. 16, far above its previous No. 60 peak from 1974, while “9 to 5” returns at No. 18 after originally spending two weeks at No. 1 in 1981. Parton’s own 1974 recording of “I Will Always Love You” also makes its first-ever Hot 100 appearance, debuting at No. 27.

The movement follows a major resurgence in listening to Parton’s catalog after her death on Aug. 25 at age 80. The renewed interest has pushed some of her best-known recordings to new chart highs decades after their original releases, underscoring the durability of a songwriting catalog that has crossed country, pop and multiple generations.

Parton wrote each of the three songs without a co-writer, a notable factor on the Hot 100 Songwriters chart, where songwriting points are divided among credited writers on collaborations. Billboard launched the ranking in 2019, making this Parton’s first No. 1 since the chart began.

“Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” were both released in 1974 and have become two of Parton’s most enduring compositions. The latter gained another life through Whitney Houston’s blockbuster 1992 recording, while “Jolene” has been reinterpreted repeatedly across genres and generations.

The new No. 1 adds another distinction to Parton’s legacy as both a performer and a writer. More than five decades after some of these songs were first released, their latest chart run is giving Parton a songwriter milestone she had never previously achieved.