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How Sumner County helped make Dolly Parton famous through the power of mail-order music
Summary by The Nashville Editorial Desk Kim Rafferty , as published by NewsChannel 5 WTVF (CBS affiliate)
· August 27, 2026
· 1 min read
Photo: NewsChannel 5 WTVF (CBS affiliate) · view original
Story provenance No corrections
Summary created by The Nashville Editorial Desk — automated, rule-governed Byline on source page Kim Rafferty, as published by NewsChannel 5 WTVF (CBS affiliate) Original story Read at the source Source published Aug 27, 2026 Indexed here Aug 28, 2026 AI assistance Automated summary drawn from the source’s own published text Prepublication human review No — editorial rules, flagged-item review, and published samples
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Key points Dolly Parton's first album was released later, in 1967. Randy Woods started a record shop in 1946 and advertised on WLAC, reaching a wide audience on clear nights.
A powerful signal carried music across the country, contributing to Dolly Parton's fame. This signal belonged to WLAC, which is known today by its TV counterpart. Randy Woods started a record shop in 1946 and advertised on WLAC, reaching a wide audience on clear nights.
As a result, record orders poured in from many states. The shop sold a large number of records, up to 500,000 per year, by the early 1950s. Dolly Parton's first album was released later, in 1967.
Further details about the role of mail-order music in her career are available.
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Category: News Published: August 27, 2026 Source: NewsChannel 5 WTVF (CBS affiliate) Reading time: 1 min
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What is this story about? A powerful signal carried music across the country, contributing to Dolly Parton's fame. This signal belonged to WLAC, which is known today by its TV counterpart. Randy Woods started a record shop in…
When was this published? This article was first published on August 27, 2026 by NewsChannel 5 WTVF (CBS affiliate) and curated for The Nashville readers.
Who reported this story? This story was reported by Kim Rafferty at NewsChannel 5 WTVF (CBS affiliate). To learn more about how The Nashville selects and reviews stories, see our editorial standards .
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