She was a singer & songwriter. Her most famous song is "I Will Always Love You". She wrote and recorded it in 1973, but released it in 1974. She re-recorded it in 1982, as part of the soundtrack for the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which is based on a true story. Both releases hit #1 on the Country chart, with the 1982 release also hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Whitney Houston recorded/released her version in 1992, which hit the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, spending 14 weeks in the top spot.

According to Dolly, her song "Jolene" is not about her sister as countless people believe, but a local red-headed bank teller who kept flirting with Dolly's husband. Rolling Stone magazine's Top 500 Greatest Songs poll in 2004, the song was rated 217. In their 2021 Top 500 Greatest Songs poll it was rated 63.

Dolly has sold over 100,000,000 records during her career.