Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton got her initial success by writing songs for other people. In 1967 she made her debut album, “Hello, I’m Dolly”. She gained a pretty steady stream of success throughout the 1960s. She continued on as a solo artist and released a couple of duet albums as well. Her sales peaked in the 70s and continued well into the 80s. She released more albums in the 90s, but they did not do as well.
This didn’t stop her, though. She made a comeback in the 2000s and released multiple albums on Independent labels, including albums on her own label, Dolly Records. Over the span of her career, she has 41 top-10 country albums, and she had 110 charted singles over the past 40 years.
Janis Joplin
An infamous member of the 27 Club and an overall rock icon, Janis Joplin has a voice you can't easily forget. One of the most successful female rock stars of her time, Joplin struggled with substance abuse which ultimately took her life in 1970.
her short-yet-meaningful career includes four albums, a performance at Woodstock festival, and several awards she was given after her death. That's right, she was soo good she didn't even manage to get all the recognition she deserved.
Shania Twain
Canadian country pop singer-songwriter and 5-time Grammy Award winner, Shania Twain, has an estimated net worth of $400 million. She has achieved major success as a singer-songwriter, winning 27 Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Songwriter awards. Twain credits the time she ѕреnt wоrkіng wіth hеr fаthеr’ѕ rеfоrеѕtаtіоn buѕіnеѕѕ for giving her the solitude she needed to spark her creativity.
In the mid-'90s with her hit album, "The Woman in Me", Twain became the most popular country music artist since Garth Brooks. That record became a multi-platinum phenomenon, selling over 9 million copies in America alone. Selling a total of 100 million records globally, Twain is the best-selling female artist in country music history and also one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Linda Ronstadt
Linda’s career began in folk-rock and country-rock music, where she used to play at the Troubadour. Afterward, she discovered her true talent and was quickly named the "Queen of Rock" and "First Lady of Rock" by the media. She has produced impressive 31 gold platinum records and won a whopping amount of 10 Grammys.
Since her singing days, Linda has sadly been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and was forced to put down the mic. Despite the diagnosis, she still managed to release her memoir that same year, which she titled “Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir.”
Carrie Underwood
Not all winners of "American Idol" hit it as big as Underwood did, but some people just have the “it” factor, and she’s certainly one of them. She won the season, unsurprisingly, and from that point on released chart-topping hits, one after the other. Her debut album combined elements of country and pop that had fans crying for more.
Underwood has sold over 65 million records worldwide to this date. She’s also received countless accolades, including 12 Country Music Awards, seven Grammys, and an induction in the Grand Ole Opry. Just think, one audition changed her life forever. Today, Underwood is known as the most successful "American Idol" winner of all time.