Featured Artist
Bill Owens
Born 1935
Obsessed with music from an early age, Bill Owens built a career as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and music business entrepreneur. He was one of the first to recognize his niece Dolly Parton’s talent, and he became an inspiration to other members of the Owens-Parton family.
Biography
The second-youngest of eight children born to Rev. Jake and Rena Owens, William Earl “Bill” Owens grew up steeped in music. By his teens, he had mastered guitar and songwriting, performing with his brothers as The Owens Brothers. After they were called to military service in the early 1950s, Bill continued as a solo act and with local groups.
In the mid-1950s, he became active in Knoxville’s country music scene, and in 1956, began managing his 10-year-old niece, Dolly Parton. He secured her early radio performances and played guitar on her first recordings. Bill released his own music as “Little Billy Earl” and collaborated with his brother John Henry.
In the 1960s, Bill moved to Nashville with Dolly, co-writing hits like “Put It Off Until Tomorrow.” He also played guitar for Opry stars Carl & Pearl Butler and co-founded Owepar Music Publishing and Circle B Records with Dolly and brother Louis, cementing his legacy as a songwriter, mentor, and music entrepreneur.
“Uncle Bill was so many things. He loved the music, loved to play, loved his guitar and loved to write and sing. He wrote great songs, at least 800 of them through the years. It’s really hard to say or to know for sure what all you owe somebody for your success. But I can tell you for sure that I owe Uncle Billy an awful lot. He was funny, friendly and generous. He always had a kind word for everybody and gave good advice to young people starting in the business.” — Dolly Parton
Pioneer of Smoky Mountain Sound
In 1969, Bill left Owepar for a solo stint as an independent record producer. He continued to write songs and in the mid-70s, he returned to East Tennessee where he launched the Smoky Mountain Music Barn, one of the first music theaters in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. He continued to operate the Music Barn into the 1980s and became a regular performer at Dollywood after the park opened in 1986 until his death in 2021 at the age 85.
