Country legend Dolly Parton had to work twice as hard as her chart competitors to break into the music industry - because no one took her appearance seriously.

The glamorous singer admits she turned heads when she first arrived on the country music scene in Nashville, Tennessee - the day after she graduated from high school in 1964.

But the buxom beauty, who has dubbed her new album Backwoods Barbie, refused to tone down her look - and instead focused on her songwriting.

Parton, 62, says, "When I first came here (to Nashville) I really was the backwoods Barbie: too much make-up, too much hair, the big boobs, country girl straight out of the mountains.

"It’s hard to take somebody looking like that serious (sic), I guess, so I had to work doubly hard to try to prove myself."