Dolly Parton, the beloved country music star and humanitarian, celebrates her 77th birthday!

Dolly Parton grew up in poverty in rural Tennessee, but went on to become one of the greatest country musicians of all time and a beloved humanitarian supporting causes ranging from children's literacy to COVID-19 vaccine development! The legendary singer, who is celebrating her 78th birthday today, has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, with 25 songs reaching number one on the Billboard country music charts. A prolific songwriter, Parton has written over 3,000 songs and won 11 Grammy Awards and 50 nominations, the second most nominations of any female artist in history. An inspiring role model to many of her fans, particularly the working class women whose stories feature prominently in her songs, Parton has long encouraged them to pursue their dreams, observing: "If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one." Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

The love between fathers and daughters can be the inspiration for some incredible music. As part of our celebration of the wonderful Dads out there raising Mighty Girls, we wanted to share our top five father-daughter songs. Whether the song is in the father’s voice, wondering at this amazing girl in his life, or in the daughter’s voice, reflecting on the strength her father gives her, these songs are sure to be a hit this Father’s Day!

We will describe each song here, but for more details, including information for parents  about content in the lyrics or video, and to preview songs via embedded YouTube videos, please click on the links to view the full entries. Most of these songs, like the majority of the titles featured in A Mighty Girl’s music section, are available through Amazon.com’s MP3 download service, via the links on each song's page. By using the links on A Mighty Girl, you also help to support the site at no added cost to you, and can have your Father’s Day playlist set up in no time!

For Mighty Girl books that celebrate the father-daughter relationship, please also check out our first Father’s Day blog, A Father’s Love: A Mighty Girl Celebrates Father’s Day. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

“Tonight love and hate met in St. Louis. And love outnumbered the hate, in poetic thousands. Hate left. But love stayed. + Together, we sang.” -- Lady Gaga on Twitter after a protest outside one of her concerts

While Pride Month is a time to remember how far we have to come in the quest for acceptance of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) community, it is also a time to celebrate, because with every year, we come closer to a time when LGBTQ pride will be celebrated universally. In honor of the pride we should all feel in supporting individuality and equality, A Mighty Girl has put together our top ten songs for celebrating living authentic lives.

Although not all of these songs was written with LGBTQ issues in mind, they have all been adopted by the LGBTQ community as expressions of their struggles and their dreams for the future. They provide reassurance that others support the community, whether they identify as LGBTQ or as allies. Most importantly, they remind all of us that, no matter what, we should stand tall and be proud of who we are. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

With Mother’s Day fast approaching, you may be looking for a few more things you can do to make Mom’s day a little more special. Music is amazingly evocative -- there are few things that can capture complex emotions so quickly -- so why not look for the perfect song to describe your relationship?

A Mighty Girl is proud to present our top ten songs for Mighty Girls and their Mighty Moms: songs that are loving, sweet, and powerful in their depiction of one of the foundational relationships in a girl’s life.

We will describe each song here, but for more details, including information about concerns parents may have about content in either lyrics or video, and to preview songs via embedded YouTube videos, please follow the links to our full entries. Each of these songs, like all of those featured in A Mighty Girl's music collection, is also available through either iTunes or Amazon.com’s MP3 download service via the links on each song's page. By using the links on A Mighty Girl, you also help to support the site at no added cost to you, and can have your Mother’s Day playlist set up in no time!

And, to discover wonderful books celebrating Mighty Moms, check out our previous post entitled: A Mother’s Day Special Feature: Celebrating Mighty Moms and Their Daughters. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Lili Sandler, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

On this day in Mighty Girl history, acclaimed singer and civil rights pioneer Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia in 1897. Her musical talent was evident from a young age, and her parents did everything they could to encourage her musical pursuits. Anderson was only 6 when she began performing with the Union Baptist Church, where she was often referred to as “baby contralto”.

Her family was unable to afford piano lessons, so little Marian taught herself to play starting at the age of 8. Dedicated to her church choir, she would rehearse all of the parts to the every song, performing them for her family until they were just right. Her community was so impressed with her commitment that they raised enough money to pay for private lessons with a well-known vocal instructor. Continue reading → Continue reading