In 1969 an up-and-coming young singer named Dolly Parton composed a little song called "Coat Of Many Colors." The autobiographical song told the sad tale of a poor family forced to share hand-me-down clothing and one special coat in particular that Parton's mother had stitched together from a box of rags.

The song, released as a single in 1971, instantly became a country classic, and little did Parton know the endurance it would have. Years later it would take the form of an illustrated children' s book and become something of an anthem for anti-bullying.

Now, 44 years after its release, the song has found another life as TV movie "Dolly Parton's Coat Of Many Colors," debuting Thursday night on NBC.

Parton, no stranger to TV or the big screen, serves as executive producer on the project that stars Rick Schroder, Jennifer Nettles and newcomer Alyvia Lind as a 9-year-old Parton.

For Nettles, a country superstar in her own right thanks to the success of her band Sugarland, landing the part of Parton's mother Avie Lee Parton was an honor.

"Initially it came through my agent, who said, 'Look, you know, they're doing this movie on this portion of Dolly's life, and we're interested in you playing her mom, would be interested?'" Nettles says. "I said, 'If it's part of what Dolly does, I want to be a part of it,' because everybody loves her so much, and everything she touches is so special."

Parton liked what she saw in Nettles' audition, and the part was hers. "I saw it, and I thought, 'That's Mama,' Parton says with a laugh.

"Jennifer is one of the great people of the world, she is undoubtedly one of the great of the talents I've ever seen," adds Parton. "Every few years, every 15 or 20 years, somebody will come along, and you'll think, wow, that girl has everything or that guy has everything. She had the talent, the personality. And that voice is just incredible."

Parton also believes she hit the jackpot in finding Alyvia Lind after an exhaustive search for a young actor to play her.

"This special little girl, but I was never that pretty," admits Parton. "When we connected, our little eyes met. We both felt it. I just saw in her a little spirit, that she was her own little individual self."

"I knew a lot about her before this, and I know even more about her now," Lind says. "I knew for sure when we met, I felt so warm with her and I felt so warm in the room. And when our eyes met, I felt ‑ I definitely saw myself in her."

For Parton, the movie reflects a very emotional time in her life when, as poor child, her family and its love were the only riches she knew. And in spite of the teasing she received from school bullies, she would wear her coat with pride.

"This is a very emotional song for me, period," she says. "Sometimes, when I sing it on stage, like during the time my mom was sick and especially after my mama passed, it was really, really hard for me to sing this song without just kind of breaking down or just really having to self‑contain it."

"That little coat is just a symbol. And I think all those colors, when you look back on it now, my mother had told me the story about Joseph and the coat of many colors, just to make me proud, because she knew it was made of rags. It just symbolizes so many things, and now that I'm older, it's really ‑ I see all those colors, and it's kind of like the girl of many colors, like a life of many colors, it kind of symbolizes all that," adds Parton.

"It's such a beautiful song," Nettles tells Headlines & Global News exclusively. Although she does admit it was not a song she sang growing up. "I was drawn to Jolene a lot, and of course, 'I Will Always Love You.' A lot of Dolly songs are iconic, but I don't remember growing up singing this one. However, I'm sure it was around all the time as we played Dolly Parton albums all the time at my house, especially my grandparents."

According to Parton, the original coat didn't survive and was torn up and repurposed by her mother years later.

"I had even a little picture made in it, a school picture," she reveals. "Mama tore that down, I'm sure, and sewed it into a quilt or blanket or into something else," she says. "We do have a little replica of but that was just from a memory in my head, and so it's been recycled, I'm sure, knowing my mama."

"Dolly Parton's Coat Of Many Colors" premiers tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC. For more of our exclusive interview with Nettles, read on.

Is acting a whole new realm for you?

I did a stint on Broadway, so for me I love storytelling in general and through the performing arts. So to be able to do it in another medium and in terms of acting is not necessarily a new thing for me. But what is is doing it in such a way that it's small enough to be captured in a lens. I'm excited to be able to get to experiment, because when you're on the stage, be it in terms of singing or acting, it's such a big and broad type of performance. So to be able to do something subtle enough to be captured with a camera, I am interested in that from a process standpoint.

And you get to pay tribute to Dolly Parton in the process.

I know, and especially to her mom. Before shooting, I said, "Look, when we start shooting this I'll have so many questions for you because I want to really pay honor to that relationship." From what I knew from the script and also my relationship with my own mother, it's such a sacred and special relationship and bond. Not only in general but specifically in the script, I just wanted to make sure that I did it justice and I could be the best Abby Lee that I could.

Was doing Broadway dream come true for you?

Playing Roxie Hart in "Chicago"... It was a blast! I can't wait to do it again. I've been sniffing and chatting and in the dreamy creative phase with a couple of different folks for some projects that may end up coming to fruition. I love musical theater and for me it brings elements together that are just such a joy. This movie, although not a musical, the fact that Dolly Parton's family was all musical and all played instruments and that there was music in her home all the time, we have shared a parallel story in the sense that I grew up singing in church, she grew up singing in church, so to be able to do this movie that has such a music background within it, it's really exciting to me - so yes - more theater.

You also did study drama for a while, correct?

I grew up doing theater, and even through college I did it. There was a time I wondered which way am I going to go. I love storytelling and the performing arts. I had to ask myself that question, "Do I want to dig in more to acting and theater, or do I go more the singer-songwriter route?" Obviously I had a lot of fun growing up in music and felt I wanted to give that a go, and I'm so glad I did. Not only has it been successful, the success I've had has allowed me to branch out in these ways to a level that I think I'll have a steep learning curve, but I am excited for that.

Did you have to change much of your schedule to accommodate this?

This worked out so well for me because I was finishing up a new record, my second solo album, so the timing of it worked out great between finishing that before its release, but I had a little bit of downtime so it's perfect timing.

Could you ever see your own story being told?

I have to laugh because I don't know about that. I know where all the bodies are buried, and nobody wants me to tell my story [laughs]. There's way too much darkness, I don't mean that in a bad way, but this story has so much beauty and levity to its that I think people will really relate to it.

Do we get to actually see you sing in the movie?

There's a little bit of singing in terms of the family, but it's not a musical as such. We won't be suddenly bursting out into song to further the story; it's just a part of the story.

And as a mom yourself, how's motherhood treating you?

I am loving it! It's the hardest thing I've ever done that's for sure. I'm a working mama!