Loved on both sides of politics, Dolly Parton represented the best of America

August 26, 2026 — 5:09pm

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The songs of Dolly Parton soundtrack the lives of generations but her public life also chronicled the extraordinary changes experienced by many around the world.

Parton has died aged 80 and in a career spanning more than six decades, penned some 3000 songs and inspired a range of communities, from fans who simply loved her voice and lyrics to rednecks who could see she was one of them, and members of the LGBTQ community impressed by her rhinestones and chutzpah.

The writer Chet Flippo’s August 1977 Rolling Stone magazine cover story escorted the country and western singer into the larger world of rock with the line “Big Rock Candy Mountain”, borrowed from the........

© The Sydney Morning Herald