It’s amazing how Dolly Parton’s death has prompted an outpouring of grief beyond what you might expect for someone of her fame, generosity, and ability. Her careful lifelong effort to appeal to a wide audience, her ebullience, and her spirited humour, combined to produce a genuinely heartfelt torrent of tributes.
Some of the reactions have been wonderful. Kacey Musgraves said simply that “the world feels a lot less sparkly all of a sudden”. Taylor Swift described Parton as “true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person”. Perhaps Carrie Underwood came closest to explaining the scale of the mourning: Parton, she said, “was probably the one person on planet Earth that everyone loved and could agree on”.
In an era of sharp differences and sharper elbows, Parton was and remains a rare, cherished, unifying figure.
Personally, I liked her music, admired her deft songwriting - 3000 songs! - and loved her wonderful quips and quotes. But in truth, I would describe myself as an admirer rather than a fan; many of her songs were a little on the syrupy side for me.
Perhaps one thing that has been overlooked in the fanfare is how adept she was at business. In all honesty, she doesn't have much more to tell the world about love, heartbreak, jealousy, and the general calamity of human relationships than we already know, notwithstanding the artistry with which she did it. But I suspect she has an enormous amount to tell us about money.