Dolly Parton obituary

Glamorous and astute singer-songwriter whose bountiful talent had an appeal reaching far beyond her country roots The singer Dolly Parton, who has died aged 80, had a ready fund of quips, most mercilessly self-deprecating.

“It takes a lot of money to look this cheap” was perhaps the most famous, and undoubtedly the one that best captured her appetite for glitz and mischief.

Bountiful talent as a singer and songwriter was the bedrock of her success, but her wit and maximalist approach also charmed the public.

She was a much-loved figure even to those who knew none of her music apart from the huge hits Jolene and I Will Always Love You : at the Glastonbury festival in 2014 , she attracted what was reportedly the largest crowd in its history.

“Borderline absurd” was the Guardian’s approving verdict on that show, during which Parton tooted a rhinestone saxophone and improvised a song called Mud (her crystal-studded white suit survived the weather unsullied).

But that was just a workaday gig for a character who was always “on” in public.

Ebullient and warm by nature, she created a persona that had no real precedent in country music – she was a fantasy figure who was also very real.

The exterior fakery, modelled on “ a whore or a high-class prostitute , not even so much high-class”, as she told Rolling Stone in 1980, was grounded by deep intelligence and honesty.

While many of her songs covered classic misery territory – shamed single mothers, sickly children – she was the anomalous star whose own life was happy.

Parton’s appeal was multi-generational and boundary-defying; one of the first country stars to cross over, she played a major role in taking the genre into the mainstream.

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