Music Writer on Dolly Parton’s Legacy: ‘Who Else Has a 100% Approval Rating?’

EXCERPT:

WILLMAN: “There hasn’t. I mean, you know, I’ve sometimes thought, is it fair to call Dolly the most beloved entertainer in the history of popular entertainment? And that’s a tough judgment to make, but I think it is, because who else has a 100 percent approval rating over 60 years? And that’s a poll that’s never been taken scientifically. But I don’t know if you’ve ever met anyone who would say they don’t like Dolly Parton. I haven’t, and you can’t say that about Elvis Presley, going back to Charlie Chaplin. Certainly forward to Taylor Swift. There’s a lot of detractors, but something about Dolly Parton just made people smile when you even mentioned her name and let alone they really thought about what she meant to them. And, you know, so she was not polarizing. You know, she stayed out of controversies. She was thought of as inclusive, certainly an LGBTQ plus icon and also equally beloved among, you know, the most redneck of redneck people who thought, oh, maybe she’s a little too inclusive for me, but I just love her.”