Broadcaster and writer John MacLeod pays tribute to Dolly Parton following her death this week at the age of 80, reflecting on why the country music icon was held in such deep affection across the world, including in the Scottish Highlands and Ireland. He argues her appeal stemmed from her warmth, generosity and down-to-earth humour, alongside a musical heritage rooted in Appalachian folk that has deep, often overlooked, Gaelic roots.

MacLeod recounts Parton's upbringing as one of 12 children in poverty in Tennessee, her rise to a personal fortune of at least $500million, and acts of generosity such as a $1million donation towards the Moderna Covid vaccine. He traces the Gaelic influence on Appalachian music to 18th-century Highland and Ulster Scots-Irish emigrants who brought fiddle music, hymn traditions and modal scales to America, and notes Parton's early career struggles in a male-dominated Nashville scene before hits such as 9 to 5 and Islands in the Stream made her a global star.