Dolly Parton, the singer, songwriter and entertainer whose extraordinary musical gifts carried her from rural Tennessee poverty to global superstardom, has died aged 80.

Parton died in Nashville on Tuesday, 25 August. No cause of death was given in that announcement though it has been revealed since that she died after a “brief battle” with cancer.

Dolly Parton in her Blue Smoke World Tour, 2014. Photo © Kristopher Harris/WikiMedia Creative Commons

Few musicians have left such a distinctive imprint on popular music. With her crystalline soprano, instantly recognisable vibrato and gift for economical, emotionally direct storytelling, Parton transformed the raw materials of Appalachian country music into songs that travelled far beyond their original setting.

She wrote hundreds of songs, among them Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, 9 to 5 and I Will Always Love You – compositions whose melodies and narratives have become part of the international musical vernacular. Her songs accumulated more than 100 million worldwide sales, while her recordings generated more than a billion online streams.

Parton’s origins story became legendary. Born in 1946 in a one-room cabin in the mountains of Tennessee, she was the fourth of 12 children. Her...