Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton has always been one tragedy away from country sainthood. No plane crashes, widowhood, stalker or savage attack, or devastating scandal has ever really toted Dolly to the stars; Dolly's natural shocks have all been in the realm of bad taste, which Dolly in fact has always embraced -- there's disco Dolly, bad actress Dolly, endlessly self-effacing Dolly with her wigs and her winks. And none of that can take away the simple truth that Dolly is brilliant and perfect, a gaudy but honest gem, a diamond disguised in tinsel and rhinestone. She's one of the great writers, great singers, great performers and great personalities of country, and as much at home singing "Jolene" under a mirrorball as she might be singing "I Will Always Love You" in Daisy Mae drag, scratching her absurd fingernails over a fretboard. Dolly's at the Dodge, and remember, she's the queen of the roller derby.