Commentary: From Appalachia to England, Dolly Parton was a supreme and unifying talent

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Set us as preferred Flags are flying at half-mast to honor singer Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at the age of 80.There are few artists, let alone individuals of any stripe, whose loss compels a national day of mourning.Especially now, when it can appear there is little to agree upon and everything to debate.

But in death as in life, Parton left us one of the few spaces where Americans can still unite under a single banner: The banner of Dolly.Her music was borderless, disarming and genuine.Simply put, it was a reflection of the woman who wrote and performed the songs.

Her outsized personality, warmth, compassion and charm made her more than a country music star.Parton was an icon whose music, philanthropy and authenticity superseded genre, class, sexuality, color and politics.She ingratiated herself to the public in bigger-than-big wigs, “trashy” outfits (her words) and with an unfailing sense of humor about herself.

When I interviewed Parton in 2001 upon release of her album “Little Sparrow,” she expounded on her fashion sense.“Just ‘cause I’m singing about a farmer doesn’t mean I have to come out in overalls,” she said.

“Or just ‘cause I’m singing about a woman having a baby doesn’t mean I have to wear a maternity smock.But if I did, I’d put rhinestones on it.”Parton’s self-effacing jokes made her immense talent less threatening in an entertainment industry that often reserved the title of “genius songwriter” for men.

And women’s contributions were often minimized by putting the focus elsewhere.In 1977, when she appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” the most powerful man on television asked what her ample bustline would have been called back home.“Healthy,” he joked? She laughed it off.

He then said he would give a year’s pay to “peek under there.” Sh...