Affairs? Drugs? You could ask Dolly Parton about anything and get a laugh. Just stay away from politics …

One autumn day in 2023 I bathed in the luminous glow of this utterly authentic star – and while she did have one weak spot, her life and music will speak for themselves • Celebrity tributes pour in for Dolly Parton: ‘a gift to the world’ • Backwoods Barbie and the ‘God almighty’ PMS Blues: Dolly Parton’s 10 best deep cuts • Alexis Petridis on Dolly Parton’s peerless career The great privilege of my kind of journalism is to get the chance to meet extraordinary people – some famous, many not –…