The country music star’s death was announced by nephew Brian Seaver on InstagramDolly Parton, US country star, actor and philanthropist, dies aged 80A life in picturesParton’s peerless career turned country music cliches inside outDolly Parton was born in poverty in a one-room cabin in Tennessee, the fourth child to a mother who would have 12 children by the age of 35, and a father who was a farmer and construction worker. One of her best-loved songs, Coat of Many Colours, was about her mother creating patchwork clothes; Parton’s first guitar was cobbled together from a mandolin with bass guitar strings. Her first proper guitar was given to her aged eight by her uncle, and she went from singing in church, to appearing on local television aged 10, to cutting her first record aged 13. That year she appeared at the Grand Ole Opry, the concert hall in Nashville at the centre of country music, and her performance was introduced by Johnny Cash. She later said:I’ve always believed things would go well, and I dreamed that they would even before I was in high school. I always wanted to be a star. It just seemed natural to me. Continue reading...