Back in 1977, the legendary music journalist Lester Bangs wrote an obituary for Elvis Presley in which he foresaw the atomization of popular culture and predicted “we will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis.” While he was ahead of his time in understanding the splintering of society that was to come, there was one person he hadn’t quite counted on. Almost half a century after the death of the King of Rock’n’Roll, America still agreed about its Queen of Country.
When news broke Tuesday that Dolly Parton had died of cancer at the age of 80, the announcement was swiftly followed by an outpouring of grief that, for a brief moment, truly united both the nation and the planet. Rich or poor, young or old, liberal or conservative, it seemed everybody had something good to say about the woman who assured us “I Will Always Love You.”
