Dolly Parton will always love you

When one is granted an interview with an icon of Dolly Parton's stature, what usually happens is an assistant calls, puts you on hold for an indeterminate period of time and then connects you to the interviewee. So when the phone rang at the appointed hour for my chat with Parton, I was surprised to hear Parton herself already on the line, gamely struggling to pronounce my last name and laughing at herself; still makes me giggle every time I hear it.

Yes, of course I recorded the conversation -- wouldn't you? Take a listen to a sample here, then read the print interview here. There's also a brief chat with local author Lee Smith about what it's like to actually meet Ms. Parton in-person.

For the rest of us lesser mortals, she plays Wednesday at Raleigh's RBC Center.