It's Porter Wagoner, not Carter Wagoner.

In my enthusiasm I made several typos. Should be fixed soon. Thanks!

for a great piece! 3000 songs! Whoa!

I love Dolly Parton and have always been moved by her authenticity. I'm tickled by the memory of an interview she did years ago with a way too serious televison reporter/starlet who must have had her eyes on an anchor post. Noting Dolly's proclivity for big hair and apparently not realizing they are wigs, the reporter posed a trenchant question: How long does it take to do your hair? Missing not a single beat Ms. Dolly responded: "Hell, I don't know. I'm not there when they do it." Love that gal. Happy birthday Ms. Dolly.

Thanks, indeed.

To thank Dolly for writing the song "Traveling Through" for the movie Transamerica!

and thanks to Rebecca for the reminder that Dolly is a national treasure.

I just had to write and say that this post was so inspiring and wonderful, it made me fall in love with Dolly just a little more. Very well-written and worthy. Thanks.

I had no idea that so many Salon readers were Dolly Parton fans! Especially since Salon is based in San Francisco, and I thought that all of you may have been too sophisticated to pay attention to country music, or admit to liking it. Thanks for proving me wrong! I have always liked Dolly, and love her even more since reading all of the things you thanked her for. I became a Parton fan in 1983, when I decided to dress up as her for Halloween. I knew that in order to do justice to Dolly, I'd have to do more than just pad my chest to her size. So I did my homework, and read everything I could about Ms. Parton. The more I learned, the greater my admiration for Dolly grew - and has continued to grow over the years. I hope that Dolly had a very happy 60th birthday, and will have many more great ones.

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which my mother loved and let me watch when I was... gosh, maybe 12? I must've watched that movie fifty times at the very least. So cheesy... so WONDERFUL... So fantastic to see a different side to prostitution! Thank you Dolly!!!!

Dolly Parton is, indeed, a national treasure, and all the more so for her self-deprecating humor and wisdom. It's a rare thing in America when someone born dirt poor in Appalachia rises to the heights that she has then showers upon everyone all the stardust she's managed to grasp--and all the while not wanting to take credit for it.

She is a true blue American and a real "democrat" (small 'd' intended)--not to mention one of the best examples of what a real, humble, grateful, charitable Christian really is. If more of us followed her example, and other great Americans like her (Warren Buffett springs to mind, though he wears much less makeup), this country might actually live up to all the sacred ideals our politicians talk about but never embody the way she does.

Happy Birthday, Doll.

I wish that Dolly ran the country...nay, the world. But the beauty of Dolly is that she'd never presume to want to. All we can do is bask in the wonder that is her, and hope that others will be inspired by her to do good works, be real, and carry love in their hearts.

One additional thing to thank Dolly for -- Dolly's company, Sandollar Productions, produced Buffy the Vampire Slayer!