Dolly Parton, RIP

I am not a country music fan, and I was not that familiar with Dolly Parton's work. But even I had heard enough about her intelligence and self-reliance to respect her. In that vein, I highly recommend George Will's column about Parton's passing. It captures both her strong character and the once-healthier (albeit far from perfect) culture of America around the time she was born.I especially enjoyed learning about her lone professional encounter with Elvis Presley (of whom I not a fan):She was a savvy businesswoman even when getting started in Nashville's music industry, which was not a lagoon of advanced thinking about the emancipation of women. In 1974, she was 28 and starstruck when Elvis Presley expressed interest in meeting her and recording "I Will Always Love You," which she had written. But when Presley's management insisted on at least half the rights to the song, she refused, the meeting was off, and she never met -- never again wanted to meet -- Elvis. But Ackmann reports…