With a string of sold-out concerts on her European tour Dolly Parton shows that the crossover appeal of her inimitable Nashville sound is as popular as it ever was...

Dollywood or bust

HERE She Comes Again - the woman who was showing steely blonde ambition when Madonna was in kindergarten - American country music legend Dolly Parton.

The 61-year-old with the deceptive Barbie doll dumb blonde image and a shrewd businesswoman's brain is one of the hottest concert attractions around.

In spite of hefty £55 to £75 ticket prices for her Belfast shows, Parton still sold every seat, in the blink of an eye. And every one of her 21 shows in 17 European cities has done similar box-office busting business.

Of course, part of the Parton concert appeal is that she simply hasn't toured outside America on a major scale for over 20 years.

She finally broke that live silence, with a short British Isles tour in late 2002, which saw her make her Belfast debut to widespread acclaim.

Parton's life is one of those cliché-defying rags to riches tales - as one of 12 children growing up in a one-room cabin with no electricity near Locust Ridge, Tennessee.

Forty years ago this year, she made her first full-length solo album Hello, I'm Dolly. But it wasn't until the mid-70s that she truly made her mark with the classic Jolene.

She furthered her career by breaking into the mainstream pop market with 1977's US Top Ten hit Here You Come Again and racked up a series of major hits on both sides of the Atlantic.

Part of Parton's fame has been based upon her larger than life image with gravity-defying blonde wigs and boobs which became source material for many comedy routines.

But nobody made better jokes about her brassy peroxide look than Parton herself. Although she often portrays herself as a simple country girl, Parton is, as Ulster folk would say, 'no goat's toe'!

It takes a wise man or woman to play the fool. And the clever country queen, with her dumb blonde persona has gone on to make millions.

A renowned workaholic, Parton still rises for work at 6am and often burns the midnight oil, ensuring that she remains in control of every aspect of her career.

The Dollywood Theme Park is Tennessee's biggest tourist attraction. She also owns a brand of cosmetics and is the co-founder of a Hollywood film and TV production company, responsible for the likes of the Father Of The Bride movies and the Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV series.

Charity work, such as a foundation which distributes a book a month to every child, up to the age of five in dozens of US states shows the compassionate side of the woman who has not forgotten her roots.

And, on a creative level, Parton rediscovered the significance of her Ulster-Scots roots, with a late 90s rejuvenation of her floundering recording career.

A series of albums - focussing upon the joyous mountain and bluegrass music of her youth, from 1998's aptly-titled Hungry Again to 2002's Halos And Horns - brought her the sort of critical acclaim she hadn't enjoyed in years.

Her current album Those Were The Days featuring her interpretations of late 60s/early 70s songs, like Turn Turn Turn, Imagine and Where Have All The Flowers Gone - was a UK Top 40 hit.

A new compilation set The Very Best Of Dolly Parton became her first ever UK Top Ten success earlier this month. A new studio set, Backwoods Barbie, including her version of the Fine Young Cannibals hit She Drives Me Crazy is due for release later in 2007.

Her European tour dates have reaped glowing reviews so far - with a two hour, 25 song set - featuring fan favourites such as Islands In The Stream, Two Doors Down, Baby I'm Burnin' and, inevitably, the Parton-written mega hit I Will Always Love You.

Belfast must have a special place in Parton's affections. For it is only one of three cities to be granted more than one show on her European tour.

€ Dolly Parton performs at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast on Friday finishes her European tour at the same venue, on Tuesday, April 3.