Like all angels, Dolly Parton descended from on high — in this case the upper concourse of Reynolds Coliseum.

It was the night of Feb. 25, 1985, and country superstar Parton, fancily dressed in bright yellow sequins and gold fringe with 5-inch yellow heels, had already played a 40-minute set to open for country superstar and NC State fan favorite Kenny Rogers. The two were on a three-month, 29-city tour — their first ever together — to promote their duet “Islands in the Stream.”

Parton apologized for the expensive tickets worth $16.50 and $18.50 (about $52 and $58 in today’s market), which sold out in less than two hours, saying “bras are getting expensive these days.” She also complained about the heat in the unair-conditioned arena.

Rogers followed Parton’s set — which included “Jolene,” “Here You Come Again” and “9 to 5” — with 17 of his biggest hits, plus an encore of Bob Seger’s “We’ve Got Tonight.”

The sellout crowd of 12,197 was getting antsy, though. They wanted to see country music’s dominant duet perform together a second time that night.

All of a sudden, Reynolds’ famous spotlight swung toward the north end zone, and there stood Dolly, stunning in a sparkling black gown that would have set off the red light on the noise meter in the Reynolds rafters, had it been a basketball game.

She slowly walked down the aluminum risers, and the two broke into their chart-climbing collaboration of Parton’s “Real Love.”

The crowd stood in a sustained ovation, and the night ended in perfection.

The duo were slated to return to Reynolds just three weeks later, but Parton had a relapse of a February case of the flu and dropped off the rest of the tour because of persistent throat problems. She was replaced by Dottie West.

At Rogers’ second show, about 600 fans returned their tickets and 1,500 didn’t show up, leaving just 8,300 on hand for the replacement lineup.

Parton died Tuesday at the age of 80, after a brief bout with cancer, leaving an indelible mark on every life she touched.