Dolly Parton, an American singer, songwriter and musician, has made waves in the industry through her contributions in country music for over fifty years. Since her debut album ‘Hello, I’m Dolly’ in 1967, she has sold over 100 million records worldwide, and yet she continues to make new breakthroughs in her career even at an age of 77.
She has now decided to delve into the rock and roll genre through her new album ‘Rockstar’, a thirty-song collaborative project scheduled to be released on 17 November 2023.
Despite winning 11 Grammy Awards, she is one of the humblest celebrities in the music industry, who has politely said “no” to several golden opportunities. She has turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom multiple times due to health and logistic reasons, and even declined a collaboration with Elvis Presley due to clashes in business interest.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she talks about how she had declined multiple offers to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show, as she explains “I couldn’t do it because of other things, or I just didn’t think I was big enough to do it — to do that big of a production. When you think about those shows, those are big, big productions. I’ve never done anything with that big of a production. I don’t know if I could have. I think at the time that’s what I was thinking.”
Dolly Parton and Polite Rejections
Dolly Rebecca Parton, a legendary singer, businesswoman and philanthropist, has earned quite a reputation for having turned down several once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
When The King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley himself wanted to record her song “I Will Always Love You”, Parton felt like “That was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me”, recalling to UK’s The Big Issue in 2020. Presley’s manager however, had other plans and asked for half the publishing revenue in exchange, which Dolly Parton declined, breaking the collaboration.
In early 2021, the state of Tennessee made plans to build a statue of Parton at their state capitol. Although she was “humbled and honored”, she urged the lawmakers to cancel such plans. She explained her decision on twitter: “Given all that is going on in the world, I don’t think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time.”
Dolly Parton’s New ‘Rockstar’ Era
In 2022, Dolly Parton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but as a country musician she felt unworthy of such a prestigious honor. She felt that she is taking away the position from someone who had spent their life in the genre of rock and roll. She thus declined the offer at first but was informed that the Rock Hall now honors a variety of artists from different genres, from Bob Marley to Eminem.
Parton accepted, but felt like she still had to earn it, which inspired her towards a new project even at the age of 77 to justify her inclusion. This led to the creation of the rock and roll album titled ‘Rockstar’, which is scheduled to be released on 17 November 2023 by Butterfly Records and Big Machine Records.
The album consists of 9 original songs such as the lead single “World on Fire” which was released on 11 May 2023, and 21 covers of famous rock and roll songs, including “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You” by the British rock band Queen and “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin.
‘Rockstar’ is also a huge collaborative project, created with several legendary rock and roll artists, such as Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the surviving members of the Beatles, who are featured in the cover for their song “Let It Be”. The album also includes contemporary artists like Lizzo and Pink, along with a cover of the song “Wrecking Ball” with Parton’s goddaughter Miley Cyrus.
With ‘Rockstar’ releasing on 17 November, Dolly Parton told The Hollywood Reporter that “it would make more sense” to now perform at the Super Bowl.
