Dolly Parton was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 but decided to be worthy - Dolly's thought process, not mine - she needed to make her own rock album. In November, Dolly Parton will release an album of originals and covers called Rockstar. The album will consist of 30 songs with nine being originals that Dolly wrote or co-wrote.
So far, three songs have been released from the ablum. Two of them are originals and the other a cover. The cover, though, isn't just Dolly Parton doing someone else's song in her own style. The tune is Heart's "Magic Man" and Dolly asked Ann Wilson to also be a part of the sing. The mixutre of the two strong female voices along with the same sonic power of the original makes for great stuff.
"World On Fire" was debuted at the ACM awards about a month ago. The song is rock, but definitely has a twinkle of being country-influenced. Parton co-wrote the song with Nashville producer Kent Wells. There is a chorus and a glam-type stomp so it's a fun song if not neccessarily heavy.
Dolly Parton teases new rock album with the early release of three songs
This is in contrast to "Bygones" where Dolly sings with Judas Priest's Rob Halford while Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx is on the guitar. Dolly sounds good, but Halford's is just as clear and strong. Sure, the production is a bit too slick for a rock song, but it's still not a bad tune. In fact, I can almost guarantee it's the heaviest single Dolly Parton has ever been a part of.
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All of this is to say that Dolly Parton is worth every bit of admiration she gets. She is the epitome of class. When she says, "If I’m going to be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, I better do something to earn it" she doesn't mean she's only going to put in half the effort she normally would.
If the rest of the album is anything like the first three songs released, it's worth buying and keeping around. If you are a true metal head, you might dismiss the record as a novice rocker trying to overstep their boundaries. But in the end, that might just make you less cool than Dolly Parton. That's OK too because most people who have walked the earth are less cool than Dolly.