Dolly Parton Says Her New Rock Album Is Now Part of Her Legacy

In October, Dolly Parton joined Loudwire Nights to discuss the release of her new book, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, and on Friday (Nov. 17), she returned to dive into her first-ever rock album, Rockstar.

On the surface, Rockstar is Parton’s response to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And while she initially used the creation of the album as a way to justify the honor — an honor she first turned down — Rockstar has clearly become more than a simple obligation to her.

“I’m so proud of it, but I won’t turn a thing loose until I feel like it’s done — and then I can just go on and then I can turn it loose and go onto something else,” Parton explained to host Loudwire Nights host Chuck Armstrong. “This was a joy to do, and you’re right, I didn’t just do it to say, you know, I did a rock album. This is something I want to leave for my legacy.”

Parton said that at this stage in her career, she feels like she’s been able to do nearly everything she’s wanted, but that doesn’t mean she ever wants to slow down.

“I want to do and leave as much good stuff behind as I can — and rock and roll is not foreign to me. We all grew up loving Elvis and Carl Perkins and Little Richard and Chuck Berry and all those great people that were first influences in country music, actually.”

Dolly Parton’s Rockstar Features Many Special Guests

Rockstar is packed full of special guests, ranging from Judas Priest’s Rob Halford to Paul McCartney; nearly every single track on the massive 30-song album features a guest collaboration.

“I just kept recording songs that I loved, thinking I could narrow them down, but I never could narrow them down,” Parton confessed. “So I thought, well, why not just put it all out? Let this be the first and last one I’ll ever need to do.”

READ MORE: Win a Dolly Parton Autographed Custom Guitar

As for the special guests, it was clear that Parton remains humbled that so many people were excited to join her on Rockstar.

“Everybody was so nice about it,” she admitted. “I didn’t ask them directly because I didn’t want them to have to say no if they didn’t want to do it. I went through their managers, I wrote them a letter and everything. [I told] them what I was doing and they all came back and I felt really honored that they would even be willing to do it. To have people like Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and Elton John and Steven Tyler and Stevie Nicks — I mean, I’ve got a world of people in here.”

What Else Did Dolly Parton Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• Who she was hoping to get as special guests on Rockstar, but was unable to due to schedules: “I was hoping I could run down Mick Jagger to do something. He wanted to do it, but we never could hook up in time because I had a deadline … I missed Ed Sheeran, I would’ve loved to do something with. Cher and I were looking for the right song and we never hooked up.”
• Why she’s able to let her “creative self do what it wants to do”
• Why she wanted to make sure she had her hands on Rockstar

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Dolly Parton joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday, Nov. 16; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand. Stream Rockstar at this location.

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