Dolly Parton Talks New Album ‘Rockstar,’ Current State of Country Music and Wanting to Come to India

When we sit down to chat with American country music royalty, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and multi–Grammy Award winner Dolly Parton, over a Zoom call, she’s at her effervescent best and comes across as such a kind soul. Parton – who was speaking to us from her Nashville office and studio – recently released the fourth single, “Let It Be,” off her much anticipated 30-track album Rockstar, which is due to be released in full on November 17th, 2023, via Butterfly Records and Big Machine Records. Most of Rockstar includes a host of household names as collaborators and “Let It Be,” the 1970 Beatles hit, is no different. The song features two of the original Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as well as Peter Frampton (from the Herd and Humble Pie) and Mick Fleetwood (of Fleetwood Mac).

In this exclusive interview with Rolling Stone India, Parton talks to us about working with legends of rock music such as McCartney and Starr among others on her new album, wanting to visit India someday, her various other projects and more. Read below.

As one of the most adored country artists ever, I am very interested to know about the role rock music had on you.

Well, I think most people in the United States have been influenced by rock n’ roll. I think really all over the world in the early days of people like Elvis [Presley] and Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, Chubby Checker and all of the great people that we loved in our young years. But my husband is a really big rock n’ roll fan, and we’ve been together so many years. I’ve heard some of the greatest rock music ever because of him. And so, I just thought, ‘Well, why don’t I just go ahead and do a rock album now that they’ve gone and put me in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [in 2022].’

What was it that set you out to make this new record Rockstar?

Well, when they wanted to put me in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, at that time I did not feel that I had earned the title to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And I didn’t want to take any votes from someone else that had spent their life in rock n’ roll, their place in the Hall of Fame. But then they went ahead and put me in any way, and I just wanted to feel like I had earned the right to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and let the rock artists know how I felt about that and asked them if some of them would participate if I decided to do a rock n’ roll album in order to earn my keep and to really feel that I had earned a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And that’s kind of how it all came about, feeling like I wanted to earn the title of being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So I think the album turned out really well. I’m very proud. I kept recording songs that I loved, and they kept mounting up till we actually recorded about 30 songs. We’ve got some wonderful artists on some of the more classic songs. We got some of the great classic artists as well.

I want to ask you about the record’s latest single — “Let It Be” — the Beatles classic and of course you have two of the Beatles featured on the song — what was it like working with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr?

Well, you can imagine how a thing like that would make you feel. I didn’t know if I would be able to pull that off, but they were both so generous about it. Paul McCartney and I have met on a few occasions and we like each other as people. But then when I called Paul to see if he would be willing to sing with me on that, he said, ‘Yeah and I’ll play the piano if you want me to.’ And I said, ‘Well, of course I want you to.’ And so he did play the piano and did sing. Then I thought, ‘Wow, wouldn’t it be cool to have Ringo Starr on the same record?’ Because that’s the last of the Beatles. But then, of course, they have good friends and so we had a couple of other people join us. Peter Frampton played that great guitar solo on it and Mick Fleetwood did some of the acoustic things along with Ringo there, I guess they’re all big buddies, so I really felt like I really hit the jackpot with all those great people on the same record.

I’ve been fortunate enough to hear the whole album ahead of its release and there are so many classics on it such as “Purple Rain,” “Free Bird,” “Stairway to Heaven,” “What’s Up” and more. What was your thought process in picking the songs that made it to the final 30?

Well, I tried to do songs that I knew my husband loved as I had mentioned he’s a huge rockstar, but I had a few songs that I loved as well, so I did so many of the songs that were his favorites, and then I wrote a few or co-wrote some with Kent Wells, who did an amazing job producing the album, we wrote a few things together and some of my own songs that we put on. But I just picked the songs that I thought I could sing the best, that were best suited for my voice. So we just kept recording songs, I never intended to record 30 songs. I just kept recording it, and I remembered another song that I loved. So, by the time I was finished, we had 30 some songs for us to choose. And we said, well, ‘I’m never going to do another rock album, so why not just make this an event and put all these songs down.’

So we’re going to have vinyls and a two-set CD and there’s even some little cassettes I think they have on the rock album as well, some collector’s item things. So anyway, it just turned out to be just a whole big deal and a lot of wonderful, wonderful big-time stars like Elton John and Pink and Brandy Carlisle. We’ve got Steven Tyler and Steve Perry and some of the greatest people… Stevie Nicks. We just got some of the best people ever in rock music on this album.

Is there an anecdote that sticks out from the recording process with any of these people that you can tell me about?

Well, some of my favorite memories was when Anne Wilson came down and we did ‘Magic Man’ together. Just being in the studio, just hearing our voices and just trying to out sing each other. At least keep up with each other because I really felt like I had bit off a lot, and I was hoping I could chew it. It really got to be like a fun thing. Same with Stevie Nicks. We were in the studio, she came down for a few days and she came over when I was even recording some other things, but we were in the studio together. We had just such a fun time. Same with Deborah Harry on ‘Heart of Glass.’ She came down and that was great, just hearing us being in the studio. But I think probably one of my favorite moments of all was John Fogerty. I’d always loved the Creedence Clearwater Revival group. So, there’s a song called ‘Long as I Can See the Light,’ and John came down and we put just a little group together and we recorded that live right there on the session, just like we used to record in the old days. Others had to put their vocals down in a studio somewhere else, so I wasn’t in the studio with all of these people at the same time. So, the moments that I loved, that I treasured the most was with the ones that I actually did get to be in the studio with.

I want to ask about the Grand Ole Opry and country music in general. From the time you began as an artist and currently what’s going on in the world of country music, what differences have you noticed and if anything is there anything you would change?

Oh, you never can say you change anything. I love the fact that country music has done so well and has stayed so prominent through the years and has just grown and grown and grown. I really think it’s probably the most important music in the world right now and there’s so many people that are based in country music, even like Taylor Swift, she kind of had that early part of being steeped in that country music world and feel. And so, I’m just proud that it keeps going, but there’s going to always be some of those artists that go back to the real authentic sound. Like when I first started or like Hank Williams or some of the greats of all time, there’s going to be people that find that, love that, know that and want to preserve that. But the fact that country music has done so well, I’ve always been so proud to be part of it and I think all the country artists have been influenced to some degree, by so much of the rock feel like Elvis [Presley] and Jerry Lee Lewis and some of the people that I grew up loving too. So, it’s not that far-fetched that I would do this rock album, especially since they put me in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but my country fans seem to be very proud of the fact that I’ve done this.

Are there any new country artists that are currently catching your eye?

Oh, I really am amazed with all the new ones coming up doing whatever they do. I just admire and respect the new talent that come in and I’m always very touched when some of the new female artists say that they’ve kind of watched my career and have been influenced by the fact that I’m a writer, that I did well early on as a female writer and singer and that I kind of have a history of growing up and building my career back in in the day when there were less women in it. But I just admire and respect any and all of them that are doing good.

Have you ever had any relation with India? Has there ever been a time you were offered to perform here?

I have never been to India, and I’ve always wanted to go. I don’t know if I have a huge following there or not. I may have to make it a point to come there. But I tell you what I did do, there’s one of our Indian friends here, a guy from India, his name is Vijat [Mohindra]. He did all the photography for my rock album. All those beautiful, beautiful things. He’s done a lot of work with Miley Cyrus and Miley of course, we have a song ‘Wrecking Ball’ on my new album, Miley sang it with me, but she also kind of recommended the photographer that we used. And he did an unbelievable job. So that’s Vijat.

So, would you ever consider coming to perform in India?

Well, I would consider it. I’m not touring anymore. I do special shows here and there now and then, mostly for charity things these days, because I do so much work here, doing TV and movies and some of my business things that I’m doing with Dollywood and all. But I would someday love to come. I would love to perform, but I have no plans to do that in the near future.

With the album coming out later this year, what’s keeping you busy right now?

Well, just running all the business things that I have to do. I’m actually working at the moment on several projects, but I’m working on my life story for Broadway and I’m writing all the music and I’m co-writing the script too, because it’s something very close to me of course. So, I’m hoping to have that on Broadway within a year or so.

What’s next after this album is out?

Well, I don’t plan to tour with this album. I’m sure we’ll drop several singles, but I’m still involved. I hope to have a cosmetic line and maybe a clothesline at some point. I have, Doggy Parton, which is like a line of little accessories and fun things for little dogs. So, we’re always coming up with something new and different and we have a new book out called Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, and it really chronicles my whole career from when I started as a little child in the business all the way up to now with the different designers, different clothes, the different looks and the wigs and all, so we’re promoting that. I wake up with new dreams every day.