09/01/2026
I heard Dolly relay most of this information in an interview. I did buy this rock album when it came out. I thought it was cool that many of these people recorded with her. I love that she recorded Linda Ronstadt hit, you’re no good. I only wish Linda could have sang on it! Lots of critics of this album, but I think it’s pretty cool.
Dolly Parton built her whole career in country music, but in late 2023 she put out a huge thirty-track rock album for an audience of one. When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted her in 2022, she first resisted the nomination, feeling she had not earned the right to call herself a rock artist. After accepting the honor, she chose to record a full rock album, driven largely by Carl Dean's lifelong love of classic vinyl records. Working against the clock as Carl's cognitive health declined, Dolly reached out to more than forty rock icons, bringing Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Sting, Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks, and Joan Jett into the studio. The finished album, Rockstar, arrived in November 2023. It included new originals alongside landmark anthems from Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and Prince, music that had filled their Nashville house across nearly six decades. At seventy-seven, she pushed her vocal range through heavy guitars and intense sessions, determined to finish the record while her husband could still enjoy it. Back home, she placed headphones over his ears in their living room, quietly watching his reactions as the playback rolled. The project earned chart recognition worldwide, yet the moment that mattered most was seeing Carl smile at the volume and hearing him tell his "Kid" that she had gotten it right. Country music gave her a legacy, but those heavy rock riffs were an act of devotion between two partners in a quiet room. The private conversations that led to each guest collaboration, and the specific vinyl cuts Carl played on their porch through the decades, remain the deeper foundation behind the record.
