{"id":18244,"date":"2023-12-19T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/?p=18244"},"modified":"2023-12-18T18:46:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T18:46:44","slug":"hello-dolly-the-rockstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2023\/12\/19\/hello-dolly-the-rockstar\/","title":{"rendered":"HELLO DOLLY: THE ROCKSTAR."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HELLO DOLLY: THE ROCKSTAR.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b4still with the heart of a kid<\/strong>\u00b4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Norman Warwick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dolly Parton (left)<\/em><\/strong> has been described as a living legend, one of the world\u2019s most loved celebrities and a national treasure. All of the above are accurate\u2014but still, they can\u2019t quite seem to sum up just what she means to people. The country crooner\u2019s decades-long music career has seen\u00a047 of her albums<\/a>\u00a0(yes, you read that right) reach the Top 10 on\u00a0Billboard<\/em>\u2019s country chart and is bookended by a massive songwriting catalogue of an estimated\u00a03,000<\/a>\u00a0tracks\u2014including smash hits \u201cI Will Always Love You,\u201d \u201cJolene\u201d and \u201c9 to 5.\u201d She\u2019s a Golden Globe-nominated actress and the\u00a0first country singer<\/a>\u00a0to reach EGOT-nominated (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) status. She achieved those astonishing feats after growing up in a\u00a0one-room log cabin<\/a>\u00a0in rural Tennessee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite the massive success and overwhelming number of accolades, she\u2019s never forgotten where she came from. Time and again, Parton uses her platform to do good for others\u2014whether that be\u00a0donating $1 million to coronavirus research<\/a>, part of which was used to help develop the Moderna vaccine, or giving back through her Dollywood Foundation\u2019s Imagination Library program, which gifts over\u00a02 million free books<\/a>\u00a0every month to children around the world. And, of course, who could forget her trademark blonde up-do? Appalachia\u2014the\u00a0fourth of 12 children born into a poor farming family<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world governed by an ever-expanding attention economy, Parton\u2019s quiet confidence and humility shine like a beacon of light. Last May, after being nominated for 2022\u2019s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she made waves by pulling out of the running<\/a>, justifying the decision in forever-charming, self-effacing Dolly fashion by saying she didn\u2019t feel she\u2019d earned the right. \u201cIt was always my belief that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was for people in rock music,\u201d she later told NPR<\/a> after eventually deciding to accept the honor. \u201cI have found out lately it\u2019s not necessarily that. But if they can\u2019t go there to be recognized, where can they go? And so I felt like I was taking away from someone that maybe deserved it certainly more than me since I never considered myself a rock artist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, \u201crock artist\u201d is one more title Parton can add to her long list of achievements. Determined to do justice to her Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, Parton announced that her next project would be a rock album, the first of her career. Out of the ashes sprung the aptly-titled Rockstar<\/em>, Parton\u2019s long-anticipated 49th career LP. The album is a monstrous undertaking, spanning a whopping 30 tracks (21 covers of classic rock songs along with nine originals) and featuring more than 40 guests<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For the project, Dolly Parton enlisted a number of the world\u2019s most celebrated rock stars to perform new versions of their greatest hits. The result is a staggering tracklist that looks like it just stepped off the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Parton shines alongside Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the last two surviving members of The Beatles, on a nostalgic rendition of their hit \u201cLet It Be\u201d that also features Peter Frampton and Mick Fleetwood. Her voice is a perfect match for The Police\u2019s \u201cEvery Breath You Take,\u201d with backing vocals provided by the band\u2019s frontman and bassist, Sting, and meshes beautifully with Elton John on his soaring ballad \u201cDon\u2019t Let The Sun Go Down on Me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parton is as endearing as ever when belting out quick quips alongside Stevie Nicks on \u201cWhat Has Rock And Roll Ever Done For You,\u201d a fresh take on a song Nicks originally wrote for Fleetwood Mac<\/a> that the duo reworked and recorded specially for the album. It\u2019s wonderful to hear her snarl alongside Joan Jett and The Blackhearts on the band\u2019s \u201cI Hate Myself for Loving You.\u201d And her duet with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus for \u201cWrecking Ball\u201d is one of the album\u2019s best moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are noticeable absences and misfires. P!nk and Brandi Carlile are solid stand-ins for Mick Jagger on The Rolling Stones\u2019 \u201cI Can\u2019t Get No Satisfaction,\u201d while flutist and pop star Lizzo features on Led Zeppelin\u2019s \u201cStairway to Heaven.\u201d Parton backed up her eyebrow-raising decision to perform with Kid Rock, calling cancel culture \u201cterrible.\u201d<\/a> Rock recently faced backlash<\/a> for his actions after Bud Light\u2019s partnership with trans social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney was revealed, as a video of him shooting an assault rifle at a tower of Bud Light surfaced online. His duet with Parton on \u201cEither Or\u201d leaves a blemish on an otherwise triumphant late-career record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the project, Dolly Parton enlisted a number of the world\u2019s most celebrated rock stars to perform new versions of their greatest hits. The result is a staggering tracklist that looks like it just stepped off the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Parton shines alongside Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the last two surviving members of The Beatles, on a nostalgic rendition of their hit \u201cLet It Be\u201d that also features Peter Frampton and Mick Fleetwood. Her voice is a perfect match for The Police\u2019s \u201cEvery Breath You Take,\u201d with backing vocals provided by the band\u2019s frontman and bassist, Sting, and meshes beautifully with Elton John on his soaring ballad \u201cDon\u2019t Let The Sun Go Down on Me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,45,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-and-tradition","category-music","category-performing-arts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18244"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18397,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18244\/revisions\/18397"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}