Who would've ever expected singer-songwriter Dolly Parton to end a show with a Led Zeppelin tune, not to mention the iconic rock group's most famous track?
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That's just what the country legend did in this clip of her Live and Well concert in 2002 at her Dollywood theme park. The show took place at the musician's theme park in Tennessee and featured an epic Dolly rendition of the already epic "Stairway to Heaven".
Read More: Dolly Parton Explains Why She's Never Been on a Dollywood Ride
While Dolly Parton and Led Zeppelin don't exactly walk hand-in-hand in the music scene, Parton's angelic voice does the track justice. Just the twang of her voice adds some country music flair to the classic rock song.
Don't expect shredding instrumentals or Jimmy Page-level guitar solos here. The country star's vocals alone, like always, steal the show. Parton's pristine voice is backed by acoustic instruments rather than their electric counterparts associated with the original by Led Zeppelin. Of course, you'll spot a banjo onstage behind the singer.
Despite her genre-crossing, Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin and co-writer of the timeless track, approved of the cover.
"You know, it's just so kinda odd that the artist and the elements are not in tune," he said. The thing is that she's not wailing - she's keeping it within the genre, and she's a good singer."
Parton featured her cover of "Stairway to Heaven" on her 37th studio album, the bluegrass collection Halos & Horns, released in 2002. The album Halos & Horns also brought us "These Old Bones" and its music video.
We agree with Plant and approve of this cover because Parton can't do any wrong. The country songbird should experiment with covering more iconic songs from other genres to her playlists because, based on her track record, she'll always knock it out of the park.
This article was originally published in 2015.
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