Dolly Parton is a queen, and whatever she says is immediately law, so when she claims that country music sounds more like rock or pop, we should all pay attention. Nobody knows the scene like Dolly, and she's certainly a scholar when it comes to authenticity. But what is it that makes her make this bold statement?
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With her first ever number one, Joshua, coming out in 1971, Dolly Parton hasn't stopped ruling the country scene since. She has a finger in many pies, including Dolly Wines and some more philanthropic ones such as Dolly Partons Imagination Library. She's a gift to the scene and the world.
However, along with the release of her new album Smokey Mountain DNA, she had something interesting to say about the country music scene. Dolly Parton speaks lovingly of the genre, saying "I'm just proud to say that we've still got country music, we still love it, and they're still calling it country music, even if it sounds more rock and pop."
The Change to Rock and Pop Isn't A Bad Thing For Dolly Parton
Although the genre is changing, this isn't necessarily the end for country music. As Dolly Parton points out, there are more fans now than ever before, and this is in part due to the adaptation to the new rock/pop sound.
She doesn't see the changes as damaging to the scene, stating in an interview with Elle "Everything has to change, and country music has changed a lot, but there's going to always be those young people that latch on to Hank Williams and go back and do some of that. Country music used to be thought of as an old hokey kind of music. I love the fact that now, it is one of the most loved musics in the whole wide world."
Music scenes change and adapt throughout time, working to please an ever-changing audience. This can often bother fans, who dream of a return to their 'glory days'. However, as Dolly Parton points out, if people want that old hokey sound, there is a whole library of classics out there with none of the rock pop sound.
