Dolly Parton turned to two interconnected arena rock anthems for the ages for her upcoming album Rockstar.
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Queen's stomp-along 1977 single "We Will Rock You" changed rock 'n' roll while bottling the crowd energy from a soccer match. It was a double A-side with the equally iconic "We Are the Champions," which is why the former fades smoothly into the latter.
Parton paid homage to both songs by covering them in reverse order. Orchestral, piano-driven accompaniment with a hard rock bite backs a booming vocal performance that hat-tips Freddie Mercury on "We Are the Champions." A brief homage to the chorus of "We Will Rock You," sounding like Parton leading a spirited audience singalong, wraps up a brawny tribute to rock's back pages.
It's the fourth song shared from Rockstar, which will be out Nov. 17 via Butterfly Records with distribution by Big Machine Label Group. Parton premiered fresh tune "World on Fire" in April at the 2023 ACM Awards. We've since heard "Magic Man (Carl Version)"; a Heart cover featuring the group's Ann Wilson; plus "Bygones," a hit collaboration with Judas Priest's Rob Halford and Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx & John 5.
"I'm so excited to finally present my first [rock] album Rockstar," Parton said in a press release. "I am very honored and privileged to have worked with some of the greatest iconic singers and musicians of all time and to be able to sing all the iconic songs throughout the album was a joy beyond measure."
Other guests on the album include Joan Jett, Sting, John Fogerty, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Parton's goddaughter, Miley Cyrus.
Parton chose the project for two reasons. One was to justify in her own mind her Nov. 5, 2022, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"If I'm going to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I better do something to earn it," Parton said during a January appearance on The View. "So I'm doing a rock 'n' roll album, and I'm having a lot of the rock stars that I met that night be on the album with me."
Secondly, her husband, Carl Dean, is a longtime rocker.
"I'm doing the rock 'n' roll album because of him," Parton told People. "I had often thought about doing a rock 'n' roll album for him with his favorite songs. And so when this all came about, I decided that I am gonna go ahead and do it. ... It was just the perfect storm. OK, it's time."
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