The past year proved to be an exceptional one for a certain Dolly Parton. Not only did she reinforce her standing as a compelling voice for the people, but she also released an album packed with delicious cover songs. Despite being acknowledged as a respected artist in her own right and recognised for her adeptness at reinterpreting others’ songs, there was a specific band her husband warned her against covering.
Rockstar marked Parton’s first venture into rock music. The album featured endearing covers with various musical luminaries in the realm of rock, from Debbie Harry and Stevie Nicks to Paul McCartney and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Despite her roots in country music, the album undoubtedly proved Parton’s ability to provide world-class versatility. However, it turns out Parton’s own friends and family aren’t all die-hard country music enthusiasts, even when she’s the one performing.
In fact, one key figure in her inner circle, her husband, tried to caution her against covering rock legends Led Zeppelin. In an interview with Classic Rock, Parton delved into the backstory of the anthemic covers found on Rockstar, speaking about her interpretation of arguably Led Zeppelin’s biggest hit. She stated that her husband, Carl Dean, is “a huge fan of Led Zeppelin and thinks ‘Stairway To Heaven’ is one of the classic songs of all time.”
She explained that, due to being such a big fan of the song, Dean “was kind of concerned about me [covering the song]”.
She added: “He said: ‘I don’t know if you need to mess with that, because I think you’ll get a lot of criticism. People don’t want other people messing around with that song.’ But I did it anyhow. And he made a joke about it at first: ‘I think that was more like ‘Stairwell To Hell’ than ‘Stairway To Heaven!’”
Most probably would have been taken aback by Dean’s reluctance to embrace Parton’s desire, but it instead acted as a catalyst for the singer. Parton, knowing Dean felt she couldn’t deliver a worthy rendition, took it upon herself to create a version that did the original justice. “I wanted, more than anything, for Carl to know that I could do that too,” she explained. “So I decided to be true to its form. And I have to add that Carl said: ‘Y’know, that’s pretty good.’ That’s really something coming from him!”
Parton collaborated with many big names to make the album as special as possible. Speaking with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM, Parton expressed her admiration for Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford and recounted their initial collaboration discussion. “I did love Rob Halford,” she stated, “We got to talk a lot ’cause he went in the [Rock and Roll] Hall of Fame when I did. And so I got to visit a lot of these people that are on the record… that were put in the Hall Of Fame at the same time I was.”
She continued: “I asked him if he would be willing to sing on my record if I called on him. He said, ‘I sure would, ’cause my mom, my grandma, my kids, we’ve all loved you through the years.’” Afterwards, Parton enlisted Halford for the track ‘Bygones’, which also features Nikki Sixx and John 5. “It just turned out to be something really, really special, I thought. It was a really a good piece of music, I thought,” Parton concluded.
