By the time she was 18, Dolly Parton was instantly obsessed with the Beatles after the release of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” in 1964. “I loved all kinds of songs, and I grew up singing all sorts of songs, but the first time I ever remember totally being jarred and feeling all kinds of emotions was when that song came out,” said Parton. “I couldn’t get enough of it.”
Parton continued, “This girlfriend of ours had an old trap car, so we used to ride around — she was a little older than us. I just remember us hearing that on the radio any time we had a chance, because they played it night and day when the Beatles first came on the scene.”
Though Parton was paving her way as a legend in country, the Beatles were always a special band for her, and she even covered one of their classics in 1979. A year later, when John Lennon was murdered, Parton said it broke her heart.
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“Everyone was so heartbroken,” shared Parton on Today. “Like all young teenage girls back then, I fell in love with the Beatles. Back there in the Smoky Mountains, it was like something had been dropped from outer space.”
Parton’s love for the Beatles never waned, and when she began working on her 2023 album Rockstar, she reached out to the two surviving members to help her on one of their classics.
Here’s a look at the three songs by the Beatles, including one by Lennon, that Parton covered, from the late ’70s through the 2020s.
[RELATED: 4 Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson Duets That Left Lasting Impressions (1982-2020)]
“Help!” (1979)
On her twenty-first album, Great Balls of Fire, Parton covered her first Beatles song, a bluegrass rendition of “Help!” Released by the Beatles on their 1965 album of the same name, the song was a cry for “help,” according to Lennon. “The whole Beatles thing was just beyond comprehension,” Lennon told Playboy in 1980. “I was subconsciously crying out for help. Most people think it’s just a fast rock and roll song. I didn’t realize it at the time; I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. But later, I knew I really was crying out for help.”
Named after Jerry Lee Lewis’ 1957 classic, “Great Balls of Fire,’ Parton’s album made it to No. 4 on the Country chart.
[RELATED: The Meaning Behind “Help” by The Beatles]
“Imagine” (2005)
In 2005, Parton tapped into John Lennon’s songbook with an emotional cover of his 1971 classic, “Imagine,” for her album, Those Were the Days. Featuring David Foster, Parton’s “Imagine” features the higher register of her voice. An accompanying music video for “Imagine,” filmed in New York City, also features private home videos of Lennon and Yoko Ono.
When asked what comes to mind when she thinks of the word “Imagine,” Parton quipped, “Imagine how much money I would have made if I wrote the song.”
“Let It Be” (2023)
Featuring Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Mick Fleetwood, and Peter Frampton
While working on her 2023 album Rockstar, Dolly Parton said she sent Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney a “love note” asking them to collaborate with her on their 1970 classic “Let It Be.”
“I just sent them a love note through their managers, and I just said what I was doing,” said Parton. “And I said, ‘I didn’t want to put you on the spot, but I’d love to have you sing with me on my rock album. And if you’re interested, call me at this number.’ And all the people I reached out to said, ‘Yes, we’d love to,’ and I was very honored and very proud and very humbled by that.”
The song was always one of Parton’s favorite Beatles songs. Her Rockstar version features McCartney on vocals and guitar and Starr on drums, along with Mick Fleetwood on percussion, and Peter Frampton on guitar. “And so I had recorded it, and I thought, ‘Wow, I wonder if Paul would even consider playing and singing on it,’” recalled Parton. “And so I contacted him. He was so gracious. I’d met him different times through the years. He’s always so nice, and he said he’d be on it, and I was so honored that he was honored.”
She added, “So actually he did a wonderful job, and the fact that these people are so busy, and they all took the time to do it, and then I thought, ‘Well, we got to have Ringo, because that’s the last of the Beatles. So I asked Ringo if he would do it. Same thing: ‘I’d be glad to do it’.”
McCartney later left a message for Parton and her cover. “Thanks, Dolly, for doing my song,” said McCartney. “I love your version and am very pleased to be by your side on this one. Rock on.”
Photo: Dolly Parton at the 58th Academy Of Country Music Awards at The Ford Center at The Star on May 11, 2023, in Frisco, Texas. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
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