Of all the iconic voices in country music history, Dolly Parton has one of the most recognizable. Her featherlight soprano has a distinct warble that many have tried to imitate, with varying degrees of success. Pair that with her distinct lisp that became more pronounced later in her career, and most people will be able to tell it’s Dolly singing with only a few words. Still, she keeps some surprises up her sequined sleeves.
One can certainly expect to hear Parton singing traditional folk, gospel, and country music. However, over her decades-long career, she’s also ventured into unexpected musical territory, covering songs in the grunge, folk-rock, heavy rock, and pop-rock categories. Not all of them are hits. But these are.
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“Stairway to Heaven”
The first time I ever listened to Dolly Parton’s cover of “Stairway To Heaven”, I was getting a large tattoo and couldn’t move throughout the duration of the six-minute song. And what a blessing in disguise that was. Parton isn’t trying to imitate Robert Plant, which would have been tempting to do on such a seminal rock ‘n’ roll song. Instead, she adds banjo and other country elements to turn this song into something entirely her own. I believe that she could have written this Led Zeppelin tune, and that’s an impressive feat to accomplish when covering a well-known song like this one.
“Shine”
Once again, Dolly Parton manages to make a grunge classic sound almost sacred with her version of Collective Soul’s “Shine”. The song appears on Parton’s 2001 album, Little Sparrow. And if someone hadn’t heard the original track from the mid-1990s, it would be easy to assume that this song was one Parton wrote. “Heaven let your light come down” is akin to the gospel lyrics Parton has written in the past. Moreover, there’s just something about the Mixolydian scale that sounds really good in country music. I would wager a bet that even diehard Collective Soul fans could find something to appreciate in this cover.
“After The Gold Rush”
My personal favorite on this list: “After The Gold Rush” by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt performing as The Trio. This is one of my favorite Neil Young tunes, period, and I have always had a soft spot for The Trio’s version. Sure, Parton changes some lyrics to sidestep Young’s drug references. But there’s still something so magical and whimsical—arguably more so—in this Americana version. The fact that these three country music legends sound like a literal band of angels when they harmonize is just icing on the cake. (This is also a great cover to listen to if you don’t like Young’s voice.)
“Drives Me Crazy”
Dolly Parton included a cover of Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy” on her 2008 release Backwoods Barbie. And while it’s very obviously Parton covering FYC, I’d argue that this is one of the better musical revisions Parton has done. The fact that Parton allegedly included “She Drives Me Crazy” because her husband, Carl Dean, liked it makes the lore around this cover version even cuter. Plus, who knew that FYC could sound so good with that “quintessentially 2000s” country production sound?
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