Dolly Parton, Kevin Cronin to Record “Dark Duet” of REO Speedwagon’s “Keep on Loving You”

Adding to the growing collection of collaborators on her forthcoming rock album, Rock Star, Dolly Parton is teaming up with REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin for a slightly darker cover of the band’s 1980 hit ballad “Keep on Loving You.”

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“When I wrote that song, I kind of portrayed myself as more of the good guy than perhaps I was,” shared Cronin of the original meaning behind the song. Cronin wrote the soft rock hit after learning that his first wife cheated on him before they were married.

“Perhaps it takes more than one snake in the grass, ‘all coiled up and hissing,’ to tango, if you catch my drift,” added Cronin. “That’s the reality of the song.”

For their duet, Cronin suggested Parton sing the first verse—You should have seen by the look in my eyes, baby / There was somethin’ missin’ / You should have known by the tone of my voice, maybe / But you didn’t listen.

“But then I take the second verse, and in the second verse, I go, ‘Oh, yeah? Well, I know all about those men,’” said Cronin. “And so now the song becomes this kind of dark duet — until it gets to the chorus, where they go, ‘I meant every word I said. When I said that I love you, I meant that I love you forever, Dolly.’”

Cronin added, “And I sing it in harmony. It just slays me, because that’s how the song was meant to be performed. I just didn’t realize it until Dolly called me the other day. So that’s how we’re doing it, and I’m just so stoked.”

Upon its release in 1980, “Keep on Loving You,” off REO Speedwagon’s ninth album, Hi Infidelity, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 100.

Parton, 76, recently revealed a number of songs she plans to cover on her upcoming rock album, a project she vowed to take on prior to her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. The album will include renditions of hits by The Rolling Stones, Prince, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among many others.

Along with Steve Albini (Robert Plant, Nirvana, PJ Harvey), who said he wants to produce Rock Star, Parton is planning to release additional songs recorded with Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, Steve Perry, John Fogerty, and more collaborators.

“When I got nominated, I thought, ‘Why not just go ahead and do it while the iron [is] hot,” said Parton, “maybe have some of the greats, the legends of rock and roll, sing along with me.’”

Read more about the “5 Songs Dolly Parton Plans to Cover” on her rock album HERE.

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

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