Dolly Parton will release her first-ever rock album, Rockstar, on November 17, and while the project features collaborations with an impressive list of stars, the country legend told The Hollywood Reporter that a few other music luminaries missed out on appearing on the record for various reasons.
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Among the artists Parton had planned or hoped to feature on Rockstar but didn’t, were The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, Bob Seger, Lionel Richie, Cher, and Ed Sheeran.
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Parton said Jagger had agreed to contribute to the album, but The Stones were busy working on their new record Hackney Diamonds.
“Oh, I wanted him so bad,” she admitted. “I did ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ [on Rockstar,] but … it was in the wrong key. [Mick] said, ‘Let’s find another song,’ because he was going to do it with me or do something. I was working on stuff, and then we came up with a few things, but then I ran out of time and he was in the middle [of recording] and he was doing that [album] secretly.”
She added, “We were in the same place at the same time, but I didn’t get him.”
As for Seger, Parton told The Hollywood Reporter that she had planned to work on a version of his hit “Night Moves” with him, but he was having some vocal issues, so country star Chris Stapleton stepped in and, as she noted, “he killed it.”
Parton was also disappointed that Richie wasn’t able to take part in the project.
“I love Lionel, and we’ve been friends for years, and he’d already agreed to do it,” she explained, “but he was really busy.”
Parton says Cher also agreed to record with her, “and we were looking for the right song, and then we ran out of time.”
Parton experienced a similar situation with Sheeran, whom she said had agreed to sing with her, but he’d been too busy working on his album.
“I would love to sing something with Ed Sheeran,” she declared. I think our voices would be so beautiful together … If we did some beautiful love ballad, I think it would be incredible. The fact that he writes it and can play it—yeah, he’s amazing.”
Among the many greats who do appear on Rockstar are Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Sting, ex-Journey singer Steve Perry, Heart’s Ann Wilson, John Fogerty, Stevie Nicks, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Peter Frampton, Joan Jett, Miley Cyrus, P!nk, Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Pat Benatar, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, and Sheryl Crow.
In the interview, Parton shared a tidbit about her collaboration with Nicks on, “What Has Rock and Roll Ever Done to Me,” a song Nicks wrote during Fleetwood Mac’s heyday and revealed to Parton that it had an interesting back story.
“[Stevie told me], ‘This a song I wrote back when we were in the heat of our stuff,’” Parton explained. “She said, ‘It’s a song I love but they didn’t think it was good enough to be on a record.’”
Meanwhile, Parton said that one of her favorite highlights on the album is her and Fogerty’s version of his classic Creedence Clearwater Revival song “Long as I Can See the Light.”
“I thought our voices were beautiful together,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “We did that and it was so fun … We went into the studio, and he said, ‘Let’s just record like we used to in the old days.’ It’s got a love in it … It’s got a magic in it.”
You can pre-order Rockstar now.
Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage
