The British film director Sam Mendes is creating four scripted Beatles films. The biopics will tell the Fab Four’s story from each band member’s point of view, planned for release in 2027.
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In a press release, the Oscar-winning filmmaker said he’s honored “to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time.” He teased a unique rollout for the films, and following Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary series, the appetite for more Beatles footage remains insatiable.
With The Beatles, once again, in the headlines, let’s look at the time Dolly Parton had to prove she could sign-of-the-horns rock and, in doing so, reunited the Fab Four’s two living members.
Hall of Fame
On her 49th studio album, Rockstar, Parton collaborated with rock’s biggest legends to make a star-studded karaoke-like collection. Her Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination in 2022 prompted the country star to make a rock album self-justifying the nomination—to mortals, she had nothing to prove.
Though honored, Parton initially declined and said she hadn’t earned the right. However, she reversed the decision—acknowledging her fans had voted—and appeared at the induction ceremony in Los Angeles.
She told the Hall of Fame audience, “I’m sure a lot of you knew that back when they said they were gonna put me in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I didn’t really feel like I had done enough to deserve that. And I didn’t understand at the time that it’s about more than that. But I’m just honored and so proud to be here tonight.”
Following her acceptance speech, Parton performed “Jolene” and foreshadowed Rockstar’s all-star cast when joined onstage by Brandi Carlile, Pat Benatar, Simon Le Bon, Sheryl Crow, Annie Lennox—and her Eurythmics partner Dave Stewart—and Judas Priest’s Rob Halford.
A few months after the induction ceremony, Parton began unveiling her new album. The album’s seemingly endless list of luminaries also features Chris Stapleton, Emmylou Harris, Melissa Etheridge, Elton John, Lizzo, and Miley Cyrus, among others.
Come Together
We live in a collaboration age. It’s a regular feature at the Grammy Awards show, and global stars use collaborations to link to each other’s Spotify profiles—a valuable marketing tool for cross-promotion.
But on Rockstar, Parton executes more than an album full of collaborations; she also reunites the surviving members of The Beatles for a new cover of their late-career hymn “Let It Be.”
Most Beatles’ songs are standards by now. They are durably rooted in culture like an ironwood tree. “Let It Be” is one of those songs, like Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” that is constantly under threat of ruin from being covered too many times on reality competition TV shows. But hearing Parton and McCartney sing it after eight decades of life is a touching reflection.
Parton’s voice is affecting, with Macca joining in a supportive role while Ringo Starr swings through a tom-tom beat, punctuating the soaring anthem with tumbling-down-the-staircase drum fills.
Get Back
This version of “Let It Be” echoes the Beatles’ Naked version, released in 2003. Revisiting The Beatles’ final studio album, McCartney stripped Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound orchestration, leaving the band front and center. According to McCartney, the Naked version tried to “get back” to the sound of their early years.
Even without Spector’s orchestra, Rockstar’s “Let It Be” aims for the stadium. And if Parton’s recording studio has a “more” button, someone left it on. For a piano ballad, everything feels turned up to Spinal Tap levels. It doesn’t have the density of Spector’s production, but Parton’s “Let It Be” keeps the album’s overarching voltage high. For those about to rock … Fire!
Let It Be
The album lovingly gestures to Parton’s longtime husband, Carl Dean. It’s a touching tribute to a nearly six-decade marriage. You cannot avoid the sweet sadness in “Let It Be” against the backdrop of their long marriage.
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Listeners interpret Mother Mary in many ways, and its universality endures with its humility. Inspiring the song, McCartney’s mother, Mary, came to him in a dream. But people also imagine the biblical Virgin Mary as a kind of motherly figure for humanity, not just in Christian lore but within nature.
There’s comfort in what’s familiar. Two of the 20th century’s iconic voices did age, but they never got old. It’s nice hearing them together, and it all began because a country legend wanted to prove herself. All she needed was a little help from her friends.
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Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Webster PR
