Keith Urban on Dolly Parton's Impact: "She's Peerless"

When Keith Urban took the stage at the 2023 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony, he wasted no time sticking an “In Dolly We Trust” sticker on the podium that his wife Nicole Kidman and their 12-year-old daughter Faith got at Loveless Cafe, before he proceeded with his acceptance speech. Urban specifically requested that Dolly Parton induct him into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame class of 2023, going so far as to write her a handwritten letter explaining the impact she’s had on him as an artist. “There was only one person on my list and it was Dolly,” Urban tells American Songwriter backstage before the ceremony.

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Growing up in Australia, Urban would frequently listen to Parton’s music, citing “Applejack” as one of his favorites. “She was a big influence on me growing up and really has continued to be because she’s peerless,” Urban praised. “There’s nobody ahead of her, and she’s still doing it. You got to have those northern stars and I told her in the letter, ‘You’ve just always been a Northern Star to me and you still are, thank you for that. Thank you for not just signing off and drifting off into the fields.’ She stayed hungry and passionate and curious and all the things that inspire me.”

Parton and Urban joined forces on a cover of Johnny Mathis’ “The Twelfth of Never” for Parton’s 2005 album, Those Were the Days. “Now who don’t love Keith Urban?” Parton raved at the induction ceremony. “I’ve never seen a person with everything – Keith is so good-looking, he’s so nice and he’s so kind and an unbelievable musician, same for a performer.”

Kix Brooks, David Lee Murphy, Casey Beathard, and Rafe Van Hoy were also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, with Eric Church, Kenny Chesney, and John Conlee among the other artists who paid tribute to the new inductees.

Photo Credit: Bev Moser, Moments By Moser Photography / Courtesy of Alliance Management and Artist Media Relations