More than 40 years since Dolly Parton received an Academy Award nomination and won two Grammys for Best Country Song and Best Country Vocal Performance, Female for her hit “9 to 5,” from the 1980 film of the same name, the country music legend has teamed up with Kelly Clarkson for a reimagined version of the women’s working anthem.
Videos by American Songwriter
A snippet of the song can be heard in the new trailer for Still Working 9 to 5, a documentary about the challenges facing women in the workplace, directed by Camille Hardman and Gary Lane.
The new version has a different tone from the original song, which was featured in the 1980 film 9 to 5, starring Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin.
“The first iteration, Dolly’s original version was very upbeat,” said co-director Hardman. “There was a lot of hope I would say in the song, and this version is just a little bit melancholic, that women are still trying to get equality and it hasn’t happened yet, 42 years after this song was created.”
Producer Shane McAnally originally wanted Parton to compose a new song for the film but then presented the singer with a demo refresh of “9 to 5,” which she loved and recorded with Clarkson in November and December of 2021.
The two singers also filmed themselves in the studio recording the song for a forthcoming music video.
“We could do a documentary just on the making of the duet,” joked co-director Lane. “It almost feels like launching two projects in one.”
Photo: Kelly Clarkson (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for ACM); Dolly Parton (Will Russell/Getty Images)
