Heavy Metal Legend Remembers Collaborating with Dolly Parton, Proving That She Really Could Do It All

Following the news of Dolly Parton’s passing at 80 years old, the music world is in a state of grief. Musicians from across all genres are showing up in a big way to pay tribute to the woman who had even bigger hair. Actually, Parton touched so many lives that messages of love and tribute are coming from everywhere, not just in music.

But several artists who collaborated with Parton on her 2023 album Rockstar have shared memories of working with the iconic singer. On that album, Parton stepped into the world of rock music, covering a wide range of classics and modern tracks, often with the original artists featured as well. There were also several original songs where Parton fully embraced the rock genre.

Rockstar followed Parton’s initial reluctance to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2022, she was nominated for the Rock Hall, but declined. She felt she hadn’t earned the right to be in the Rock Hall, since she was primarily a country artist. But the organization refused to acknowledge her withdrawal. Parton released Rockstar in the year after the induction ceremony as her way of earning the Rock Hall honor.

Judas Priest Frontman Rob Halford On Collaborating with His Idol Dolly Parton

During the ceremony, Dolly Parton performed “Jolene”, aided by some of her fellow inductees and special guests. Simon Le Bon, Pink, Sheryl Crow, Pat Benatar, Annie Lennox, Brandi Carlile, Rob Halford, and even more took a line from the song. Later, they would all join her again to contribute to Rockstar.

Rob Halford, specifically, felt that he was destined to meet Dolly Parton that night. He’d been a longtime fan of hers, but something finally clicked at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. This led to Halford lending his vocals to the track “Bygones” on Parton’s rock album. He recorded his parts separately, then sent them to Parton.

“We’re on the phone to each other, and she’s going, ‘Send me the files! Send me the files!’” the Judas Priest frontman told Metal Hammer. “So I sent her the files, and she calls back and goes, ‘I love these! This is gonna be great!’ This is Dolly Parton on speakerphone!”

He continued, “She’s just this beautiful beacon of life. You can tell by the way I’m speaking that this is important to me as a musician, to have had this literally once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with someone so great.”

Speaking with NME in 2024, Halford shared that, when he heard the “Bygones” demo for the first time, he felt that Parton knew exactly what she was doing.

“As soon as I heard the demo I was all in,” he said. “She knew what she was doing to offer that piece of music, because it’s not just Rob, it’s Rob from Priest. This is a Priest song, this is Priest with Dolly Parton.”

He added, “So the ‘Bygones’ track was just a really great chance to do something that I think now, it’s like, ‘was it real?’”

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

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