The voice is unmistakable. As is the playful peal of laughter that follows. “Hey there, is that Rob ‘Halford’ Hughes? Good mornin’!” It’s 10am in Nashville, and the incontestable legend that is Dolly Parton is on the phone to Classic Rock.
She’s evidently in good spirits. And so she should be. At 77, country music’s resident superstar is on the verge of a somewhat unlikely crossover: a fullybooted, leather-suited, guitar-squealing rock album. And while there’s a persuasive argument that Dolly Parton has, in essence, always been a rock star, now we have tangible proof.
Nor is the aforementioned Rob Halford reference just a random piece of alliteration. The Judas Priest frontman is one of a number of guests – an entire shedload, in fact – who appear on Parton’s Rockstar. It’s an album with an embarrassment of riches: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Fogerty, Stevie Nicks, Steven Tyler, Debbie Harry, Peter Frampton, Joan Jett, Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Richie Sambora… And that only covers about half of it.