Rockstar (Dolly Parton album)

• 1. Introduction

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  Rockstar, Dolly Parton's forty-ninth solo studio album, was born from a refusal. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominated Parton as a 2022 inductee, and she turned it down. Her career had been built in country, not rock, and the honor felt like a mismatch. Rather than leave it at that, she declared a public intention. She would record a full album of rock music with musicians from the genre, earning the nomination on her own terms. She performed "Rockin'", an original composition, at the Hall of Fame ceremony that year. Parton announced the project on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on November 30th. She revealed the album's details on The View on the 17th of January, 2023. She was 55 years into her recording career when she made it.

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• 2. Dream Collaborators

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  Parton reached out to a variety of musicians over several months. Those she contacted included Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo, Simon Le Bon, Rob Halford, Pink, Brandi Carlile, and Sheryl Crow. Among the stories behind the guest list, Peter Frampton's is the most circuitous. A mutual friend had been recording backing vocals alongside Steven Tyler and mentioned the project to Frampton. Frampton called his manager the same day. The following morning he spoke with producer Kent Wells, agreeing to contribute a guitar solo and vocals on a second track.

  Mick Jagger was approached for a Rolling Stones cover but could not participate due to a scheduling conflict. Parton also attempted to bring together Jimmy Page and Robert Plant for a recording of "Stairway to Heaven". Carl Dean, her husband, had long regarded the song as a personal favorite. That reunion did not come together.

  Bob Seger had been lined up to appear on "Night Moves" but had to withdraw because of problems with his voice. Chris Stapleton, a fellow country musician, took his place. Parton regarded Stapleton as her favorite collaborator on the entire album. The finished album ran to thirty tracks, with Parton serving as both producer and executive producer.

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• 3. Seven Singles

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  "World on Fire", released on the 11th of May, 2023, was the lead single for Rockstar. On the 20th of May, it debuted at number 13 on Billboard's Rock Digital Song Sales, and it peaked at number one a week later. Parton performed the song live at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards on the same day as its release.

  The second single, "Magic Man" featuring Ann Wilson, arrived on the 15th of June. "Bygones", the third single, came out the following day, featuring Rob Halford alongside Nikki Sixx and John 5. On the 21st of July, Parton released a double-sided version of "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You".

  "Let It Be", the fifth single, was released on the 18th of August, featuring surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. McCartney played piano and contributed vocals; Starr played drums. Linda Perry contributed to the sixth single, Parton's version of "What's Up?", released on the 22nd of September. The seventh and final single, "Wrecking Ball", was released on the 20th of October, featuring Parton's goddaughter Miley Cyrus. Parton and Cyrus had already performed the song live at a New Year's Eve show in 2022. The full album followed on the 17th of November, 2023, from Butterfly Records and Big Machine Records.

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• 4. A Historic Debut

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  Rockstar debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 in its first week. That was the highest chart position Dolly Parton had achieved as a solo artist. The album sold 128,000 album-equivalent units in that time, with 118,500 of those coming from pure album sales. It was also the first Parton solo album to top Billboard's Top Album Sales chart in that chart's 32-year history. In the US, it reached number one on both the Country Albums and Rock and Alternative Albums charts. Internationally, the album hit number one on the Swiss Albums chart in the Romandie region and number three on Australian Country Albums. It also charted at number 36 in Croatia and number 12 in New Zealand. The critical response to Rockstar was more divided than the commercial figures indicated.

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• 5. Critical Divide

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  Rockstar earned a Metacritic score of 65 out of 100, compiled from 18 reviews. The central debate was whether Parton's covers of classic rock songs brought anything new to the originals, or simply recreated them faithfully. American Songwriter and Classic Rock magazine each awarded the album a perfect score. Classic Rock called it "monumentally hideous, yet strangely glorious" and described it as a show for all ages. Rolling Stone praised Parton's "warmth and infectious enthusiasm". That review found that her collaborations with rock figures gave the record a celebratory quality.

  The Guardian offered a more critical reading. It argued that Rockstar had missed its chance to reinterpret classic songs in a distinctive way, staying too close to their original arrangements. The Independent and AllMusic gave the album moderately positive ratings while noting that some tracks felt redundant. Pitchfork rated Rockstar 5.2 out of 10. The review described it as "a dense and star-studded collection that sounds like the millennium's most expensive karaoke party". The main criticism was over-reliance on the songs' original arrangements.

  Among the album's personnel credits, Elton John contributed piano and vocals to track 3. He was not listed as a featured guest on any of the seven singles released before the album.

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