One of four covers to Rockstar: the others feature Parton in similar outfits mounting a motorcycle, holding an electric guitar, or posing with a leather eye patch in the shape of a star. Deluxe edition adds her wearing sunglasses and a black logo
Rockstar is the forty-ninth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton.[8][9] It was released on November 17, 2023, by Butterfly Records and Big Machine Records.[10][11] The album is a collaborative project with a variety of rock musicians, marking Parton's first foray into the genre.
Parton was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 and initially declined the honor as she has a background in country music and not rock.[12] In response, she declared her intention to record an album of rock covers with a host of musical guests from that genre to justify her inclusion. Parton performed "Rockin'", an original song, at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
She reached out to a variety of dream collaborators over the course of several months, including several of the artists she performed with at the Hall of Fame ceremony such as fellow 2022 inductees Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo, Simon Le Bon and Rob Halford, and other guests Pink, Brandi Carlile and Sheryl Crow. Parton officially announced the recording on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on November 30.[13] She revealed the album release on the January 17, 2023, episode of The View[14] and previewed the track "World on Fire" on May 11.[1]
British singer and guitarist Peter Frampton was recruited into recording after a mutual friend performed backing vocals with American singer Steven Tyler on the album. He immediately called his manager and the next day, spoke with producer Kent Wells to perform a guitar solo and also vocals on a second track.[15] Parton pursued Mick Jagger to provide vocals on her Rolling Stones cover, but he had a scheduling conflict[16] and failed to reunite Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant for her new cover of "Stairway to Heaven", a favorite of her husband Carl Dean.[17] Her favorite collaborator was fellow country musician Chris Stapleton,[18] who stepped in when Bob Seger was unable to join Parton on "Night Moves" due to experiencing problems with his voice.[19] Prior to the reveal of the official track listing, Parton had performed "Wrecking Ball" with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus at her New Year's Eve show. Parton performed the album's lead single "World on Fire" for the first time at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards on May 11, 2023.[20]
Singles
Lead single "World on Fire" was released on May 11, 2023.[1] After 55 years as a recording artist, Parton had her first release hit a rock-themed chart, with "World on Fire" debuting at number 13 on Billboard's Rock Digital Song Sales on May 20, 2023.[21] It went on to peak at number 1 a week later.[22]
The sixth single, Parton's version of "What's Up?" featuring Linda Perry, was released on September 22, 2023.[24]
The seventh single, Parton's version of "Wrecking Ball" featuring Miley Cyrus, was released on October 20, 2023.[25]
Commercial performance
The album earned 128,000 album-equivalent units, with 118,500 in album sales, in its debut week, making it Parton's most successful debut ever.[26][27] It was also her first album to top Billboard'sTop Album Sales chart in the chart's 32 year existence.[26] It ranked No. 3 on the Billboard 200 list, the highest for any Dolly Parton album, and also was No. 1 on both the Country and Rock & Alternative lists.[28][27]
Critical reception
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Rockstar received a score of 66 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on 17 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[29]Slant Magazine's Dana Poland wrote that "to her credit, Parton still manages to make Rockstar sound and feel like a Dolly Parton album, thanks in large part to her distinctive twang. She and producer Kent Wells make some subtle changes to these songs [...] though more inventive arrangements would have distinguished these versions from the originals".[35]Classic Rock described it as "a monumentally hideous, yet strangely glorious album",[30] while Mojo felt that "even if there are moments when Rockstar seems under-amped, you have to admire her chutzpah".[32]
PopMatters' Peter Piatkowski wrote that "despite the rockstar affectations, Rockstar is a country-pop album that hopscotches through various genres" including disco on "Heart of Glass" and although there are "wildly divergent styles represented on the record, Parton doesn't seem lost or adrift, even if her beautiful trill is shoved in front of buzzing electric guitars".[34] Allison Hussey of Pitchfork called it "a dense and star-studded collection that sounds like the millennium's most expensive karaoke party" but felt that its "more tender moments can't outrun its subtextual baggage" and it ends with an "11-minute fart of a closing cliché".[33] Helen Brown of The Independent found it "so long that it can feel like a bit of a slog" but "after all the glittering joy and fluttering hope Parton has given the world, it's hard to begrudge her a little Dollyoke fun".[31]
