Dolly Parton has been a country music icon for more than 50 years and has no plans to stop anytime soon.
âI would never retire,â Parton said last week during an interview with Ken Bruce on the UKâs âGreatest Hits Radio,â going on to joke she will âjust hopefully drop dead in the middle of a song on stage someday â hopefully one Iâve written.â
While promoting her upcoming album âRockstar,â she added she has âalways believed that if you wanted your dreams to come true, and youâre lucky enough to have that happen, then youâve got to be responsible because youâve got to keep the dream alive.â
Equating the growth of each dream she has to âa tree with good roots,â she went on to admit, with a laugh, âIâm not one to sit around doing nothing.â
And she means it.
Despite being decades into an iconic career as one of the most beloved country music stars in history, she continues to create new magic and hop genres.
With âRockstarâ being her foray into rock music, Parton said the idea to create a rock record was inspired by her 2022 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame â an honor she notoriously, albeit politely, tried to decline at first.
âThey put me in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and I thought that I should have a decent record to represent that,â she told Bruce, adding as a country artist she felt she âoughta do something to earn my keepâ in the world of rock.
The record features collaborations with some of the most influential artists in music history including Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Sting and many more.
Outside of creating new music, she told Bruce she also dreams of one day having her own TV network to produce shows to document her life, along with creating a fashion, makeup and wig line. Parton is also coming out with a book titled âBehind the Seams: My Life In Rhinestonesâ this October.
âAs long as Iâm able to work, as long as my health is good and my husband is good,â Parton said, saying nothing else would slow her down.
âRockstarâ will be released globally on November 17.