Dolly Parton: Rockstar

A review of the queen of country's brand new double album tribute to 'rock'

Dolly Parton

Rockstar

Butterfly Records / Big Machine Records

When I think of Dolly Parton, two things - instantly - come to mind: Her brilliant songwriting, and her philanthropy; her kindness.

In the 1980s she created The Dollywood Foundation, the organization was based in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee, with the goal of decreasing high school drop out rates. She then started the Buddy Program, in which Parton gave $500 to every seventh and eighth grader who finished high school. According to the organization, the initiative was successful and the dropout rate declined from 35 percent to just 6 percent.

In the early 1990s she committed to saving bald eagles by creating a dedicated sanctuary. The 30,000-square-foot aviary managed by the American Eagle Foundation shelters the largest collection of “non-releasable” bald eagles. Parton’s efforts to preserve the bald eagle earned her the Partnership Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2003.

Her Imagination Library began sending one book per month to each enrolled child in Sevier County from birth until their first year of school. The library was founded in honor of Parton’s father, who was unable to read. Dolly has donated over a million books.

She has raised money for all sorts of causes, put on tribute concerts, donated royalties, she even put money from the Whitney Houston cover of I Will Always Love You directly into black communities.

Dolly wrote I Will Always Love You and Jolene (two of her biggest hits, best loved, and most recognised songs around the world) on the same day!

But there’s another couple of things about Dolly that pretty much hit you right in the face: Her ability to be a hero to both liberal democrats and redneck right-wingers. She is the backwoods barbie (one of her own album titles) that kills with kindness. Friend to the LGBTQ community and absolute drag icon.

Dolly can do anything. And is therefore allowed to be acoss everything.

Rockstar is her 49th album. It is a 2.5 hour journey through karaoke covers (many of them duets with the stars that first had a hand in the song’s success).