Dolly Parton wants to reunite Led Zeppelin members for new rock album
Dolly Parton has done a lot of incredible things in her long career. In addition to writing and recording countless classic tunes, she’s given away over 100 million books to kids in need, funded research that led to the C O v ID vaccine, and built her own successful amusement park.
Now, as she heads back to the studio for her next album, Parton will try to truly do the impossible: reunite Led Zeppelin.
Parton says she’s hoping to reunite Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to play “Stairway to Heaven” with her on her new album — and if anyone can pull it off, it’s Dolly Parton.
Dolly Parton — rock and roll album
The “9 to 5” singer, long associated with her distinct country pop tunes, is currently working on broadening her musical horizons with a rock and roll album.
News of this genre-shifting project was first announced when Dolly was nominated for induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Some wondered if Parton, despite her talents, was really right for the hall honoring rock music — and she agreed.
Parton declined the nomination, not wanting to take votes away from someone more worthy, and said while she was “extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated” she felt she hadn’t “earned that right.”
However, she also hinted at a future foray into rock and roll music that might make her “worthy” in the future: “This has… inspired me to put out a hopefully great rock ‘n’roll album at some point in the future, which I have always wanted to do!” Parton wrote.
Despite her humble objections, Parton stayed on the ballot, got voted in by fans and will be inducted next year. And, still determined to prove herself truly worthy as a “rock and roll” musician, Parton has begun to make her dreams of a rock album a reality.
“I had always wanted to do it,” she said in an interview with Pollstar. “My husband is a big hard rock ’n’ roll fan, and for years I thought, ‘One of these days I’d like to do an album mainly just for him, just to kind of do it.’ When I got nominated, I thought, ‘Why not just go ahead and do it while the iron’s hot? Maybe have some of the greats, the legends of rock ‘n’ roll sing along with me.’”
And Parton has one surprisingly ambitious plan for this new album: reuniting Jimmy Page and Robert Plant to re-record their most famous track, “Stairway to Heaven.”
Led Zeppelin
Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin, one of the best-selling, influential and acclaimed bands in rock and roll history.
While fans have begged for more Zeppelin for decades, the band has been officially broken up since 1980, with the death of drummer John Bonham often cited as the central reason.
The surviving members of the band have only performed together once, a sold-out 2007 benefit concert in honor of in honor of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. The performance was well-received and the bandmates expressed interest in a full reunion, but Plant declined, and conversations of a Zeppelin reunion have stalled.
