Dolly Parton has celebrated her birthday by dropping a deluxe edition of her recent rock covers album ‘Rockstar’, featuring new versions of tracks by Eurythmics and Billy Joel.
Parton has taken on the former’s ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’ and the latter’s ‘The Entertainer’ for the expanded version of the album, which was originally released in November. Other bonus tracks include Parton’s versions of Pat Benatar’s ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’, Eddie Money’s ‘Two Tickets to Paradise’ and Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’.
The deluxe edition also features a new original song, ‘Mama Never Said’, and a live version of ‘Rockin’ It’, as well as the Sylvester Stallone-featuring ‘Stay Out of My Bedroom’ from the soundtrack of 1984 film Rhinestone.
“It’s my Birthday so I’m going to give you a present!” Parton wrote on X/Twitter. “I’m releasing four never released songs for my birthday, to go with the ‘Rockstar’ album, and a few others that you may have heard before that were not on the album. I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you all have a happy birthday for me! LOL.”
Surprise! Stream ‘Rockstar Deluxe’ wherever you get your music
pic.twitter.com/EqTCWkzc64
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) January 19, 2024
The original version of the album features a host of guest appearances from rock stalwarts including Sting, Steven Tyler, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Elton John, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
It debuted at number 3 on Billboard 200 during the week ending November 23, selling 128,000 album-equivalent units and becoming Parton’s highest-charting album to date.
Meanwhile, Parton recently surprised a terminally ill fan with a personal phone call last month, allowing him to tick the item off his bucket list.
LeGrand Gold from Utah was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer in 2021, but is now entering hospice care after being told by doctors that he only has months to live after treatment stopped working.
Gold and his wife answered a call with a Nashville area code in the morning, and were surprised to find Parton on the line when they had only expected a call from one of her managers.
“Hey, LG,” Parton said, referring to herself as “Dolly P”.
“I’m just happy to know that I’ve got a fan that devoted and that I’ve had a chance to watch that journey all these years,” she said. “I’m just happy that we got to kind of have our journey together in this lifetime. I always want to make people happy with my music and with the things I do and the things I say and I’m just happy to know that I’ve touched your life in some way. So thank you for honouring me with that.”
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