Rockstar is the upcoming forty-ninth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It is scheduled to be released on November 17, 2023, by Butterfly Records and Big Machine Records. The album is a collaborative project with a variety of rock musicians, marking Parton's first foray into that genre.
Lead single "World on Fire" was released on May 11, 2023, with the singles "Magic Man" featuring Ann Wilson, "Bygones" featuring Rob Halford and Nikki Sixx and John 5, "We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You", Parton's version of "Let It Be" featuring surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and Parton's version of "What's Up?" featuring Linda Perry following over the next five months.
Recording and release
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. 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. She revealed the album release on the January 17, 2023, episode of The View and previewed the track "World on Fire" on May 11.
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. Parton pursued Mick Jagger to provide vocals on her Rolling Stones cover, but he had a scheduling conflict 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. Her favorite collaborator was fellow country musician Chris Stapleton.
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.
Singles
Lead single "World on Fire" was released on May 11, 2023. 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 Billboards Rock Digital Song Sales on May 20, 2023. It went on to peak at number 1 a week later. The second single "Magic Man" featuring Ann Wilson was released on June 15, 2023. The third single, "Bygones", featuring Rob Halford with guests Nikki Sixx and John 5, was released the following day. The fourth single, "We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You" was released on July 21, 2023. Parton's version of "Let It Be", featuring surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, was released as the album's fifth single on August 18, 2023. The sixth single, Parton's version of "What's Up?" featuring Linda Perry, was released on September 22, 2023.