Dolly Parton Confirms Retirement from Touring, New Rock Album

Dolly Parton is getting ready to be formally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on November 5th along with Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon. The induction will take place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, and can be seen on HBO and HBO Max. Despite some controversy surrounding Dolly’s initial nomination and her bowing out of contention, she eventually came around to the idea, and was voted in.

Ahead of the Hall of Fame induction, Dolly Parton granted an interview with print publication Pollstar for this week’s cover story. Pollstar is one of the leading publications in live music and touring, and in the interview Dolly Parton dropped some pretty important news.

“I do not think I will ever tour again,” Dolly Parton confirms to the publication. “But I do know I’ll do special shows here and there, now and then. Maybe a long weekend of shows or just a few shows at a festival. But I have no intention of going on a full-blown tour anymore. I’ve done that my whole life, and it takes so much time and energy.”

Though Dolly Parton has been so occupied with other pursuits, she hasn’t been an extensive touring artist since the earlier portions of her career, this does mark the end of an era. The last major tour Dolly Parton undertook was in 2016 around the release of her album Pure & Simple. Parton played 60 dates throughout Canada and the United States.

Dolly cited her advancing age (76), as well as her husband Carl Dean (80) as one of the reasons she no longer wants to be away from home for weeks or months at a time. Dolly has previously stated that she has no desire to retire fully, and that if it was up to her, she would die on stage.

“There’s a whole lot to be said for loving your work and having confidence in yourself. I never once thought of retiring,” she told People in 2018. “I just hope I fall dead in the middle of a song, hopefully one I wrote, right on stage. That’s the way I go! [But] if my husband needed me, or someone in my family, I would put him first. I’ve always put myself first and my career first, but if something were to happen to him, I would pull back on that. I’d still find a way to work, still find a way to be productive.”

Also in the interview with Pollstar, Dolly dropped some details on her upcoming rock and roll album she’s looking to record to help satisfy her guilt for her Rock Hall induction. She wrote a song called “Rockin'” that she is expected to debut during the induction concert, and is also planning to record a rock version of “Stairway to Heaven”—a song she’s performed in bluegrass form previously. She’s also invited Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to appear on the track, along with Ed Sheeran, Heart, Stevie Nicks, and Goddaughter Miley Cyrus to collaborate on the album.

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