Dolly Parton celebrates her birthday with a bonus edition of her 'Rockstar' album
Iconic global musician and philanthropist Dolly Parton is celebrating her 78th birthday by releasing four surprise bonus songs to her two-month-old smash hit "Rockstar" album.
The 39-track collection is available now on all digital streaming platforms. It now features an all-star roster of artists — revisiting 21 classic Rock songs alongside 13 of Parton's original tracks.
Parton, who famously sent a "love letter" to each of her "Rockstar" collaborators — Stevie Nicks, Deborah Harry, Sir Paul McCartney and Chris Stapleton — among a a group of rock royalty that also included members of Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Heart, Judas Priest, Motley Crue and The Police, also marked her album's re-release similarly.
"Hey, fans and friends,It's my Birthday so I'm going to give you a present! 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! LOLThanks for everything,Dolly"
"Rockstar Deluxe" features already solely vinyl-released versions of, among many things, Parton's pairing with Italian pop-rockers Måneskin for an amped-up take on her classic "Jolene," as well as Parton's reimaginings of an eclectic group of songs by Pat Benatar, The Eurythmics, Eddie Money and Simon and Garfunkel.
There are currently more recent septuagenarian all-genre album and singles chart-topping artists with Nashville in their roots than those aged south of 75.
However, regardless of age, unifying artists is the notion that whether you're Taylor Swift or an artist like Parton, the desire to mark one's birthday with the release of more album content is timeless.
Upon its Nov. 2023 release, her "Rockstar" first-week global album sales of more than 143,000 perched the collection at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales, and Independent Albums charts. She also topped Billboard's Top Rock Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Country Albums charts.
Thus, Parton is not just a certifiable "rock star" now. She's as big of a superstar album artist as Drake or Swift.
"Wow, this is a big thrill!" Parton said in a statement upon being told of her chart-topping success. "I owe a thank you to the fans who have always been there for me. Their support made this achievement possible. I'd also like to thank my producer, Kent Wells and all the wonderful artists, musicians, and engineers who brought their talents to this project."
"Words can't describe how proud I am that Dolly trusted us to deliver her 'Rockstar vision,'" said Danny Nozell, Parton's longtime manager and CEO of CTK Enterprises and NOZ Entertainment Soundstages.
The cautious optimism Parton expressed in a Tennessean feature about "Rockstar" continues to yield unprecedented moments.
"I wanted to make a record of major rock classics that reflected those songs, true to the rhythm, in my voice," she said. "I did my dead-level best to make an album I and the people whose songs I covered could be proud of — and I think (what resulted) is some of my best work. I may get praised or criticized for this album, but nobody can say I didn't give it all I had."