First and foremost, a HUGE happy birthday to the queen herself, Mrs. Dolly Parton.
The country icon turns 78 years young today, and in honor of that very important milestone, she’s also releasing the deluxe version of her 2023 Rockstar album.
She released her first full-fledged rock and roll album in November, an idea that spawned after she was nominated, and subsequently inducted, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year.
At the time, she actually tried to remove herself from the running, though they told her it was too late because ballots had already been sent out. She later accepted with grace, but was determined to “earn” her place there, though it’s honestly more of a “music” hall of fame than a truly “rock” hall of fame.
The album consisted of features from rock royalty like Steve Perry, John Fogarty, Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Elton John, Pat Benatar, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, making it easily one of the most star-studded tracklists I’ve personally ever seen.
In a post on Instagram, Dolly says she wanted to give her fans a present on her birthday this year, in the form of four never released songs that go with Rockstar, as well as a few other of her older favorites from her own catalog:
“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! LOL. Thanks for everything, Dolly.”
A national treasure…
She added nine songs in total to the tracklist, including a cover of Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets To Paradise,” and even a collaboration with Måneskin on “Jolene.”
At the time of Rockstar’s original release, Dolly earned her highest-charting debut album of her career when it came it at #3 after opening week, just behind Taylor Swift with 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and Drake with For All the Dogs.
Dolly moved 128,000 units in the first week of Rockstar being out, and 118,500 of the sales were pure album sales, meaning she’s selling actual copies of music (which includes people actually purchasing the album and/or singles on places like iTunes) and not just digital downloads via streaming services.
And in 2023 where streaming reigning supreme, that is completely astonishing and a massive accomplishment in and of itself for the country legend.
Here’s to the greatest to ever do it, and one of the greatest gifts to this world and music, Mrs. Dolly Parton. And here’s to 78 more years of her well-deserved world domination.
You can check out some of the new tracks below.
Additional tracks for ROCKSTAR DELUXE:
31. “Rockin’ It (Live)”
32. “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
33. “Mama Never Said”
34. “Two Tickets To Paradise”
35. “Jolene (featuring Måneskin)”
36. “Stay Out Of My Bedroom”
37. “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
38. “The Entertainer”
39. “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”
“Stay Out Of My Bedroom”
“Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
“Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”
“Jolene (featuring Måneskin)”
