Dolly accidentally created a mini Beatles reunion
This may be the best story of the entire album.
Dolly had already recorded “Let It Be” and figured, Why not ask Paul McCartney? She sent him a note through his management.
Paul said yes — and volunteered to play piano AND sing.
Then Dolly thought: Wait a minute… we've got Paul. We need Ringo.
Ringo agreed to play drums.
But then it got even crazier: Peter Frampton and Mick Fleetwood happened to be around when Ringo was recording. They wound up contributing to the track too.
So Dolly's Let It Be became:
Dolly Parton + Paul McCartney + Ringo Starr + Peter Frampton + Mick Fleetwood.
Dolly later described it as one of those things that simply seemed "meant to be."
She didn't corner these people at parties or have somebody's manager make a hundred calls.
She said she wrote each artist a nice letter, addressed to their management, essentially giving them an easy way to say no without being put on the spot.
And virtually everybody said yes.
That's how you wind up with McCartney, Ringo, Elton John, Stevie Nicks, Debbie Harry, Sting, Steven Tyler, Joan Jett, Rob Halford, John Fogerty, Miley Cyrus, Lizzo, Pink, Brandi Carlile and a whole army of rock stars on the same project.
John Fogerty was one of Dolly's favorite sessions
Dolly has specifically singled out her session with John Fogerty as one of her favorite memories.
They recorded “Long as I Can See the Light,” a Creedence Clearwater Revival song.
But here's the cool part:
Rather than everybody recording their parts remotely and sending files back and forth, Dolly and Fogerty actually got together with a small group and recorded the song live in the studio.
Dolly said it reminded her of the way records used to be made.
That mattered to her because she loved the spontaneity of musicians actually playing together.
Anne Wilson and Dolly basically tried to out-sing each other
For “Magic Man,” Dolly brought in rock singer Anne Wilson.
Dolly said one of her favorite parts was simply being in the studio with Wilson and hearing their voices together.
And she joked that the two were essentially trying to out-sing each other — or at least trying to keep up with one another.
Considering Dolly was 77 when Rockstar was being made, that's a pretty fantastic mental.
Stevie Nicks came to the studio… and hung out while Dolly recorded OTHER songs
Dolly's relationship with Stevie Nicks wasn't just:
"Okay, Stevie, come in, sing your part, thanks, bye."
Stevie came down for several days.
Dolly said Nicks would hang around the studio while Dolly was working on other material, too.
The two apparently had a blast together.
The Ringo story actually goes back decades
The Rockstar collaboration wasn't Dolly and Ringo's first encounter.
They had actually met years earlier.
And there's a terrific story about Dolly being a massive Beatles fan who had joked that she'd love to meet Ringo.
In the 1970s, producer Ken Mansfield arranged a dinner where Dolly and Ringo were both invited without knowing the other would be there.
Neither knew they were going to meet.
Then, decades later, Dolly calls Ringo and asks him to play drums on her Beatles cover.
Rockstar wasn't originally some lifelong dream Dolly had been planning for 20 years.
The idea largely came out of her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Dolly initially wasn't convinced she belonged in the Rock Hall because she had spent her career primarily in country music.
So she essentially thought:
"Well, if they're going to call me a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, I'd better make a rock album."
And that's how you get a 30-track Dolly Parton rock album featuring an absurd who's-who of rock.