A massive 50th studio album seems to be on the way from Dolly Parton.
Her niece, Jada, did an interview with the UK division of The Sun recently, where she revealed that Dolly has been secretly working on a record called Dolly Parton: Smoky Mountain DNA, which will mark the country icon’s 50th solo studio album.
The secret project is reportedly inspired by her heritage and deep roots in the East Tennessee Appalachian mountains, and will feature 30 songs including features with 20 different members of her family.
If you know anything about Dolly at all, then you probably know just how much her family and legacy means to her, so it’s not surprising at all that she would want to celebrate such an important album in this way. Jada says the project will document her aunt’s entire life, as well as some of their broader family history:
“It is an album that documents her whole life. It has been a huge undertaking which involves the whole family. It is an album she has produced with more than 30 tracks with over 20 family members.
She sings with us on every track. The album covers songs written about her childhood, her mother and father, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, all the way to her nieces and nephews. We all get to share interpretations of her songs or write our own songs for it. It has been a huge crazy project.”
Dolly most recently released her rock and roll album Rockstar last year, which was full of collaborations with some of rock’s biggest and most iconic names.
This news of the new album hasn’t been confirmed by Dolly herself or her team yet, but considering Jada is her niece and clearly says she worked on the project, I’d say it’s highly likely Dolly Parton: Smoky Mountain DNA will be out sometime in 2024.
At least I really hope so…
“Night Moves”