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Dolly Parton Has Always Had A Crush On Mick Jagger

Dolly Parton talked with ET Online about her upcoming Rock Star album, which will feature collaborations with many in rock music, including Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, and many more. The…

Dolly Parton Has Always Had A Crush On Mick Jagger
Theo Wargo, Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Dolly Parton talked with ET Online about her upcoming Rock Star album, which will feature collaborations with many in rock music, including Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, and many more. The album, however, will not feature a collaboration with Mick Jagger.

Dolly told ET Online that she"always had a crush" on the Rolling Stones frontman, joking, "I ran after him like a high school girl after a jock."

She added, "There was a lot of people I wanted and a lot of people that would have been happy to do [it] and actually wanted to do it, but we never could either find the right song, or we never could get our schedules together before our deadline was over. But I love Mick Jagger no matter what. I'll still be running after him all through the years. Maybe if I ever do another one, or maybe I can sing on one of his records."

Parton said she is pretty happy with her forthcoming rock album, "I was really pleased. Like everything I do, I ask God to bless it and to guide me in it, and to let it be a blessing for everybody that's involved in it. I've made some really good friends. It's just really had a good, positive effect on everybody... It's gonna get a lot of publicity, and everybody wanted to do their best for me. I wanted to do my best for them. So, because of that, we really came up with some great stuff."

Parton will be co-hosting the upcoming ACM Awards on May 11 on Prime Video, and she revealed on Good Morning America this week that she will be singing a song from her forthcoming rock album on the awards show.

Dolly said of the song she will perform, "It's kind of fitting to the times; it's called 'World on Fire.' 'Liar, liar, the world's on fire; whatcha gonna do when it all burns down.' So, it's really kind of about the times and how we can do a little better if we try–to try to heal the divide and just get along a little better."

She added, "And so, it's really got a great message to it, but it's also good and solid–kind of like a rock anthem."

Dolly Parton made headlines recently when she respectfully bowed out of her nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While she said she didn't want to take votes away from anyone else in the running for the 2022 Induction class, she was not removed from the ballot, which had already gone out to the voters.

No, her name isn't one of the first you think of when you think of Rock and Roll, but the country icon has covered many pop and rock songs in her storied career, making many of them her own while giving each of them a country feel.

We take a look and rank the best pop/rock covers Parton has recorded and included on her many albums over the last five decades.

21. "Blowin' in the Wind" (2005) - Those Were The Days

Dollythosewerethedays.jpgPhoto Blue Eye

Original: Bob Dylan – Dolly recorded her version of this classic song for her 2005 album of covers. A classic protest song, it's from Dylan's second album, 1963’s The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album.


20. "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" (1984) - The Great Pretender

Dollypretender.jpgPhoto RCA

Original: Pete Seeger (songwriter) – The lyrics consist of the first eight verses of the third chapter of the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. This was made a hit in 1965 by The Byrds.


19. "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" (1984) - The Great Pretender

Dollypretender-1.jpgPhoto RCA

Original: Gale Garnett – Dolly's version of this already bright song breathes new life into the "sunshine." Dolly’s version won the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording in 1965.


18. "Peace Train" (with Ladysmith Black Mambazo) (1996)

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Original: Cat Stevens (1971) Parton had the song set to a dance mix.


17. "After the Gold Rush" (with Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris) (1999) - Trio II

PartonRonstadtHarrisTrioII.jpgPhoto RCA

Original: Neil Young (1970) – The Trio's version of this classic song won a Grammy in 2000 for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. When it came out, Parton said of the song, "I loved the song on Neil Young's album. But I didn't know what the song meant. Linda and Emmy knew Neil, so we called him and asked him. He said, 'I have no idea.' I thought that was so funny. I think it's about the Second Coming or the invasion of aliens, or both."


16. "Shine" (2001) - Little Sparrow

Little_Sparrow_cover.jpgPhoto Sugar Hill

Original: Ed Roland – Dolly gave an excellent country sound to this song that was released as the debut single for alternative rock band Collective Soul in 1993.


15. "Release Me" (1982) - Heartbreak Express

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Original: Eddie Miller, Dub Williams, Robert Yount - Originally released in 1966 by Engelbert Humperdinck, Parton is one of many artists who have covered this classic pop hit.


14. "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher" (1976) - New Harvest, First Gathering

Newharvest.jpgPhoto RCA

Original: Gary Jackson, Carl Smith (songwriters) - This was another iconic hit that Dolly put her own spin on. R&B legend Jackie Wilson first recorded the song in 1967.


13. "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" (1993) - Slow Dancing With The Moon

Slow_Dancing_With_The_Moon.jpgPhoto RCA

Original: Jackie DeShannon (1969) - It’s so “Dolly” you’d almost think that she wrote it.


12. "The House of the Rising Sun" (1980) - 9 to 5 And Odds Jobs

9to5OddJobs.jpgPhoto RCA

Traditional – Dolly arranged this traditional song with Mike Post in 1980. This song's most successful commercial version came in 1964 by the British rock band The Animals.


11. "Great Balls of Fire" (1979) - Great Balls of Fire

Partonballsoffire.jpgPhoto RCA

Original: Jerry Lee Lewis (1957). Dolly loved this song so much that she named her 1979 album after it. Parton knew Jerry Lee, and in 1988 he joined her for a duet on her ABC TV variety show "Dolly!"


10. "Walking on Sunshine" (1996) - Treasures

DollyPartonTreasures-1.jpgPhto Sugar Hill

Original: Katrina and the Waves – Kimberley Rew wrote this song for Katrina and the Waves' 1983 debut full-length album. Dolly takes the music to a new level giving it an upbeat country beat.


9. "If" (2002) - Halos & Horns

Haloshorns.jpgPhoto Sugar HIll

Original: Bread (David Gates) – Recorded in 1971 by Bread. Parton's version of this song was released as a single in the U.K.


8. "Imagine" (2005) - Those Were The Days

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Original: John Lennon – Dolly's version of this classic 1971 John Lennon song hits the mark. During an interview for this album, I asked Parton what came to mind when she heard the word "imagine"? In true Dolly style, she quipped, "imagine" how much money I would have made if I wrote the song."


7. "Lay Your Hands on Me" (2014) - Blue Smoke

BlueSmoke.jpgPhoto Dolly Records

Original: Bon Jovi (Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora 1989) – Parton's version of this song is epic and very different from the original rock song.


6. "Crimson and Clover" (2005) - Those Were The Days

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Original: Tommy James and The Shondells (1968) – Dolly's version is a classic of its own as she incorporates the banjo and features the song's original creator Tommy James.


5. "Drives Me Crazy" (2008) - Backwoods Barbie

Backwoods_Barbie_Cover.jpgPhoto Dolly Records

Original: Fine Young Cannibals (1988) – This is the song Dolly added to her Backwoods Barbie album, and she joked at the time, her husband Carl, a big rock fan, just "hates" it when she “ruins” a song like this for him.


4. "Stairway to Heaven" (2002) - Halos & Horns

Haloshorns-1.jpgPhoto Sugarhill

Original: Led Zeppelin (1971) - Considered one of the greatest rock songs of all time, it was bold for Dolly to take a swing at this one, but it worked and got a lot of attention for ‘Halos & Horns.’


3. "Time for Me to Fly" (1989) - White Limozeen

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Original: REO Speedwagon (1978) – A big hit for REO, Dolly really shines in this song that she turns into a bluegrass staple.


2. "The Twelfth of Never" (with Keith Urban) (2005) - Those Were The Days

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Original: Johnny Mathis (1957) – This is the one song released as a single from this 2005 album. Keith Urban sings along with Dolly, and that same year, Parton was the surprise guest and sang it with him when Urban played a show at CRS (Country Radio Seminar).


1. " Help!" (1979) - Great Balls of Fire

Partonballsoffire-1.jpgPhoto RCA

Original: The Beatles (1965) This song has been covered by so many, but Dolly makes it her very own. I love the banjo she adds to the classic tune. Dolly once spent time in the early 1970s with Paul McCartney and his wife when they visited her backstage at the Grand Ole Opry.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.