DALLAS, Texas – Country music icon Dolly Parton on Friday released a new version of one of her songs in the United States to celebrate her 80th birthday and to mark the milestone with a new collaboration that features several well-known female artists.
Dolly Parton released the new recording through her music label on digital streaming platforms and online music stores in the United States and other markets as part of a wider birthday campaign that highlights her career in country, pop and gospel music.
The new version of the song features guest vocals from Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah and Reba McEntire, who each recorded their parts in separate studio sessions arranged ahead of Parton’s 80th birthday.
Music producers involved in the project coordinated studio time, vocal arrangements and mixing for the collaboration to bring together artists from country, pop and hip-hop influenced backgrounds on a single track led by Parton.
Lainey Wilson recorded her contribution in Nashville, Tennessee, where she works as a country music singer and songwriter and where she has previously recorded her own charting singles and albums.
Miley Cyrus recorded her vocals in Los Angeles, California, where she has based much of her recent recording work and where she continues to release pop and rock-influenced music for a global audience.
Queen Latifah recorded her part in a studio in the United States that her team selected for the project and where she has produced earlier work in both music and spoken-word recordings.
Reba McEntire recorded her segment in a Nashville studio that she uses for her own country music projects and for collaborations with other artists in the genre.
The updated version of the song keeps the original melody and structure from Dolly Parton’s earlier work and adds new harmonies, call-and-response sections and shared verses to highlight the guest performers.
The collaboration brings together artists from different generations of country and popular music, with Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire representing earlier eras of Nashville-based country music and Lainey Wilson and Miley Cyrus representing more recent recording acts.
Queen Latifah’s role on the track adds an element from outside traditional country music, with her background in hip-hop, R&B and acting providing a contrast to the other vocal performances on the recording.
The song became available on multiple streaming services at the same time on Friday, allowing listeners in the United States and other countries to access the track on smartphones, computers and smart speakers.