Dolly Parton has revealed that her new duet with Stevie Nicks was a song originally written for Fleetwood Mac.
The track, titled “What Has Rock and Roll Ever Done for You,” appears on Parton’s new album, Rockstar. The LP is full of big-name collaborations, including her duet with Nicks.
“She stayed in Nashville for four days, which was great,” Parton recalled to The Hollywood Reporter, reflecting on her time collaborating with the Fleetwood Mac singer. “Getting in the studio with her was great. We talked a lot.”
It was during this time that Nicks presented “What Has Rock and Roll Ever Done for You” to Parton and detailed the song’s long history.
READ MORE: The Best Song From Every Fleetwood Mac Album
“She said, ‘This is a song I wrote back when [Fleetwood Mac was] in the heat of our stuff,’ Parton remembered Nicks explaining. “She said, ‘It’s a song I love but they didn’t think it was good enough to be on a record.’”
Nicks further confided that the tune’s lyrics were based on a personal relationship.
“She said, ‘I have an old demo of it. Can we do this one, because I wrote it about someone I was involved with that was also in the rock ‘n’ roll field when we had an affair?’” Parton recounted. “She wrote that about their relationship because they had fun about it. ‘What has rock ‘n’ roll ever done for you?’ They said, ‘Well, everything,’ because they were both famous and rich. She just said, ‘I just love this song. I’d like to do it just to commemorate that time in my life and that person.’”
Parton didn’t reveal the specific person who inspired Nicks to write “What Has Rock and Roll Ever Done for You.” The Fleetwood Mac singer was romantically connected to many other musicians throughout her career, including Don Henley, Lindsey Buckingham and Joe Walsh.
When Does Dolly Parton’s ‘Rockstar’ Album Come Out?
After months of anticipation, Parton’s Rockstar album will be released on Nov. 17. The list of guest stars is impressive, with Paul McCartney, Sting, Sheryl Crow, Elton John, Steve Perry, John Fogerty, Rob Halford and Peter Frampton among the long list of collaborators.
READ MORE: Every Rock Song and Rock Star on Dolly Parton’s ‘Rockstar’ Album
Parton was inspired to record an album of rock material following her 2022 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“That’s why I thought, ‘Well, timing is perfect [for Rockstar],” she explained. “There’s a real reason for me to do this rock ‘n’ roll album. Here I am a rock star at 77.’”
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It’s easy to focus on Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks when considering a list of Fleetwood Mac albums, but the band’s legacy extends well beyond that.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
