Dolly Parton is readying the release of her Rockstar album, and the project features a special version of the Beatles' classic tune "Let It Be." Parton invited original Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to join her on the recording, along with Peter Frampton and Mick Fleetwood. The song is already impacting the charts, landing at No. 2 on Rock Digital Sales, No. 15 on Country Digital Song Sales and No. 22 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales. And Parton's inclusion of McCartney and Starr on the song marks an interesting milestone in Beatles band history.
Billboard notes that the new version of "Let It Be" marks the first time a song crediting two Beatles members has charted since the group was intact. The band famously broke up in 1970; and although various members have worked together on projects throughout the years, a track crediting multiple members of the band together has not made it onto a Billboard chart until now.
Parton officially released the song on Aug. 18, writing in an Instagram post that the collaboration is "really special" to her.
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Parton will release Rockstar on Nov. 17. The project came about after Parton pledged to release a rock album following her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. After being inducted, the country star told The View, "If I'm gonna be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I'm gonna have to do something to earn it. So I'm doing a rock-and roll-album, and I'm having a lot of the rock stars that I met that night be on the album with me."
The project is set to feature 30 tracks, and she teams up with other artists on all but three songs. The wide-ranging list of guest artists includes Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Chris Stapleton, Miley Cyrus, Brandi Carlile, Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more. Parton has already released two original tunes from the album: "World on Fire" and "Bygones" (featuring Rob Halford with special guests Nikki Sixx and John 5). In July, she shared her cover of Queen's "We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You."
