(Credits: Far Out / Dolly Parton)
Sun 8 February 2026 21:15, UK
Dolly Parton is often dubbed the ‘Queen of Country,’ but as a fitting a title as that is, it barely scratches the surface of her extensive and incredibly illustrious career in the musical realm.
Her recording career might have largely revolved around her country beginnings back in rural Tennessee, but the iconic nature of the performer soon stretched far and wide across the landscape of the music industry.
Since her first breakthrough back in 1967, Parton has lent her name to nearly 50 studio albums, so it was more or less inevitable that she would explore a vast range of different influences and avenues of inspiration over the course of that discography. From old-school bluegrass to gospel and folk, Parton has never cemented herself to one particular sound, and included within that repertoire is a healthy appreciation for the rebellious sounds of rock and roll.
Although it is a relationship which is often forgotten, the early sounds of rock took a core part of their influence from the country realm, particularly as far as rockabilly was concerned. Then again, the blues and R&B sounds that rock also incorporated were worlds apart from the grassroots country stylings of somebody like Hank Williams.
Once Parton had graduated from the exclusively country sound of 1967’s Hello, I’m Dolly, though, she soon found herself with a greater degree of artistic freedom and an ever-expanding music taste of her own to draw from. After all, it didn’t take the blossoming country star long to start rubbing shoulders with the music icons of the ages, including the band that dominated the rock sounds of the 1960s like no other: The Rolling Stones.
On the face of it, you couldn’t get much further away from the wholesome country sounds of Parton’s early output than the hedonistic, drug-fueled depravity of late-1960s Keith Richards. Then again, Parton was in her late teens when The Stones first touched down on US soil, and no teenager is truly immune from the rebellious mastery of the blues rock heroes.
“I love Mick Jagger no matter what,” Parton once admitted to ET Online. “I’ll still be runnin’ after him all through the years, because I’ve always had a crush on him,” she shared and, ultimately, who could blame her? Jagger was the archetypal rock and roll star of Parton’s younger years, and, throughout her own career, the Stones have been one of the very few constants, still going strong over six decades after their first formation.
Back in 2023, Parton sought to espouse the extent of her adoration for Jagger while recording her Rockstar album, which saw her unite with a plethora of legendary rock stars, from Paul McCartney to Ann Wilson.
Reportedly, the performer had convinced Jagger to collaborate with her on a cover of ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ but, in the end, the legendary frontman was enmeshed in scheduling conflicts.
Nevertheless, Parton’s cover of the track, recorded alongside P!nk and Brandi Carlile, speaks to her enduring love of The Rolling Stones and particularly of Mick Jagger. The two icons of the music world might have had very different careers, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still boast tremendous respect for one another.
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