Dolly Parton Appears On Beyoncé’s New Album
Chris Polk/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images, Beyoncé / Instagram
On March 29, music sensation Beyoncé released her newest album Cowboy Carter.
The Grammy Award-winning singer dropped the firs two singles, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” right after her Super Bowl commercials aired during the big game in February. “Texas Hold ‘Em” reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot Country chart, which made her the first first black woman to top that chart.
In the initial announcement of the album, the singer thanks fans for helping her make history and she explained, “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”
“I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart,” she wrote on social media. “That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you. My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.”
The Grammy Award-winning singer revealed that she began working on Cowboy Carter after she didn’t feel welcomed when she performed at the 2016 CMA Awards.
“[The album] was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” she wrote. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.”
Many people commented on her post with support. Even the Academy of Country Music commented, “YEEHAW.”
The album was rumored to have several high profile collaborations and now that it is finally out, we know who is on it!
Cowboy Carter includes collaborations with Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, and Reyna Roberts on the song “BLACKBIRRD,” while her six-year-old daughter Rumi Carter appears on the song “PROTECTOR.”
Post Malone and Miley Cyrus both appear separately on the album. There are two legendary country names on the album as well: Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton.
Beyoncé included a version of “Jolene” on Cowboy Carter, and the track prior to the song, Parton introduces it in voicemail form.
Parton says,
“Hey miss Honey B, it’s Dolly P
You know that hussy with the good hair you sing about?
Reminded me of someone I knew back when
Except she has flamin’ locks of auburn hair
Bless her heart
Just a hair of a different color but it hurts just the same”
The “hussy with the good hair” Parton is referring to is a lyric from Beyoncé’s song “Sorry,” in which she sings, “He only want me when I’m not there / He better call Becky with the good hair.”
Parton’s voicemail track is appropriately titled “DOLLY P.” Parton herself teased the cameo on her social media the night before Cowboy Carter with a photo of herself and the caption, ” Just call me Dolly P.”
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Listen to “DOLLY P” below.
