Dolly Parton is a prolific writer, but she has released cover songs over the years, occasionally to the concern of her husband, Carl Dean. Parton herself admitted that she was not her husband’s favorite artist; he preferred rock music to country. When she told him she planned to cover one iconic rock song, he couldn’t help but wince.
Dolly Parton’s husband had concerns about her cover of a song
In 2002, Parton released a bluegrass cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” Dean wasn’t sure this was a good idea.
“When I told him I had done ‘Stairway,’ it was like, ‘Oh, God. You did “Stairway” bluegrass?’” she told Alanna Nash in the book Dolly: The Biography. “I said, ‘Well, I did “Shine” and you liked it and it did pretty good.’”
After listening to her version of the song, though, Dean felt pleasantly surprised. The bluegrass sound fit the song better than he expected.
“But he loved it,” she said. “He said, ‘You know, I’m real surprised. I didn’t want you to embarrass yourself, but it’s good. And it’s different.’”
Dolly Parton’s husband preferred artists like Led Zeppelin
Parton’s husband has always supported her career, but he doesn’t always listen to her music. She said her music made him emotional, and he always wanted to make sure a television appearance went over well before he could watch it.
“He’s good as gold, really,” she said, adding, “He just doesn’t want to hear the record, ’cause we’re both so emotional. He’ll put it on and listen to it sometime when he’s here by himself, and if he likes it, he’ll tell me it’s pretty good. I bought him a video tape recorder, and he tapes me every time I’m on TV, but he won’t watch it unless he hears I done good.”
Parton also said that Dean preferred music outside her genre. Led Zeppelin fits his tastes more than her albums.
“You know, he loves me good and all, but I’m really not his favorite singer,” she said. “We have a great relationship and he’s a wonderful person, but he’s not my biggest fan. He likes bluegrass and hard rock music.”
Robert Plant shared his opinion of the cover
The song’s original singer, Robert Plant, gave Parton’s version of “Stairway to Heaven” his stamp of approval.
“You know, the thing is that she’s not wailing,” Plant said. “She’s keeping it within the genre, and she’s a good singer.”
Parton made several changes to the song, particularly in the outro. Plant wasn’t as sure about the change, but didn’t have a problem with it.
“Maybe she didn’t get the last bit properly, and maybe that’s sort of how the idioms have changed so much, that maybe it doesn’t matter — maybe that’s the way to do it.”
