.Dolly Parton is officially a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The country music icon was inducted by Pink, with performances by Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow and the Zac Brown Band all paying tribute to Parton and her musical legacy.
Parton debuted an original song called “Rockin'” as part of her induction.
“I figure, if I’m gonna be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I’m gonna have to earn it. And you thought I couldn’t rock,” she said, as the band began to play the rowdy, uptempo song.
Parton was initially hesitant to accept her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a reluctance she touched on during her acceptance speech.
“I’m sure a lot of you knew that back when they said they were gonna put me in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I didn’t really feel like I had done enough to deserve that,” Parton said (via Variety). “And I didn’t understand at the time that it’s about a little more than that. But I’m just honored and so proud to be here tonight. … When I always thought about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I thought that was just for people in rock ‘n’ roll!”
The 76-year-old also discussed her recent announcement that she would do a rock and roll album, in honor of her induction.
“I thought, ‘Well, if I’m gonna be in (it), I’m gonna have to do a rock album,’ because my husband of 56 years is a huge rock fan,” Parton explained. “And all through the house, he has music louder than this going on at all times. He’s always said, ‘You should do a rock album.’ And I thought about it a few times, but timing is everything. And then when this all came up… I thought, well, since I am gonna be in the (hall), I’m gonna write a song for tonight.”
Parton previously said that, after spending her entire career in country music, she felt the time was never better to make a rock album.
“When I got nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I thought ‘Well, no better time to do it,’” Parton told Pollstar. “I had always wanted to do it. My husband is a big hard rock ’n’ roll fan, and for years I thought, ‘One of these days I’d like to do an album mainly just for him, just to kind of do it.’ When I got nominated, I thought, ‘Why not just go ahead and do it while the iron’s hot?’ Maybe [I’ll] have some of the greats, the legends of rock ‘n’ roll sing along with me.”
Parton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon. Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were also inducted for for Musical Excellence; Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotten for Early Influence; and Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine, and Sylvia Robinson for the Ahmet Ertegun Award.