Dolly Parton has teamed up with Melissa Manchester for a new version of one of Manchester’s hit singles. The two singers combined their talents on “Midnight Blue,” a song first released by Manchester in 1975. The song is part of Manchester’s new RE:VIEW album, out now.
“When Carole Bayer Sager and I wrote ‘Midnight Blue,’ it was addressing our young marriages, our young husbands and our much younger selves, and how to navigate through some stormy waters,” Manchester told Billboard, explaining why she asked Parton to be part of the new track. “When Dolly asked me to find us something we could sing together, it occurred to me that re-framing the inner world of ‘Midnight Blue’ as a song between two longtime friends might expand the heart of the song. I think it did.”
Now that their new duet is out, Manchester is thrilled with what Parton added to the new interpretation of the classic hit.
“Dolly brought an almost indescribable tenderness to the song,” Manchester boasts. “Her singing is haunting and beautiful. It touched me so much that when I first heard her performance, I was moved to go back into the studio to re-sing my part so as to match her intimate and tender quality.”
Parton is no stranger to collaborating with other artists. Her star-studded Rockstar album was released in November, followed by Rockstar Deluxe, released in January in honor of Parton’s 78th birthday. The massive project featured iconic artists like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Peter Frampton, Paul McCartney, Linda Perry, Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks, Miley Cyrus, Michael McDonald, John Fogerty and more.
Perhaps ironically, Parton had already recorded much of Rockstar, which she decided to do after she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, before she decided to invite other artists to join her on the project.
“I had recorded a lot of the songs myself before I even realized that I was really going to hit on people to come sing with me,” Parton told Billboard. “Then after I recorded them, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness. If I’m going to do ‘Let It Be’ [or] ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,’ I’m going to ask the people known for those songs if they will do it.”
Parton’s “Midnight Blue” collaboration with Manchester is available on all streaming platforms. Find Parton’s music at DollyParton.com.