Dolly Parton is in her rock ‘n’ roll era, and she’s ready to become the champion of the genre. To that end, she shared her cover of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” on Friday as the latest single from her forthcoming, aptly-named album, Rockstar.
With a dynamic, guitar-driven arrangement reminiscent of Queen’s original version from 1977, Parton’s take on the song is stadium-ready. At 77 years old, she still belts with goosebump-inducing power, soaring through the anthemic melody. Add in the tinge of twangy wisdom she brings to lines about how fame and fortune have been “no bed of roses,” and the tune is elevated to a new level of insight.
Parton also closes the song with a brief interpolation of “We Will Rock You” — complete with the legendary beat, crowd chanting, and some vocal ad-libs from Parton that unmistakably confirm the fact that she will, indeed, rock you. Listen to the song below.
“We Are the Champions” is the fourth single from Rockstar, which is due to drop in full on November 17th via Parton’s own Butterfly Records in conjunction with Big Machine Label Group. The album features nine new, original songs in addition to a heap of rock covers and an insane list of guest stars. It was inspired by Parton’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year. “I guess I’m a rock star now!” she declared in her acceptance speech. Pre-orders for the album are ongoing.
In May, Parton unveiled the album’s lead single, “World on Fire,” a warning about the state of the world which constitutes her most political song to date. Last month, she shared two more singles: “Bygones,” a new track featuring Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx, and a cover of Heart’s “Magic Man” with none other than Ann Wilson herself.
All of this might seem like a lot of activity for someone Parton’s age, but she’s showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. She recently revealed that she’s not planning on retiring, explaining that she would rather “drop dead in the middle of a song on stage someday.”
