Dolly Parton to release 1st Christmas album in 30 years, with stars galore
Dolly Parton is back in the holiday spirit.
The country music legend will release her first Christmas album in nearly 30 years, reports Billboard. Titled “A Holly Dolly Christmas,” the offering will be available Oct. 2 and features a mixture of new songs and covers of holiday classics.
Parton, 74, will get plenty of A-list help, too, with Willie Nelson, Michael Bublé, Jimmy Fallon, Billy Ray Cyrus and goddaughter Miley Cyrus all appearing on it. The first single will be “Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas” with Bublé.
The Grammy winner said the album’s title is a nod to one of the season's best-known songs.
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“I thought, 'I think I'll call it 'A Holly Dolly Christmas' because I love the song ‘A Holly Jolly Christmas’ with Burl Ives,” Parton told Billboard.
“He used to be on all of my Christmas specials all through the years. I think of him as Mr. Christmas. I thought, ‘Why don't do I call it something cute and clever, like that or 'Deck the Halls With Boughs of Dolly,' something corny like that.’”
One of the songs she covers is “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” the Mariah Carey track that has become a staple during the holiday season since its release in 1994. Parton enlisted Fallon’s help for the tune after a missed opportunity to collaborate on "The Tonight Show."
"I thought, ‘What other songs are really hot?’ And I thought, ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You.' Jimmy Fallon, a couple of years ago, I was on his show around Christmas and he asked me to sing that and I didn't know it and I felt so bad," she said.
"So I went and learned it and I was just going to put it on my album and then I went, ‘I’ll ask Jimmy Fallon to sing it with me!’ And he said, yes. So I'm really excited about that.”
“A Holly Dolly Christmas” marks Parton’s first holiday album since 1990’s “Home for Christmas.” She also teamed up with Kenny Rogers on 1984’s “Once Upon a Christmas.”
Parton becomes the second big country star to announce plans for a Christmas effort this season. Last month, Carrie Underwood announced she will release her first holiday-themed album, “My Gift,” on Sept. 25.
