Dolly Parton has taken herself out of the running to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame later this year.
Earlier today, the 76-year-old country music legend asked the Hall to withdraw her name from the 2022 ballot, saying "I don't feel that I have earned the right."
Parton was one of 17 artists nominated for the Rock Hall class of 2022, along with Eminem, Lionel Richie, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, JUDAS PRIEST and Beck, among others.
Writing on social media, Parton told her fans: "Dolly here! Even though I am extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I don't feel that I have earned that right. I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out.
"I do hope that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will understand and be willing to consider me again – if I'm ever worthy. This has, however, inspired me to put out a hopefully great rock 'n' roll album at some point in the future, which I have always wanted to do!
"My husband is a total rock 'n' roll freak, and has always encouraged me to do one. I wish all of the nominees good luck and thank you again for the compliment. Rock on!"
The 2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominees were announced last month, with Dolly appearing on the ballot for the first time.
Parton told Billboard last month that she never thought of herself as a rock 'n' roller "in any sense of the word, but I guess they judge it on the music and the influence certain songs have had, and I guess I've had songs with other people in that realm," she said: "I'm not expecting that I'll get in. But if I do, I'll immediately, next year, have to put out a great rock and roll album — which I've wanted to do for years, like a Linda Ronstadt or HEART kind of thing."
Parton was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1986, the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1999 and the national Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2001.
Dolly is the most honored and revered female country singer-songwriter of all time. Achieving 25 RIAA-certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards, she has had 26 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist. Recently, Parton reached No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Airplay chart for the first time for her duet with Grammy Award-winning Zach Williams of "There Was Jesus", for which they won a Grammy, making that her 11th Grammy win. She received her first Dove Award for short-form video for her collaboration with KING & COUNTRY on the song "God Only Knows". Parton is the first artist to have topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary, Christian AC Songs, Hot Country Songs, Christian Airplay, Country Airplay and Dance/Mix Show Airplay radio charts. Parton recently became the first country artist honored as Grammy MusiCares Person Of The Year given out by NARAS. She has 44 career Top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 career-charted singles over the past 50-plus years.
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
Good for her. She's not an awards hoarder & she's not rock'n'roll because she had a few crossover tunes. She knows her lane & is sticking to it.
Drivin' past and saw this.
I saw Dolly on one of the morning shows today - she said, "Me in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would be like putting AC/DC in the Grand Ole Opry". I am glad to hear her stand and statement.
Forms of music ... even SPECIES evolve over time to the point to where they are just no longer what they started out as. Did you know that whales have "vestigial legs" - remaining bones and very slight appendages left over from their ancestoral beginnings as land mammals? I wouldn't lie about this. Music forms also bend, mutate and vary into entire new and different beasts. I wouldn't lie about this, either.
A few months ago I posted of the passing of a musical friend who died of Covid. In his eulogy, I told this story. He had graduated from his dreams of achieving rock stardom. He was very much all that, as they say. He was one of many whose careers got derailed by Disco, "boy bands", "My Sharona" and other tragedies of music. But beyond that, he was quite musically skilled and educated. In his final days he operated a very fine recording studio that he also used to compose and record movie and television soundtracks. Here's the funny part: a "producer" came in and said that he wanted some "Classical" music to use in his film. My friend set about composing brief segments to submit for the producer's approval. The producer declined one attempt after the other. Finally, my friend just asked for the guy to bring in some samples of "Classical" music that he liked. The guy did, indeed show up at the next session with several CDs ... which according to my late, yet musically knowledgeable turned out to be, "EFFIN' ROCOCO!".
In a recent Zoom meeting with several of my musical friends (all genuinely much more talented than me) we all agreed that the form known as "Rock and Roll" likely took its final breaths sometime in the late 60s or early 70s. The music just morphed with the times - which is completely fine and acceptable.
Guitars got more and more over-driven, singers (male ones) started wearing makeup, hairspray and leotards (all okay by me) and SCREAMING in high falsetto. Synthesizers came along (no prob's here) which led to forms known as "Prog" and "Art Rock" (still no problems with me). This at least helped to usher in the various developing forms of the 1980s - which to their credit, were no longer derivative of what was once called "Rock and Roll". Without digressing more than I already have - I do acknowledge that "Rock and Roll" was the name of the baby given birth to by "the Blues" (if you don't believe me, ask the ghost of Muddy Waters).
I am not knocking any of the music of recent eras. I probably could, but it would likely be a case of me showing my generation. If a single soul enjoys a single note of any style of music - I'd say that it has its merits.
We have these discussions every year. The easiest solution? Rename the building as "The POP Music Hall of Fame" with a specific wing dedicate to the form once known as "Rock and Roll".
God bless Dolly for having the stones to make her comments. Personally, I'd love to hear her have a go at "Rock and Roll". I'd love to hear her take - especially if she could use players like Keith Richards (the 'Stones are one of the remaining gasps of "Rock and Roll") and others from as near the original form as possible.
Peace,
"R"
Cleveland disc jockey Allen Freed coined the term " rock and roll" to reference a type of music that was slowly gaining popularity in the early 1950's with a fast beat that promoted rocking your body back and forth and rolling your body right and left as you responded to this new kind of beat. Early on it was called "boogie woogie" but Freed's term quickly was picked up by young music fans and other disc jockeys.
As the years went by and music changed and evolved, the term rock and roll came to define a wide variety of music styles that were popular with young people and dancers.
So why not Dolly Parton?? I remember the great bookings at the Fillmore with Albert King, J. Giles, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton and Velvet Underground all on the same bill of rock and roll!
Look at Porter's suite. So similar to those wild outfits David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen wore. Of course B.B. King and the Allman Brothers didn't dress in such outfits but Porter did. Way ahead of his time. Here is Porter and Dolly rocking out for the rock and roll hall!
When did Rock and Roll really begin? 1920's?
Wow Rock and Roll can have it's slow periods. 1965 and 66 was a rough period for the Rolling Stones.
Mick and the boys didn't get much reaction from the audience at all in the mid 1960's.
