Dolly Parton wants to die singing her songs(Picture: Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee, 11 Grammy wins, philanthropist, activist, and godmother to Miley Cyrus – is there nothing Dolly Parton hasn’t done?
Instantly recognisable both vocally and visually, the blonde bombshell is known for her cheeky sense of humour and upbeat attitude which has made her a star with staying power.
At 77, the country icon has announced her first-ever rock album, aptly titled Rockstar, and has no plans to slow down any time soon.
Although Dolly has said she is not looking to tour anymore, she still regularly appears at awards shows and performs on stage.
Recently, she teased Garth Brooks about the possibility of a threesome as the pair hosted the American Country Music Awards.
To this titan of country music, retiring is a long way off her mind – in fact, she’d rather just ‘drop dead’ on stage while performing.
The singer is releasing her first-ever rock album at 77 (Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
‘I always believe that if you’ve wanted your dreams to come true and you are lucky enough to have that happen then you gotta be responsible because you’ve got to keep the dream alive,’ Dolly said.
During an interview with Ken Bruce for Greatest Hits Radio, the 9 to 5 singer announced: ‘I would never retire!’
She continued: ‘I would hopefully drop dead in the middle of a song on stage someday – and hopefully one I’ve written. That’s how I hope to go.’
Dolly’s chart success began in 1967 with a cover of The Last Thing on My Mind by Tom Paxton, which was a duet with Porter Wagoner.
She had moderate success throughout the 70s, with Jolene and I Will Always Love You storming the US and UK charts in 1974.
1980s feature film 9 to 5 solidified Dolly in the public consciousness as the theme song of the same name went straight to number one and earned her an Oscar for best song.
This is where the singer really hit her stride, with six number-one hits in four years, Dolly was a bonafide star.
Although she’s not looking to retire, the Tennesee-born icon has decided to take a step back from touring.
In response to Madonna’s recent illness, according to MailOnline, Dolly said: ‘It’s always been taxing, the reason I don’t tour now is because I don’t want to be that far away from home, we’re getting older and I’ve got a lot of business that I do and the movies that I do.’
Dolly loves performing but has stopped touring (Picture: Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP, File)
That doesn’t mean she wants a holographic version of herself performing though, as she told a press conference that she didn’t want to dabble in the new technology.
Dolly, who is a devout Christian, shared that she didn’t want her soul left on earth after she was gone.
The singer, in her interview with Ken, reassured everyone that her health was good as well as that of her husband Carl Dean.
Dolly added. ‘I don’t have much of a choice in that but, in the meantime, I’m going to make hay while the sun shines.’
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Dolly doesn’t want to slow down.
