How Dolly Parton Helped Beatles Members Achieve A Chart First
Members of the Beatles are still accomplishing firsts in their career after all these years, thanks to a little help from a friend.
How Dolly Parton Helped the Beatles Members
Dolly Parton has released a cover of the Beatles’ classic “Let It Be” that will be part of her Rockstar album, set for release Nov. 17.
Rockstar, Parton’s 49th studio album, is a collection of 30 songs that are mostly covers, including Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” Prince’s “Purple Rain” and Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.”
According to Billboard, the remake of “Let It Be” is “the first song on which McCartney and Starr – or any of the four Beatles, including the late George Harrison and john Lennon – have shared credited billing with one another on entry on a Billboard songs chart outside the group.”
Parton’s version of the song is currently sitting at No. 15 on the Country Digital Song Sales chart. It’s also at No. 2 for Rock Digital Song Sales and No. 22 the on the Digital Song Sales chart which includes all music genres, according to Billboard.
The Song’s Success on the Charts Shouldn’t Be a Surprise
“Let It Be,” of course, found success on the charts when it was originally released in 1970. The original version of the song landed the Beatles in the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 that year.
What is surprising, however, is Parton’s rendition being the first time a song crediting two Beatles by name has landed on a Billboard chart outside of their accomplishments as a group.
Billboard notes there have been several collaborations between former Beatles members over the years, but they weren’t always credited — most notable was Starr’s spot playing drums on multiple songs from Harrison’s 1971 solo effort All Things Must Pass. The album spent seven weeks on the Billboard 200, but Starr was not credited for his work.
“Musicians in that era often contributed their skills without seeking official credit (and both subsequently stated in interviews that they didn’t recall who played on which tracks on the set),” Billboard reports.
See Dolly Parton’s Longtime Nashville Home
Dolly Parton and Carl Dean owned this 4,795 square-foot residence in Nashville from 1980 until 1996. While it’s not the lavish mansion one might expect one of the biggest country stars of all time to have lived in, it’s a beautiful home that’s also a one-of-a-kind piece of country music history.
Built in 1941. the house features four bedrooms and three bathrooms, and the wooded, 2.4-acre property also features a detached storage building. Amenities in the stucco home also include an eat-in kitchen, carport, covered porch and patio, deck, a master bedroom with a walk-in closet, a great room large enough for plenty of games and entertainment and dual heating and cooling units.
See Pictures of Dolly Parton, Through the Years
Dolly Parton was a striking young woman in 1965 and little has changed except for her age. See pictures of the country music legend through the years in this gallery.
