By Hannah Furnell, The Mirror US | Dolly Parton never wanted to leave her music in the “same state” as fellow artists Prince and Aretha Franklin. Years before her death at age 80 on August 25, the country music icon ensured that her musical legacy would continue long after she was gone by tightening any loose strings with her estate. Parton had numerous plans to keep releasing music for years to come, even intending for releases to arrive “forever.”
Right now, as the world continues to mourn her, a song she wrote in 2015, My Place in History, sits in a time capsule hidden away at her eponymous Dollywood, awaiting release in 2046, near her 100th birthday. However, she once revealed that she’s recorded thousands of unreleased songs, which she intended to be released posthumously in the coming decades, thanks to an agreement with her estate.
Parton spoke about her plan to release posthumous music in an interview on NPR’s podcast Dolly Parton’s America in early 2020. “For me, as far as what I hope my music will be left behind, I hope that it will always live,” she said at the time.
“I would like to think that I’ve left some good pieces of music. And I think as long as time lasts, people will be doing music all kinds of different ways.” Parton called herself a “lucky person” because she has “hundreds, hundreds, even thousands of songs, and a big part of them haven’t even been recorded.”
She added, “There’s enough stuff to go on forever with my music: to do compilation albums, to do, actually, new and original stuff, and I am purposely trying to put songs down for that very purpose. To have a click track and my vocals, so that any arrangement can be done. So I think ahead.”
Parton explained that any producer could take her songs and arrange them, adding, “As you know, if you have a good click track and a vocal, anything can be done with that. So that will go on forever.”
The icon said she liked to be prepared, unlike some of her fellow artists, who left their estates in shambles when they died. She said, “I’m one of those people who believe in being prepared. I don’t want to ever leave my stuff in the same shape like Prince or Aretha [Franklin], or anybody that don’t plan ahead with that.”
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Ticket information and dates for Dollyfest have not yet been confirmed, but fans can sign up to receive additional details at www.dollyparton.com.
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Go here to read more about Dolly’s careful planning and the mess the others left: https://www.themirror.com/entertainment/music/dolly-parton-future-music-release-2004824
Photo: Prince
