Dolly Parton Affirms Rock Royalty Status With Cover Of Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’

Dolly Parton’s new cover of Queen’s “We Are The Champions,” which features a brief coda adding its original double A-side, the equally anthemic “We Will Rock You,” has been greeted as “queenly” and for her “signature twang.” The track is available now as the latest preview of her Rockstar album, which is released on November 17 on Butterfly Records, distributed by Big Machine Label Group.

The country queen’s fearless entry into the rock world features a vast array of collaborators, including Sting, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Debbie Harry, John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris, and Sheryl Crow. The Queen cover is one of the four-LP, two-CD album’s 30 tracks that doesn’t feature any guest appearances. “Instead,” writes Far Out, “it’s just Parton belting out the song with her signature twang fully intact. There’s even a minute-long coda featuring ‘We Will Rock You,’ reversing the usual order of the medley.”

MetroWeekly adds: “Parton pays tribute to the original without attempting to country-fy it, delivering her own rendition with her signature rollicking guitar riffs.” A music video for the cover will be available from tomorrow (26). Fans can sign up for her newsletter for the chance to see exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from the video shoot.

The 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee has already topped Billboard’s Rock Digital Songs chart with another of her solo performances from the set, her impassioned composition “World On Fire.” Parton has also set the scene for the full-length with her song “Bygones” (another of the nine originals in the collection), featuring Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and Nikki Sixx and John 5 of Mötley Crüe, and her interpretation of Heart’s “Magic Man (Carl Version),” featuring Ann Wilson and Howard Leese. Rockstar will be available as a 4 LP set, 2 CD set, as a digital download and on all streaming services.

Pre-order Rockstar, which is released on November 17.