Dolly Parton pulled all the stops for her grand 78th birthday celebrations, and her fans are right there in the center of the pomp!
Parton’s iconic career witnessed a dramatic pause towards the end of last year as the singer took time off to focus on her husband’s health, but now she is making up for it with a huge surprise.
Dolly Parton Is A Gift That Keeps On Giving
The music icon went deep into the archives to give her fans crispy fresh tracks from her 49th studio album, “Rockstar,” as she marked her 78th birthday. She announced this pleasant surprise in a new post on her Instagram page, which read:
“Hey fans and friends. It’s my Birthday, so i’m going to give you a present! I’m releasing four never released songs for my birthday to go with the Rockstar album, and a few others that you may have heard before that were not on the album. I hope you enjoy them, and i hope you all have a happy birthday for me! LOL. Thanks for everything.”
She rounded up the post by announcing that the surprise drops were now available on streaming platforms as her beloved fans flocked to her comment section to felicitate with her.
One user wrote, “Love u Dolly! Thank you.! Happy Birthday!” while another commented “hope you’re having a sweet and warm birthday Dolly! 🧁❤️💐.” Someone who must have been mesmerized by the promise of new music entered the comments to exclaim, “Dolly IS a rock star ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.”
If anything, Parton is living up to a significant promise she made last quarter with this new release. The hitmaker assured her fans that she had no plans to quit her music career, adding that she would only take a bow the day she dropped dead on stage.
However, despite this promise, The Blast noted that the singer expressed her plans to cut back on touring due to the toll it takes on her physically now that she is much older. In her words:
“I’m not touring anymore, but I will continue to do special shows here and there now and then, like a long weekend or festival shows. You have to stay gone so long on a tour to make it productive and prosperous, and that’s a lot of time at my age – I aint’ got no years to waste.”
While touring is out of the mix for Parton, she disclosed her intentions to explore the movie industry fully with plans to make a documentary in the future.
According to her, she wants to have her own story called “The Life of Many Colors,” which will center around her life and never-before-seen parts of how she grew up to be a musical legend. In addition to her film career, she also hinted at owning a beauty and clothing line, adding that she has received multiple offers to bring the vision to life.
Perhaps a sign that Parton is on the right track with her decisions, the singer clinched a third Emmy nod following the success of her NBC “Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas” special.
The project featured guest performances from Willey Nelson and goddaughter Miley Cyrus and captured the life of Parton’s fictional character’s adventures to “uplift an exhausted world’s spirit by sharing the unique mountain magic.”
The ‘Jolene’ Singer Puts Her Family First
Parton’s life off the stage is as important as her legendary career, as she took a quick break from the buzz to look after her husband, Carl Dean, amid his struggle with Alzheimer’s. The couple, who have been married for almost 60 years, have battled with Dean’s diagnosis since 2019.
Sources close to the singer confirmed that she “wants to make sure they enjoy every last minute they have together,” which was why she did not hesitate to drop everything and attend to his needs.
Parton is exceptionally private about her union, and despite the latest health and physical changes, she still showers her husband with love and prepares his favorite meals. She also previously expressed how difficult it gets to be away for lengthy periods. According to her:
“We’re getting older now, and I don’t want to be gone for four or five weeks at a time. Something could happen.”I would not feel right about that if I were gone and somebody needed me. Or I would feel bad if I had to leave a tour if somebody got sick at home and needed me, and then I had to walk out on the fans.”