Dolly Parton's first posthumous song has been released two weeks after the country music icon's death at the age of 80. The late star contributed to Where the Soul Never Dies: Celebrating 80 Years of The Stanley Brothers, a tribute album for the bluegrass duo.
Posthumous Release
The Stanley Brothers were posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this year, and the new album celebrating their success is set for release next month. Parton recorded the traditional song Bound to Ride in 2022 for the project. The tune was a major success for The Stanley Brothers in 1964.
Garry West, bassist and owner of Compass Records, the company behind the album, told Rolling Stone the track is "full Dolly". He said: "We didn’t know what we would get back, and she really did over-deliver. We were shocked. We couldn’t have gotten anything better."
UK Chart Success
The news comes days after it was confirmed Parton had landed three top 10 songs in the UK charts following her death, including her highest-charting single ever. Her hit 9 to 5 became her best-performing UK track, reaching number 5. Jolene also reached an all-time high at number 6, while Islands in the Stream, her 1983 duet with Kenny Rogers, was number 9. 9 to 5, written for the comedy film of the same name, peaked at number 12 last week, surpassing its previous best of number 47.
Private Farewell
Parton died on August 25. She had kept her cancer diagnosis out of the public eye and even held it back from some of her family prior to her death. Her sister Stella said Parton "could not bear negative things and she would not have wanted her fans worried about it". Speaking to Gayle King on CBS Mornings, Stella added that "some of us knew, the ones of us that were closer" but "not every relative". She said: "She'd be really happy and delighted that people have shown her so much love because she knew that that would make us feel better as her family."
Parton was buried in a low-key family ceremony on Friday August 28, three days after her death, beside her husband Carl Thomas Dean. Her cousin Richie Owens explained it was a low-key event. "It was very quiet, very quickly done and not for any bad reasons whatsoever," he said. "It’s just what she wanted. She wanted to keep it very, very private."
