(CNN) — Only country music icon Dolly Parton can bring Beatles legends Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr back together to record a new interpretation of one of their band’s most iconic songs.
Parton premiered a cover of the 1970 Beatles hit ballad “Let It Be” on Thursday. It is the most recent single from his upcoming rock album “Rockstar,” and the song features both McCartney and Starr.
“I was so proud to be able to sing a song like ‘Let It Be’ with Paul McCartney,” Dolly said on an episode of Talk Shop Live on Thursday night, adding that McCartney sang and played piano and Starr played drums. .
Famed rock singer and guitarist Peter Frampton and Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood also feature on the track, which is studded with stars.
- Ringo Starr talks about his tour, the magic of The Beatles and his friendship with Paul McCartney
“That in itself is already historic,” he said.
Parton also spoke about how this “mini Beatles reunion” came to be, saying it all started when she asked McCartney to collaborate on her version of “Let It Be” because “it’s his song, he co-wrote it.”
Ringo Starr y Paul McCartney en el estreno en Londres de “The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years” en 2016. (Fred Duval/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
He went on to say that the cover was originally going to feature a different drummer who had already recorded his part, but after McCartney recorded his vocals, he thought, “Well, why don’t we replace the drummer with Ringo?”
“And that’s what we did because I thought, wow, that would be all the Beatles,” Parton said. (Starr and McCartney are the two surviving Beatles; John Lennon died in 1980 and George Harrison died in 2001.)
Originally sung by McCartney and written by him and Lennon, “Let It Be” is the title track from the last Beatles album released in 1970. The last album by the “fab four” historically represented the end of a profoundly influential era in music. music, which makes this reunion of the Beatles 50 years later even more special.
“Rockstar” is Parton’s first foray into rock; it’s a concept album inspired by his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, an honor that he notoriously if politely tried to decline at first, saying in a statement on his Instagram at the time that he didn’t feel that he had “earned that right.”
The highly anticipated album features collaborations with music legends like McCartney, Starr, Elton John, Debbie Harry and Stevie Nicks. The album also features contemporary artists like Parton’s goddaughter Miley Cyrus and pop singers Lizzo and Pink, among many others.
“Rockstar” will be released globally on November 17.
