Dolly Parton Said She Was ‘Heartbroken’ by John Lennon’s Death
TL;DR:
- Dolly Parton was a huge fan of John Lennon and The Beatles, starting when she was a teenager.
- Dolly Parton could remember exactly where she was when she heard that John Lennon died.
- More than once, Dolly Parton has covered a song that John Lennon wrote.
Like much of America in the 1960s, Dolly Parton fell in love with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. She explained that because she grew up in The Smoky Mountains, The Beatles’ music sounded unlike anything she’d heard before. She listened to their music with her friends and was eventually running in the same circles as the band. When she heard the news of Lennon’s death, she explained that she was devastated.
The country singer grew up loving one of The Beatles’ songs
In 1963, The Beatles released “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Parton, like many others, began to obsessively listen to it.
“I loved all kinds of songs, and I grew up singin’ all sorts of songs, but the first time I ever remember totally being jarred and feelin’ all kinds of emotions was when that song came out,” she told EW. “I couldn’t get enough of it.”
Parton and her friends would drive around in hopes of hearing the song on the radio.
“This girlfriend of ours had an old trap car, so we used to ride around — she was a little older than us,” she said. “I just remember us hearing that on the radio any time we had a chance — because they played it night and day when the Beatles first came on the scene.”
She also said that the song reminded her of her first kiss, “’cause that was when I was beginnin’ to date a little bit.”
Dolly Parton said that the news of John Lennon’s death devastated her
In 1980, Lennon died after a fan shot him outside his apartment building in New York City. Parton could remember exactly where she was when she heard the news of his death. She had just flown to Los Angeles from her home in Nashville and was planning to go out with friends. Instead, they all stayed in to follow the unfolding news story.
“Everyone was so heartbroken,” she told Today. “Like all young teenage girls back then, I fell in love with the Beatles. Back there in the Smoky Mountains, it was like something had been dropped from outer space.”
Dolly Parton has covered John Lennon’s songs
As a demonstration of her admiration of Lennon’s body of work, Parton has covered two of his songs. On her 1979 album Great Balls of Fire, Parton covered The Beatles’ “Help!” and gave it her signature bluegrass flair.
Years later, Parton covered one of Lennon’s most famous songs, “Imagine,” with musician and producer David Foster. She shot a music video for the cover, which includes shots of Central Park’s Strawberry Fields, a memorial for Lennon named after one of his songs.
