Why Dolly Parton Wanted to Work With Dionne Warwick: ‘I’ve Loved Her for Years’
After Dolly Parton and Dionne Warwick teamed up for a gospel duet, the country star confessed that, as Warwick’s fan, she’d hoped the collaboration would come together for years. But even though the two music legends were fans of each other, they had never met before they recorded their song.
When the chance presented itself, Parton said it was “just one of those blessed projects,” while Warwick shared her belief that their working together was “pre-ordained.”
Dolly Parton and Dionne Warwick never met before they worked together
While chatting with Entertainment Tonight, Parton and Warwick revealed they had never crossed physical paths before meeting to record their duet, “Peace Like a River,” which explores a shared love of gospel music.
“This is something that is very dear to my heart, you know, gospel,” Warwick said. “I grew up in a gospel family. So, Dolly just touched the right part. She pushed the right button.”
She explained, “We had spent time on the phone. We had done the FaceTime thing and we looked at each other, but this is the first time I’ve had the pleasure to give her a hug.”
Parton said, “…I knew that I would love her because I just felt that voice. It’s just kind of inside me. You know that vibe, there’s a vibration that you feel when people sing. So I knew I’d love her. And it wasn’t like I met a stranger. We just walked up to each other like we’ve always known each other.”
Dolly Parton ‘always wished’ to work with Dionne Warwick
In an interview with Good Morning America, Parton explained that she wrote “Peace Like a River” in the ’80s. When she sent Warwick an old song demo, they agreed they wanted to sing it together.
Parton said she wanted Warwick on the song with her because she had been a fan for so long. “I love Dionne. I’ve loved her for years. She’s always been one of my heroes in music because she’s a true stylist, and I love people that are different,” she explained. “And I’ve just always wished that I had some reason to get to sing with her and had the perfect song to do it.”
She added that their duet “was just one of those blessed projects” that seemed to be the right time for the right song for them. For her part, Warwick, cousin to Whitney Houston, said it was “pre-ordained” and a “family affair,” noting, “Dolly found out that we have a family that sang and loves her music.”
Dolly Parton wrote ‘Peace Like a River’ when she needed to ‘feel peace’
Parton explained to GMA that she wrote the song while she was “going through some things.”
She added, “It’s always some short-term war.”
“Whether it’s in the family or whether it’s in the world or whatever,” the “very, very spiritual” artist explained. “And I just remember thinking, I just need to feel peace. I just need to flow like a river. I just need to go. So I just started writing the song.”
“This is Dolly’s testimony,” Warwick said about their duet. “That’s what it was.”
