Dolly Parton Opens Up About “True Bond” She Shares With Goddaughter Miley Cyrus: “She Is Like A Daughter”
“I love Miley, I’ve known Miley before she ever got here when she was conceived,” Parton said.
As many Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus fans know, Parton is Cyrus’ “fairy godmother,” a relationship that came about thanks to Parton’s friendship with Cyrus’ father, Billy Ray Cyrus. During an interview with London media this summer, Parton opened up about her relationship with Miley, sharing that she has loved the pop star for her entire life.
Parton Admitted “We Really Have A True Bond”
“I love Miley, I’ve known Miley before she ever got here when she was conceived,” Parton said via the Evening Standard, recalling how she worked with Billy Ray around the time of his hit song “Achy Breaky Heart.”
“I worked with her daddy Billy Ray when he had Achy Breaky Heart, we toured together for a few years and of course Miley became my goddaughter – I was her fairy godmother,” she shared. “We really have a true bond, she is like a daughter or a sister to me.”
Parton and Miley have worked together in a professional capacity on many occasions — they’ve performed together numerous times, released music together and Parton appeared on Miley’s Disney Channel series Hannah Montana — and their latest project is a duet of Miley’s hit song “Wrecking Ball” set to appear on Parton’s upcoming rock album, Rockstar.
Forthcoming “Wrecking Ball” Duet On Parton’s Rockstar Album
Parton told media that the official collaboration came about after she and her goddaughter performed the song together during Miley’s New Year’s Eve special this past year.
“People just had a fit over it, it got really great reviews,” Parton recalled. “So when I got ready to do this album I said, ‘I’m gonna do Wrecking Ball and you’re gonna sing it with me right?’ And she said ‘Well, duh!’”
“So we did it and that’s one of my favorite tracks on the whole album,” she continued. “I love that song and I love Miley. I think her voice is really beautiful.”
“Wrecking Ball” was released in 2013 on Miley’s album Bangerz and went on to become one of the 30-year-old’s biggest hits, giving Miley her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA.
Dolly Parton’s First-Ever Rock Album, Rockstar
Miley is just one of many artists joining Parton on Rockstar, which features collaborations with some of the biggest names in rock and roll like Elton John, Sting, Steven Tyler, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Ann Wilson, Stevie Nicks and more. The album, releasing November 17, features 30 tracks, nine of which are originals and the rest covers.
This is Parton’s first rock album, and the country icon revealed that she has plans to foray into another genre at some point in the future, saying that while she will “always be a country girl at heart,” she would love to make a gospel record.
“I want to do one as spectacular as I hope this one is and to have that left behind,” she said. “I’ve done gospel songs before but I want to really do something great which is still more of an uplifting thing; I’m about that now at my age.”
“You think about what’s going on in the world and you think, I’m not going to be around here that long so I want to leave some kind of messages and at least something so the people that are prone to like that sort of thing will have something to lean on,” she continued. “I’m sure I’ll be singing a song for different people over the years and I’ll probably be doing more rock things.”
