Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/06/02/dolly-parton-singing-stairwa.html
…
8 Likes
Oh lord, that warbling. And then they DOUBLE IT UP. I keep seeing baby birds in a blender.
3 Likes
The former Led Zeppelin singer says he and Jimmy Page approved of Parton’s bluegrass cover of ‘‘Stairway to Heaven’’ and even let her write some new lyrics
9 Likes
The first half sounded pretty fresh and unique, but the last half was just a jazzy-kwazzy generic bluegrass song.
1 Like
Love it.
4 Likes
I agree. Dolly Parton is great, but that’s not her best work.
If you want to hear a really great cover watch Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart on Youtube do Stairway. It’ll rock your socks off.
9 Likes
Guy on a buffaloooo
Talk about burying the lede! The title should be “hey who wants to hear stairway to heaven played on a banjo?”
5 Likes
Dolly’s husband is not a big fan of country music, and he is an old school classic rock guy. I have to assume it may have been done for him. It’s not going on my playlists, but I assume it is on his.
Good for her.
1 Like
Thank you for reminding me of this. It’s god damn great.
4 Likes
So good, inspired this. Just a loose edit, distraction.
1 Like
Zappa did a great version. I thinks it mostly just a vehicle for the Brass arrangement of the original guitar solo.
1 Like
No disrespect to Dolly but my favourite would definitely be this:
From an old Australian TV show.
4 Likes
I turn out when the swiss yodeling begins
That would be Andrew Denton’s ‘The Money or the Gun’. This satirical Australian public broadcast show would feature a version of Stairway to Heaven in various styles by some great musicians and comedy acts. Here are some of my picks and I’ll exclude Rolf Harris for obvious reasons:
The Beatles
Rita Hayworth - Gilda
Elvis
Kate Ceberano - think Massive Attack
Doors
B52s
7 Likes
Sadly, they weren’t the ones who hoped to die before they got old. This was utterly awful. Parton has a great voice for many things but her permanent vibrato was not a good look here. And did it have to have a banjo? Of course it did, it’s ‘country’. New lyrics - FFS!?! And the way some passages were sung really jarred. The whole ‘heavy’ end was a discordant mess.
Did I mention not liking it?
THIS!!!
Liked the video juxtaposition. But the song performance is execrable. Would have been a better edit with the original.
Actually - the banjo is more bluegrass.
5 Likes
…or sock your rocks off, if you’re into that…
Team Dolly here. I love this cover.
4 Likes
And a great reminder of what a badass guitarist Nancy is. Dreamboat Annie (sigh).
