Dolly Parton performs at the 2021 Kiss Breast Cancer Goodbye Concert at CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on October 24, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jason Kempin/GIWhen the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced Dolly Parton as one of its Class of 2022 nominees on Wednesday (Feb. 2), surely the first thought for many was that Parton was an outlier. She’s a country music icon to be sure (and a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame), and while she’s covered songs by Led Zeppelin,The Beatles and Neil Young, she’s hardly thought of in rock and roll circles.
Maybe Parton, who had never been nominated before despite being eligible since 1992 (or even earlier if you include her first indie single as a 13-year-old out in 1959), appears to be as shocked as everyone else, since she has yet to comment on the honor. However, there’s something that feels indelibly right about Parton, who has been a pioneer and an innovator across all music for decades, possibly joining the Rock Hall’s august ranks. The five artists who get the most votes will be announced in May as the Class of 2022. Should she be inducted, she follows in the footsteps of some of country’s most legendary names.
Here are the country acts who have preceded Parton. (We limited the list to artists primarily known as country artists, so did not include trailblazers like Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Brenda Lee, Wanda Jackson or Ray Charles, who, despite their undisputed and vital ties to country music, left their biggest legacies in pop, rock, rockabilly or R&B.)
Chet Atkins (inducted in 2002): Known as the architect of the Nashville sound, Atkins went in the Hall under the musical excellence category, but the simple fact is, Atkins could do it all: His finger-picking guitar style that featured the melody and the bass line became world-renowned, he sold more than 35 million albums as an artist, he played on the Everly Brothers’ early hits, produced Presley’s first records for RCA Records and worked with such artists as Parton and Waylon Jennings.
Johnny Cash (1992): With his sonorous baritone, the Man in Black sounded like the voice of America, sharing stories of saints and sinners first as part of Memphis’ Sun Records roster, and then much more famously for Columbia Records in Nashville with such hits as “I Walk the Line,” “Ring of Fire” and “I’ve Been Everywhere.”
Floyd Cramer (2003): Nashville session pianist Cramer was inducted into the Rock Hall under the musical excellence category. His name is synonymous with the “slip note” technique of playing, which was an essential part of the Nashville sound starting in the 1950s. His playing can be heard on classic hits for Presley (“Heartbreak Hotel,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight”), Patsy Cline (“Crazy”), Eddy Arnold and more. Cramer also had a major pop hit with the instrumental single “Last Date” in 1960. Cramer was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2003.
Bill Monroe (1997): The Father of Bluegrass Music penned more than 500 compositions, including such bluegrass classics as “Blue Moon of Kentucky” and “Bluegrass Breakdown,” but he was as renowned for his Blue Grass Boys and their musical virtuosity on mandolin, guitar, fiddle, banjo and upright bass, as they brought the vibrant music of the Appalachian region to the world.
Jimmie Rodgers (1986): Known as the Father of Country Music, Mississippi native Rodgers went into the Rock Hall under the early influences category in the same inaugural class of honorees as Chuck Berry, James Brown, the Everly Brothers and Ray Charles. In 1927, Ralph Peer recorded Rodgers (as well as the Carter Family) in Bristol, Tenn., and Rodgers’ blend of yodeling and acoustic songs became the musical template for numerous country artists who followed. Rodgers, known for such recordings as “Blue Yodel No. 8 (Mule Skinner Blues),” “Waiting for a Train” and “In the Jailhouse Now,” was also the first performer inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, in 1961. Nicknamed The Singing Brakeman, he influenced legions of artists who followed, including Merle Haggard and Bob Dylan.
Hank Williams (1987): Williams was country’s first modern-day star. Though he died tragically at 29, his songs became classics thanks to his keen sense of melody and his piercing, expressive voice that felt like his heart could barely contain the pain. Among his 55 top 10 country songs were “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (1999): Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys were inducted into the Rock Hall in the early influences category. Wills and his bandmembers enjoyed their greatest successes in the 1930s and 1940s, and became known for standards including “Take Me Back to Texas,” “I’m Sitting on Top of the World” and “San Antonio Rose.” With ace musicianship, the group developed a unique sound that integrated elements of swing, fiddle music, blues, jazz and more.
NEWS
Harry Styles paid tribute to the late David Hockney and reflected on his time in One Direction last night (June 12), as he kicked off his record-breaking residency at Wembley Stadium.
Hockney – whose painting of Styles was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 – died on June 11, aged 88, and the musician honoured him during his set by sharing a quote from the painter on the big screens.
“What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing,” the quote read. “You wouldn’t be an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought.”
Styles’ gig last night marked the first of 12 gigs at Wembley, which will see the star break the record for the most shows at the venue in a single tour. Coldplay previously held the record, delivering 10 gigs at the stadium last year as part of their Music Of The Spheres tour.
The London residency follows the Together, Together tour beginning in Amsterdam in May, and will be followed by stops in São Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne and Sydney. He will be supported by a different artist in each city, joined by Shania Twain in London, who delivered a set of hits and new tracks from her upcoming album, ‘Little Miss Twain’.
As the sounds of Simon And Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ played over the stadium PA, Styles made his way to the stage, kicking off his set with ‘Are You Listening Yet?’, from his latest album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’. Between renditions of ‘Golden’ and ‘Adore You’, he addressed the crowd for the first time, saying: “Our job tonight is to entertain you. Your job is to have as much fun as you possibly can.
“If you want to sing, if you want to dance, please feel free. Please feel free to be whoever it is you’ve always wanted to be tonight. We’ve got each other’s backs.”
Throughout the night, Styles subtly reworked some of the songs on the setlist. He dedicated ‘Taste Back’ “to all the ravers in the house”, as a snippet of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ was interpolated into the song, while a brief burst of Talking Heads’ ‘This Must Be The Place’ was introduced to ‘Treat People With Kindness’. During ‘Dance No More’, the pop star’s band played part of the groove from Happy Mondays’ ‘Step On’, while Styles sang a snatch of Gorillaz’s ‘Clint Eastwood’.
There were also nods to Styles’ days in One Direction early in the set. As the musician left the stage after ‘Fine Line’, the string section on stage played a medley featuring clips of the group’s hits ‘Night Changes’ and ‘History’, plus Styles’ own track ‘Falling’. After ‘Keep Driving’, he took the time to reflect on Wembley’s connections to his and the boyband’s journeys.
“Just outside of this building, just next door, is Wembley Arena, and 16 years ago, my sister brought me to London for the very first time for my X Factor audition,” he said. “So driving here today, and any time I come through Wembley, means so much to me, ‘cause right in that building next door, I was put into a band. We were called One Direction.
The Together, Together setlist features a different surprise song each night at the start of the encore. Last night, Styles treated the Wembley audience to ‘Little Freak’, taken from ‘Harry’s House’, for the first time since 2023. After the song, he spoke to the audience for the final time, saying: “I don’t know if you’ve been listening to me for a week, or a month, or a year, or five years, or 10 years, or 16 years, or whatever it is, but you have changed my life over and over again. Thank you so much for being here and allowing us to do these shows. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
“Finally, 16 years ago, my mother signed me up for the X Factor without my knowledge. I wouldn’t be here today if she hadn’t done that. She’s here today – thank you so much. You’ve changed my life, all of you.” Referencing a lyric in ‘Dance No More’, he added: “Remember – respect your mother.”
‘Are You Listening Yet?’
‘Golden’
‘Adore You’
‘Watermelon Sugar’
‘Music From A Sushi Restaurant’
‘Taste Back’
‘Coming Up Roses’
‘Fine Line’
‘Italian Girls’
‘American Girls’
‘Keep Driving’
‘Ready, Steady, Go!’
‘Dance No More’
‘Treat People With Kindness’
‘Pop’
‘Season 2 Weight Loss’
‘Carla’s Song’
‘Aperture’
‘Little Freak’
‘Sign Of The Times’
‘As It Was’
The Together, Together, London residency continues at Wembley Stadium tonight, with further dates on June 17, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 29 and July 1, 3, and 4. Visit here for any remaining UK tickets and check out doors and stage times here.
The gigs will see Styles donate £1 from every ticket sold to LIVE’s levy to help protect UK grassroots music venues and support emerging talent, and before Styles’ headline performance, the big screens at the venue encouraged fans to support Music Venues Trust.
The tour is in support of the star’s latest album, ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco Occasionally’, which was released in March. In a four-star review, NME described it as “an album that you’ll really want to spend a lot of time with, letting all its layers envelope you”. It added: “It’s the most exploratory album of his career so far, trying out new things and steering his ship in new directions.”
Meanwhile, Styles has also curated this year’s Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre. The line-up chosen by the star includes Stephen Fretwell, Nilüfer Yanya, Orlando Weeks, Bar Italia, Dev Hynes, Jon Hopkins, Getdown Services, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, Soulwax and more, as well as an intimate gig from Styles himself.
The festival kicked off earlier this week (June 11) with a performance from Los Angeles’ Warpaint, whose show was their first in nearly two years. During the gig, they shared fan favourites like ‘Love Is To Die, ‘Billie Holiday’ and ‘Disco//Very’, plus a cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’.
