solo studio releases to her name, Dolly Parton just scored the highest charting album of her career, the mammoth double LP “Rockstar,” which debuted on this week’s Billboard 200 at No. “Rockstar” is not an album so much as a referendum on how incredibly well-liked Parton is at this moment. “This has, however, inspired me to put out a hopefully great rock ’n’ roll album at some point in the future,” she wrote in a statement. I disagree with the notion that Dolly Parton wasn’t a rock star until she released an album called “Rockstar” — it feels like too narrow and literal an understanding of genre. And, as I argue with today’s playlist, she’s been reshaping rock ’n’ roll in her own style for her entire career.

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Persons: Dolly Parton, whippersnappers Drake, Taylor Swift, Parton’s, Parton, Dolly, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Joan Jett, Miley Cyrus, Lizzo, Elton John, Rob Halford, Judas Priest, it’s, didn’t, ”, she’s Organizations: Rockstar, Roll Hall of Fame