Country music queen, hair icon, and philanthropist extraordinaire Dolly Parton may be 76, but she has no plans of slowing down. Even though one of her most famous songs is about working “9 to 5,” the Tennessee music mogul does, in fact, still rock around the clock.
Through USO’s Military Virtual Programming, Parton took some time to reflect on her career and chat with service members stationed around the world. Her most surprising revelation was that she intends to release a rock n’ roll album after being inducted into the genre’s hall of fame.
“I’m going to actually do a rock and roll album because I got put into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” she said. “I might do something with Paul McCartney and with Elton John. I’m hoping that I might get a chance to sing with somebody like that, that I’ve always loved to sing with.”
Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999. She, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brenda Lee and the Everly Brothers are a small group of artists who have been honored with inductions to both music genres’ halls of fame.
When asked by a military spouse what her ideal 9-to-5 job would be, Parton responded that she has lived her dream job since she was a young girl: Making music.
However, she noted, it’s not exactly a day job.
“I don’t think there is such a thing as a dream career working 9 to 5,” Parton joked. “You can’t work 9 to 5 and have a career. You can have a job. But I mean, if you’re gonna have a career you’re gonna be working 9 to 5 and 5 to 9.”
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Sarah Sicard is a Senior Editor with Military Times. She previously served as the Digitial Editor of Military Times and the Army Times Editor. Other work can be found at National Defense Magazine, Task & Purpose, and Defense News.