Dolly Parton and Kelly Clarkson team up for new "haunting" version of '9 To 5'
4 February 2022, 11:38 | Updated: 22 February 2023, 16:52
Dolly Parton's 1980 single '9 To 5' is undoubtedly one of the most adored songs she's ever written.
And now she's teamed up with former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson for a brand new "haunting" rendition.
Dolly Parton has revamped one of her most famous tracks to accompany her new forthcoming documentary Still Working 9 To 5.
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- The history of Dolly Parton and Carl Dean’s 56-year marriage, and their secret to long-lasting love
The upcoming documentary will premiere at SXSW festival in Austin, Texas next month, and is co-directed and produced by Gary Lane.
Mirroring the sentiments of Dolly's findings as a female working the music industry for six decades, Still Working 9 To 5 explores the continued system of inequality that women face in the workplace still.
An official description for Still Working 9 To 5 states the documentary "examines the 40-year evolution of gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace” since 1980, and adds that it "explores why workplace inequality 40 years later was never a laughing matter.”
“We could do a documentary just on the making of the duet,” Gary Lane said in a recent interview with Variety when asked about Dolly and Kelly Clarkson teaming up.
"[It's] definitely slowed down and more haunting”, Lane adds, gushing about how the new version was transformed with Kelly's input: “You can’t believe how she changes it, too. It’s really mind-blowing.”
Camille Hardman, the other co-director and producer of Still Working 9 To 5 explains how the re-recorded song differs for the iconic and anthemic original.
"The first iteration, Dolly’s original version was very upbeat. There was a lot of hope I would say in the song."
"And this version is just a little bit melancholic,” Hardman adds, nodding to the film's central theme of inequality in the workplace.
With the song's new recording reflecting the premise of the documentary, we can't wait to hear it.
Dolly Parton also recently announced details of her new album Run, Rose, Run which accompanies her new novel of the same name.
The new fictional novel was inspired by Dolly's own experiences as a woman in the music industry, and is a story about the trials and tribulations her and other women similarly faced trying to make a name for themselves, and the song's reflect those stories.
“It’s been wonderful making these stories come to life through music!” Dolly said in a recent statement which revealed the first taste of her new album, 'Big Dreams and Faded Jeans' which you can hear above.
She's certainly keeping busy on all fronts - with plenty to say about her career and the conditions that she dealt with, we're so glad she is still trying to make positive change after all these years in the spotlight.