Song of the Week: Dolly Parton Reimagines “Let It Be” with a Little Help from Her Friends
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Song of the Week delves into the fresh songs we just can’t get out of our heads. Find these tracks and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist, and for our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Dolly Parton recruits a few familiar folks for her take on the classic “Let It Be.”
Dolly Parton is, to the surprise of absolutely no one, a woman of her word.
The beloved and ever-humble country icon made a promise when she was somewhat reluctantly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — “It was always my belief that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was for people in rock music,” she said at the time. In exchange for the honor, she committed to recording a true rock album.
Parton has started rolling out the killer track list and shared a few looks into the project, and the latest is a doozy. To take on one of the most well-known Beatles songs of all time is no small feat, so to be safe, she brought in Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to ensure the absolute right sound could be achieved. “Does it get any better than singing ‘Let It Be’ with Paul McCartney, who wrote the song?” she asked. Well, yes, Miss Dolly, it does — “Ringo Starr joined in on drums, Peter Frampton on guitar, and Mick Fleetwood playing percussion,” she acknowledged in a statement.
When “Let It Be” was first released in 1970, it was well-received, and has remained a critical part of the band’s legacy. Meanwhile, in Nashville in the early 1970s, Dolly Parton and longtime recording and business partner Porter Wagoner were really starting to crank out the hits; “Coat of Many Colors” offered her some major chart success, and the singer, while still tied to Wagoner, was starting to make a name for herself as an artist in her own right. Now, over 50 years later, these stories that were taking place worlds apart have become intertwined. (It’s not the first time Parton has covered The Beatles — take a look at her version of “Help!” — but it is the first time she’s been on a recording with them.)
While McCartney wrote “Let It Be” after dreaming of his late mother, the “Mother Mary” denoted in the lyrics of the song, the words feel different here delivered by the highly spiritual Parton, deep-rooted in all her Tennessee wisdom. The religious imagery woven into “Let It Be” is shared with her characteristic conviction. In taking on a song that’s existed in so many forms for decades, it doesn’t feel like Parton set out to redo the song as much as it seems like she distilled it through her warm, optimistic, and gracious worldview.
One of the most magical things about Dolly Parton is her ability to convince listeners that the world isn’t such a bad place, and that tomorrow just might be better than today. “Let It Be” isn’t necessarily an outwardly hopeful song — it feels more connected to the idea of making peace with our circumstances — but when sung by Dolly, it takes on a more joyful quality than ever before.
— Mary Siroky
Associate Editor
Honorable Mentions:
Roosevelt – “Rising”
The latest slice of Roosevelt’s new album Embrace is the “Rising,” which finds the multi-instrumentalist leaning into the thumping grooves of house music. Like many of Roosevelt’s songs, there’s a kaleidoscopic feel to “Rising,” the track becoming more intricate and dazzling as it bustles along. Pinwheels of synths spin in when he reaches the chorus, offsetting the throbbing synth stabs that guide the song and adding a psychedelic component that feels right in line with previous Embrace singles. It’s a hopeful banger from the German producer and songwriter, and you can feel the euphoria bubbling up with each drum hit. — Paolo Ragusa
JAWS – “Sweat”
You can feel the sticky heat in the air on “Sweat,” JAWS’ latest track off their upcoming EP, If It Wasn’t For My Friends, Things Could Be Different. The swirling guitars are nearly hypnotic, with vocalist Connor Schofield’s booming, urgent vocals ringing out slightly lower in the mix for the sake of a hazy, guitar-driven experience. According to Schofield, “Sweat” narrates intense feelings of anxiety and overstimulation, and there’s a fitting amount of uncertainty baked into the sonics. “All I do is talk about it/ I don’t do a thing about it,” he sings before the song’s first desperate chorus. It’s a painfully relatable sentiment, presented in one of the band’s most engaging songs yet. — P. Ragusa
Maddie Zahm – “Eightball Girl”
“You’re black and white about everything but me,” Maddie Zahm sings to her enigma of a lover in “Eightball Girl.” Everyone can relate to the feeling of taking a leap into new, frightening territory, and in this track from the rising pop artist, the territory in question involves confessing her romantic feelings to another girl for the first time. It’s a buoyant and optimistic offering, with a choir of background vocals lending a celebratory quality to the song and its earthy, communal music video. Zahm’s voice comes to life in its lower register, raspy and full, and “Eightball Girl” shows off her songwriting and delivery in equal measure. — M. Siroky
LÉON – “Pretty Boy”
The latest from Swedish pop singer-songwriter LÉON takes us into a dream. Her first single as a newly minted independent artist, “Pretty Boy” is jam-packed with hope for the future, alongside a sadness-tinged nostalgia for all that’s behind us; the song glitters and gleams like light passing through a windowpane, when the passage of time is visible and clear to the naked eye. “Pretty Boy” introduces us to a new chapter for LÉON, and leaves the listener excited for what will be shared next. — M. Siroky
Bakar – “Right Here, For Now”
The second single from his upcoming album, Halo, Bakar’s “Right Here, For Now” is a tightly constructed, intensely catchy piece of modern indie. Over the tune’s baseline of guitar stabs and a loose but grooving rhythm section, Bakar shows off his charisma as a vocalist. You can practically hear him strutting along to the beat as his confident vocals sing a tale of young love. The one unfortunate aspect of the tune is that it’s only now being released, as it easily could have been included on every indie kid’s summer playlist. — Jonah Krueger
Perennial – “Hippolyta!”
Sometimes it takes an extended, symphonic composition to elicit emotions out of a listener. Other times, it just takes 90 seconds, a ripping riff, and a snarky attitude — and Perennial’s “Hippolyta!” has all of that and more. Blood-pumping, mosh-worthy, and boasting a hook that’ll have you chanting loud enough to wake the neighbors, the track packs an ungodly amount of fun into its extremely brief runtime. Along with other recent singles like “Dissolver,” “Hippolyta!” proves Perennial might have cracked a perfect recipe for an accessible, hard-hitting, and oh-so-irresistible take on contemporary punk. — J. Krueger
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Song of the Week: Dolly Parton Reimagines “Let It Be” with a Little Help from Her Friends
Mary Siroky and Consequence Staff
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