Dolly Parton’s final recording is set to be released posthumously on U2’s upcoming album, marking the country music icon’s last known musical performance.
The Jolene singer’s final recording will appear on U2’s forthcoming album Carnaval De Luz, with the country star joining Bono for Torn.
The song, which was recorded in June, has now been confirmed as Dolly‘s final recorded vocal performance before she died at age 80 in August.
U2 officially announced the album and collaboration on Thursday, September 24.
Interscope Records announced that Carnaval De Luz is set to release on November 12.
When Dolly Parton recorded her last vocals?
Bono revealed that Dolly recorded her vocals while she was dealing with health issues in the final months of her life.
“When she got ill,” Bono said in a Rolling Stone story published shortly after news of the album came out, “she got out of her bed to sing this song. And you can hear that. And I can’t even listen to it now… She sang her heart out, and I cannot believe that’s an 80-year-old woman.”
Bono revealed how the collaboration with Parton came together at the last minute.
He said he had pursued her to participate in an Irish folk-themed side project he was working on, but after he played her demos over the phone, “she said, ‘That’s a little too Irish for me.’ But she said, ‘I got this song. It’s called “Torn,” and do you wanna see where you can take it somewhere else, maybe?'”
Bono and McDaid later rewrote the lyrics around a mother watching her family fall apart, with Parton agreeing to record their new version of the song.
U2 forthcoming album
The forthcoming album is being previewed with a new single, Silencio, released to DSPs in conjunction with the morning announcement.
The song was described in a release as a “2mins 35second homage to early surf-punk insolence.”
The band has been far from dormant lately, even if this is officially the first new album in nearly a decade.
Carnaval De Luz explores spirituality, friendship, freedom and endurance, with longtime collaborator Jacknife Lee serving as producer.
Other collaborators include Brian Eno, Martin Garrix, Lanois and Ryan Tedder.
