Dolly Parton to Release Soundtrack Album for New Movie “Dumplin’”
Our favorite Smoky Mountain singer has lots of fresh music on the way! Dolly Parton will release a new album on November 30, 2018 made up of songs appearing in the upcoming movie Dumplin’. For the Dumplin’ soundtrack, Dolly teamed up with some of the biggest names in music, including Miranda Lambert, Sia, Macy Gray, Alison Krauss, Mavis Staples, Elle King, and Rhonda Vincent. Read on to learn everything we know about the new movie and Dolly’s new music.
Dolly and Dumplin’
Dolly Parton was the natural choice for the Dumplin’ soundtrack because her music is a big part of the movie’s story! The protagonist of the film is Willowdean Dickson, a plus-size teenager who absolutely loves Dolly’s songs and sayings. Willowdean turns her small Texas town on its head when she signs up for the Miss Teen Bluebonnet pageant as an act of protest. Danielle Macdonald stars as Willowdean (whose nickname is “Dumplin’”) and Jennifer Aniston plays Willowdean’s mother Rosie, who is a former beauty queen.
The movie is an adaptation of Julie Murphy’s best-selling young adult novel Dumplin’, which is full of references to Dolly. In the opening lines of the book, Willowdean says that the best moments of her life have “started with a Dolly Parton song.” Also, Murphy named the character of Willowdean after Parton’s eldest sister, Willadeene.
The Dumplin’ movie will premiere on Netflix on December 7, 2018 and will also be released in select theaters on that day.
The Dumplin’ Soundtrack
Originally, Dolly was just going to write the theme song for Dumplin’, but she ended up composing six original songs with producer Linda Perry. Parton explained to Entertainment Weekly, “When we got together to write a theme song, lordy, songs just kept coming out of us.”
On October 22, Dolly and Linda debuted the theme song for the film, “Girl in the Movies,” at a promotional event in Los Angeles. The touching ballad is about a young woman yearning to be as bold and free as “the girl in the movies.” You can hear most of the song in the Twitter video below:
Happy Monday, everybody! #dumplin @DollyParton pic.twitter.com/wNwHCsqByt
— Marc Malkin (@marcmalkin) October 22, 2018
In addition to the six original tracks for Dumplin’, Dolly also recorded new versions of some of her classic songs with a host of special guests. The official track listing for the soundtrack album is as follows:
- “Here I Am” (with Sia)
- “Holdin’ on to You” (with Elle King)
- “Girl in the Movies”
- “Red Shoes”
- “Why” (with Mavis Staples)
- “Dumb Blonde” (with Miranda Lambert)
- “Here You Come Again” (with Willa Amai)
- “Who”
- “Push & Pull” (with Jennifer Aniston and Danielle Macdonald)
- “If We Don’t” (with Rhonda Vincent and Alison Krauss)
- “Two Doors Down” (with Macy Gray featuring Dorothy)
- “Jolene” (New String Version)
More Dolly News: Pirate Dinner Show Coming to Pigeon Forge
In addition to promoting the Dumplin’ soundtrack album, Dolly has been hard at work preparing for the opening of a new pirate-themed dinner show in Pigeon Forge! Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show has been a hit in Myrtle Beach for nearly a decade, so Parton decided that it was time to open a second location in the Smokies. For all the details, check out our in-depth article about Dolly Parton’s Pirates Voyage.
