Dolly Parton's storied career has spanned nearly six decades. Now, at 76, Parton says she thinks her touring days are over, though fans may still get to see the icon live.
In an interview with Pollstar magazine published Thursday, Parton said she plans to do occasional "special shows" but doesn't think she'll tour again.
“Maybe do a long weekend of shows, or just a few shows at a festival," she said. "But I have no intention of going on a full-blown tour anymore. I’ve done that my whole life, and it takes so much time and energy.”
Months of planning goes into creating a tour that fans haven’t seen, she told Pollstar, “So you can’t just go out and do a few shows, you really have to commit to doing enough shows to make all that time and effort pay off.”
Parton’s most recent tour was Pure and Simple in 2016. Her twelfth tour, she headlined 60 performances across the United States and Canada and it was marketed as her largest tour ever across North America.
In the Pollstar interview, Parton said the decision stemmed from her concern for her husband of 56 years, Carl Dean.
“I like to stay a little closer to home with my husband,” she said. “We’re getting older now, and I don’t want to be gone for four or five weeks at a time.”
She told the magazine one of her fears is something may happen when she’s on the road, so staying close to her Nashville area home is paramount at this point in her life.
When it comes to her fervent fans, Parton thanks technology for keeping her so connected to them without touring.
“I don’t ever feel separated from my fans because in this high-tech world, you can be right with them,” she said. “You can do special shows in special ways. I will be doing some of that.”
Parton also said she's working on a rock ’n’ roll album and hopes to have some legends of the genre sing with her.
"When I got nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I thought 'Well, no better time to do it,'" she told Pollstar. "My husband is a big hard rock ’n’ roll fan, and for years I thought, “One of these days I’d like to do an album mainly just for him, just to kind of do it.”
She is slated to join the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at an induction ceremony Nov. 5 in Los Angeles.
In addition to Parton, who initially tried to decline the nomination, this year’s inductees are Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon.
