Jewel's latest project, "Picking Up the Pieces," is her 12th album. This self-produced recording is a collection of what the artist calls a throwback to her first album, "Pieces of You." She says she abandoned all she had learned from the music business over the past two decades in order to achieve her goals with this album. In doing so, she called on Dolly Parton to join her on the album's first single, "My Father's Daughter."
Jewel was kind enough to talk about why she chose Dolly for the song. Much like Dolly's "Coat of Many Colors," this song is an autobiographical telling of Jewel's family and childhood. She says her unique lifestyle, growing up on a remote Alaskan homestead, is part of why she looked up to Dolly, both musically and as a role model. She said,
"I loved that Dolly always was very unapologetic about who and what she is. She was just very proud of who she was and where she came from, and that gave me a lot of courage as a young woman to say and speak my mind and to be exactly who I was and to be authentic."
In the official video, a young Jewel dances to Dolly's 1972 album, "Just the Way I Am." Fittingly, this particular song is about proudly accepting unique personality traits, especially free-spirited ones. Dolly is a big Jewel fan and has been for a long time. She said,
"I've loved Jewel from the first time I saw her and heard her. She's like a little sister to me. We have so much in common in how we grew up poor girls, how we feel about God, family and music. I am so proud of this duet with her. I think our voices blend like family. We hope you love it as much as we loved doing it."
Watch the official video of "My Father's Daughter" by Jewel (featuring Dolly Parton).
Jewel went on to talk about releasing this album along with a new book, "Never Broken," while maintaining her primary role as mother to her four-year-old son. She even offered some tips to other moms who face similar challenges when balancing family and work. She said,
"Go slow and see what works for you. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a mom that's actually going back into the workplace, both are really great and really noble things, and you have to find what works for you and what works for your family."
Most Dolly fans are aware of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which is a book gifting program that has sent over 72 million free books to children in four countries. The program is active in Telluride, CO, where Jewel and her son live. It is also present in Homer, AK, near her family’s homestead, the setting of the Discovery Channel’s "Alaska: The Last Frontier." Jewel says the Imagination Library is wonderful and even talks about the importance books have played in her music and songwriting. She shared,
"As a young child it meant the world to me to be able to escape into books, and I learned everything I know about writing from books, by reading great authors."
"Coat of Many Colors," originally released in 1971, was the first of Dolly’s songs Jewel remembers hearing. She says it resonated with her because of her own humble upbringing. Knowing NBC plans to release the film version of the song this December and more movies based on Dolly's music in 2016, Jewel says, if given the chance, she would like to play Jolene!
With the release of "My Father's Daughter," Jewel joins a long and distinguished list of Dolly's duet partners. Surely, she found gold while picking up the pieces.
Recording with Dolly
"Raising my son is like writing a song that lasts forever." --Jewel
The first time she heard Dolly
Jewel on achieving success in multiple musical genres
All families who receive the gift of Imagination Library books were also presented with a free download of Dolly’s song "I Believe In You" that she wrote for the Imagination Playhouse at Dollywood.
Eleven additional songs will soon be coming for purchase, with 100 percent of sales supporting the longevity of The Dollywood Foundation.
In the summer of 2014, Dolly performed at the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts. When she took to the Pyramid stage, it was said that all the other stages were empty and even the performers were likely gathered to see her concert. In a sharp contrast to the famous Glastonbury mud, Dolly greeted her fans in a white rhinestone-covered pants suit.
She sang many of her hits including "Coat of Many Colors," and "9 to 5" while the eager young audience sang along, many wearing blond wigs in admiration. The security staff even choreographed their own moves to "Jolene."
The festival staff had been trying to book Dolly since their very first event back in 1970. However, the timing of her touring schedule did not work out until now. Dolly was excited to perform at Glastonbury and especially admired the large farm that hosts the annual event. She said,
"I'm just a country girl and now I feel like a rock star."
The BBC aired the entire event and made it available on their networks around the world. During the performance, Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora joined in on Dolly’s version of "Lay Your Hands On Me." The song appears on Dolly’s album, "Blue Smoke" as a spiritual tune.
Before the event, Dolly received a special presentation marking her total career album sales surpassing 100 million worldwide.
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts is a five-day music and arts event. The festival hosts multiple stages and is set on Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, England.
One of the highlights of Dolly’s 42nd album 'Blue Smoke' is the duet 'You Can’t Make Old Friends,' recorded with one of her most beloved singing partners Kenny Rogers. The song is a poignant reflection of enduring friendship.
Rogers said of this, his first duet with Dolly since 1985’s 'Real Love,'
“We really are those kind of friends, where you can't make old friends. Dolly knows me like a book, and I know her like a book. So this is the perfect idea for a song for us."
Dolly calls Rogers her "best friend" and talks about how she is glad she got to "walk that road" with the man she sang one of the most loved duets of all time, "Islands in the Stream."
The song was nominated for a 2014 GRAMMY Award in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category. This was the third GRAMMY-nominated collaboration for Dolly and Kenny! Other nominated collaborations include 'Islands in the Stream' and 'Real Love.'
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Dolly made history in Dollywood's 2013 Smoky Mountain Christmas festival when she appeared in "Dollywood's A Christmas Carol" as a hologram.
She stars in the ground-breaking show as the Ghost of Christmas Past, with a flair only Dolly can bring to the stage, thanks to a cutting-edge hologram technology. Dolly was excited about the opportunity but joked,
“I’m not sure this world can handle two Dolly Partons, but I’m excited folks will be able to see ‘the other Dolly’ reminding families that it’s not what you have but who you have, just like ole Scrooge figures out in the end.”
