The Queen of Country died aged 80 just two weeks ago, but there are songs she recorded before then that have yet to be released. Famously, Dolly Parton locked away a single at Dollywood to be unearthed on her 100th birthday. But within days of her death, the first posthumous single is already available to listen to, having launched this week. Recorded in 2022, Bound to Ride is a traditional song popularised by The Stanley Brothers and features on their new tribute album, Where the Soul Never Dies: Celebrating 80 Years of The Stanley Brothers.
Bound to Ride launched this week, and features Dolly at her country best in a song where she’s accompanied by The First Ladies of Bluegrass, Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull, Missy Raines, Molly Tuttle. The album’s producer told Rolling Stone, “I call it the full Dolly. We didn’t know what we would get back, and she really did over-deliver. We were shocked. We couldn’t have gotten anything better.”
Dolly recorded her vocals for the track in 2022 during a COVID surge when she couldn’t travel. Fans will notice the late legend ends the track with a cheeky joke, “Not bad for a bunch of ho…bos!”.
Where the Soul Never Dies: Celebrating 80 Years of The Stanley Brothers is out on October 16.
