Dolly Parton will turn 80 on Jan. 19, and she’s celebrating early with the release of a new version of her 1977 song “Light of a Clear Blue Morning.”
This time she offers up the powerful message of hope and optimism alongside longtime musical colleagues and powerful collaborators, welcoming Lainey Wilson, Reba McEntire, Queen Latifah and Miley Cyrus.
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The single and music video, which features David Foster on piano and The Christ Church Choir on background vocals, further heightens the original’s uplifting essence. The song, written by Parton, was produced by Parton and Kent Wells and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge.
Parton’s original recording of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” was featured on her 1977 album New Harvest…First Gathering and rose to No. 11 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart in June 1977.
“I wrote ‘Light of a Clear Blue Morning’ during a season when I was searching for hope, and fifty years later that message still feels just as true,” Parton said in a statement. “As I celebrate my 80th birthday, this new version is my way of using what I’ve been blessed with to shine a little light forward, especially by sharing it with some truly incredible women.”
Net proceeds from the song and its video will benefit the pediatric cancer research program at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Parton, of course, has a history of collaboration with each of the women who join her on this new version.
Cyrus is Parton’s goddaughter, and the two have previously collaborated on “Rainbowland” and a version of Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball.” Wilson and Parton teamed up for a rendition of “Mama He’s Crazy” as part of a The Judds tribute record two years ago. Parton and McEntire joined forces for a version of “Does He Love You,” which McEntire originally released as a collab with Linda Davis in 1993. She teamed with Queen Latifah on the 2012 movie Joyful Noise, where they portrayed warring choir directors over a small-town church choir.
Beyond music, Parton has her Songteller Hotel in the works in Nashville, and is taking her multimedia symphonic experience Threads: My Songs in Symphony, to more cities across the United States this year. She also recently released the book Star of the Show: My Life on Stage, with author and Billboard journalist Tom Roland.
Watch the video below:
