Country legend and humanitarian Dolly Parton has officially rejected her Rock Hall nomination. Taking a brave step, the singer/songwriter made a brief statement on why she made the decision. Informing the masses that she feels that she, ‘hasn’t earned it.’ Which I take to mean that she feels she isn’t rock and wants to honor the name of the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.’
Honestly, if there was a non rock candidate that deserved to be in the Rock Hall this year it was Dolly Parton. We all know that the Hall has been inducting pretty much every artist except rock artists for the past ten to twelve years. With a few exceptions of course. This year has been worse than ever. And if there is an artist in the group going in that has earned the honor, it’s Dolly Parton. Sure, she’s not rock in the purest sense. But if there’s a genre that closely resembles rock music, it’s country. And Parton has more than earned her way into the Hall. Legendary hits such ‘Nine to Five’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’ have stood the test of time and then some.
In a shocking turn around, the Rock Hall rejected her rejection. Which isn’t just shitty, it displays their agenda. Again, not saying that Parton doesn’t deserve to be in. But no mean no. That’s how she feels. ‘I really do not want votes to be split because of me. I do hope the Rock Hall is willing to understand and consider me in the future. If I’m ever worthy.’ Wow, that’s an amazing statement. Takes guts to make the decision in the first place. But to then basically call out the Hall and say, ‘listen, you’re not prioritizing rock acts,’ felt really validating.
I’m hoping that her decision to pull out of the Hall will encourage other non rock artists to do the same. Until actual rock and metal is properly represented. It’s not like Parton, or really anyone else who’s nominated for that matter, have anything to prove. Respecting rock within the Hall is important, despite what we tell ourselves. Hopefully this will at least start the conversation on a more mainstream level.
