Explaining that she chose the name because it was “cute and clever,” Dolly Parton said it had been inspired by the classic “A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives.
“He used to be on all of my Christmas specials all through the years,” Parton said of the singer. “I think of him as Mr. Christmas. I thought, ‘Why don’t do I call it something cute and clever, like that or Deck the Halls with Boughs of Dolly, something corny like that.’ ”
The holiday album will also see Dolly Parton pair with a slew of famous friends, including Michael Bublé, Billy Ray Cyrus, goddaughter Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon and Willie Nelson, as well as brother Randy Parton.
Even The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon is set to take part, pairing with the country crooner for a cover of Mariah Carey’s iconic hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Parton said, “I thought, ‘What other songs are really hot?’ And I thought, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Jimmy Fallon, a couple of years ago, I was on his show around Christmas and he asked me to sing that and I didn’t know it and I felt so bad.”
“So I went and learned it and I was just going to put it on my album and then I went, ‘I’ll ask Jimmy Fallon to sing it with me!’ And he said, yes. So I’m really excited about that,” she said.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, however, Parton and each featuring artist were forced to record their parts separately.
“They had done some of the tracks before the pandemic, but then we went in and started doing our vocals,” Parton said. “We’ve been very smart, very careful, because we’re trying to protect ourselves and I’m an older person.”
Dolly Parton released her last holiday album Home for Christmas in 1990.
A Holly Dolly Christmas will be released on October 2.
