Dionne & Dolly would be an ideal stage name for a country-soul duo comprised of Dionne Warwick and Dolly Parton, a version of which isn’t too far in the future. Warwick recently revealed on the Tamron Hall Show that she and Parton have recorded a gospel duet titled “Peace Like a River,” which will be released later this month.
“She sent me a song that she wanted me to record, and I said, ‘OK, that sounds like a deal,'” Warwick explained of how the collaboration came about. “I know her because she’s such a sweetheart. She also sent me another song — the one we’ll be doing as a duet — a gospel song called ‘Peace Like a River.’
I’m very excited because she wrote it.”
“I’ve done so many duets over the years,” the 82-year-old singer added, “but this one’s going to be really special.” Earlier in the conversation, Warwick, who was joined by her son Damon Elliott, praised the power of song. “Music brings me joy,” she said. “And when you can put a smile on people’s faces — and I’ve been told how many smiles I’ve put on people’s faces — to be that part of people’s lives, it’s incredible. It can be overwhelming at times.”
According to Warwick, her connection to the 76-year-old country icon was predestined. Whitney Houston recorded a spotlight-claiming rendition of Dolly Parton’s 1974 ballad “I Will Always Love You” for the film The Bodyguard in 1992.
Parton performed another unexpected duet with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus to bring in 2023 as co-host of the NBC special Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party. She seamlessly transitioned from the singer’s 2013 hit “Wrecking Ball” to her own “I Will Always Love You” just before midnight.
Parton recalled hearing Houston’s stellar rendition of the song for the first time when she stopped by the Kelly Clarkson Show in December. “When they were doing The Bodyguard movie, they had chosen another song for the theme song, and someone came out with that exact song right before they were about to put the movie out,” she recalled, recalling a phone call asking if “I Will Always Love You” could be used in its place. She gladly obliged, but she didn’t hear anything else about whether they pursued the idea.
“I was driving my car from downtown to my office on 16th Avenue [in Nashville]and back to my house in Brentwood, and I was just driving along with the radio on,” Parton recalled. “And I just heard, ‘If I should stay,'” she says. Like a dog hearing a whistle, it’s one of those things. That is the first time. They had not sent it to me, and they had done nothing. “I heard about it on the radio.”
