Dolly Parton Has Sadly Announced Her Retirement From Touring

Dolly Parton fans have just been dealt a blow as the 76-year-old country music icon has revealed she will not be touring in full again. While speaking with Pollstar, Parton explained her reasoning. “I do not think I will ever tour again, but I do know I’ll do special shows here and there, now and then. Maybe do a long weekend of shows, or just a few shows at a festival. But I have no intention of going on a full-blown tour anymore,” she said. 

She added: “I’ve done that my whole life, and it takes so much time and energy.  “I like to stay a little closer to home with my husband [Carl Dean]. We’re getting older now, and I don’t want to be gone for four or five weeks at a time. Something could happen. I would not feel right about that, if I were gone and somebody needed me. Or I would feel bad if I had to leave a tour if somebody got sick at home and needed me and then I had to walk out on the fans.”

But just because she won’t be going state to state to sing her hits, the legend had been busy with a string of projects, steadily releasing albums, books, movies, and television projects. This year, she hosted the ACM Awards. And now she’s prepping to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Nov. 5.

The “I Will Always Love You” singer’s most recent tour was her 2016 Pure & Simple Tour. she stopped at 60 cities in the United States and Canada.

In her new Pollstar interview, Parton revealed that she is working on a rock album and that she plans to re-record “Stairway to Heaven” as part of a project of trilogy albums. Parton’s career is expansive. She has had 25 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts, which she’s tied with Reba McEntire. Parton also made history with having 44 Top 10 country albums, alongside 110 career-charted singles over the past 40 years. She’s lauded as a pristine songwriter, penning over 3,000 songs.