This 1982 Stevie Nicks Song That Could Have Been a Dolly Parton Hit

Stevie Nicks has certainly made an impact on rock music through both her solo efforts and Fleetwood Mac. However, if you think that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and country music couldn’t coexist, you’d be wrong. Even Prince wanted Nicks to put a country spin on “Purple Rain” before it became his own massive hit.

There was a time that Nicks actually envisioned her lyrics being embellished by the vocals of a country star. When it came to her song, “After The Glitter Fades”, Dolly Parton was actually the one Nicks had in mind.

“I wanted [Dolly Parton] to do ‘After the Glitter Fades’ ’cause I really thought it would be perfect for her,” she explained, as Stevie Nicks Info shares. “And it got sent to her and I don’t think Dolly ever really got it. I think if she’d ever got the song, she would have wanted to do it.”

In 1982, Nicks finally relented and released the song herself as a single for her debut album. “After The Glitter Fades” didn’t do as well commercially as some other tracks on Bella Donna. However, it did become an essential song in her setlists.

How 2023’s ‘Rockstar’ Gave Nicks Her Dolly Parton Cut

In the same way that Nicks is no stranger to the magic of country storytelling, Parton isn’t unknown to the world of rock and roll. In fact, when she released her 2023 album, Rockstar, she collabed with tons of rock icons. Nicks even got a feature on one of the tracks, “What Has Rock and Roll Ever Done For You”.

The song, as explained by Nicks, was originally written for Fleetwood Mac back in the day. As she told NME, it was “a song [her Fleetwood Mac bandmates] didn’t think was good enough to be on a record.”

According to Parton, recording it with Nicks was nothing short of a blast.

 “When we got in the studio, it was just fun, because we kinda ad-libbed at the front and on the end,” she told 107.7 The Bone. “I like those kinda loose songs, because I’ve always been a performer and entertainer, and there’s a lot to be said when you can hear the fun.”

Even though “After The Glitter Fades” didn’t end up being a Parton song, it seems everything worked out. The two icons still made magic, and Nicks finally got a Dolly Parton cut.

Photo by: Michael Putland/Getty Images

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