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Dolly Parton isn't convinced she's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame material, but if the Rock Hall's voters induct her this year, the county icon says she'll do her part to advance the genre by making "a great rock 'n' roll album."
Parton is among a list of 2022 Rock Hall nominees that includes, Beck, Pat Benatar, Kate Bush, Devo, Duran Duran, Eminem, the Eurythmics, Judas Priest, Fela Kuti, MC5, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, A Tribe Called Quest and Dionne Warwick.
While Parton is no rocker, her influential status as a country legend and beloved pop culture figure make her Rock Hall induction seem more or less inevitable.
"I was absolutely floored when I heard that," Parton told Billboard. "I've never thought of myself as being rock 'n' roll in any sense of the word — but I guess they judge it on music and the influence certain songs have had, and I guess I've had songs with other people in that realm. But I don't know how they judge that.
"I'm not expecting that I'll get in. But if I do, I'll immediately, next year, have to put out a great rock 'n' roll album — which I've wanted to do for years, like Linda Rondstadt or Heart king of thing. So this may have been just a God-wink for me to go ahead and do that. It's just nice to be nominated."
Parton is currently (as of 10 a.m. February 14) fourth in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's fan polling, behind Eminem, Duran Duran and Benatar. You can check latest fan-polling numbers here.
Cast your own votes for the 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class here.