Run, Rose, Run
Once again proving there’s nothing she can’t do, living country legend Dolly Parton released her debut novel, *Run, Rose, Run*, alongside best-selling author James Patterson. The thriller tells the story of an up-and-coming Nashville songwriter escaping her past, with an accompanying album of the same name offering a fitting soundtrack. Comprising 12 brand-new Parton-penned and -produced songs, *Run, Rose, Run* brings together Parton’s many influences—country, gospel, bluegrass, roots—for a collection as dynamic as the novel’s heroine. Standout tracks like “Big Dreams and Faded Jeans” and “Woman Up (And Take It Like a Man)” reflect the ambition and strength of that spirited protagonist, while also echoing Parton’s own journey from poverty to superstardom. Parton tells Apple Music that she’d originally only planned to co-author the book until the story’s vivid characters started bringing songs to life. “One day I was just working on the dialogue with James and I thought, ‘I need to write an album,’” she says. “‘This is a perfect time to write an album about these characters and about Nashville and something I know a little bit about.’ It wasn\'t planned in our original deal. It just made its natural way through.”
The companion piece to Dolly's new novel, 'Run, Rose, Run' may not surprise, but it sure knows how to have fun along the way
Tied to a book co-authored by James Patterson, these songs deserve to be more than footnotes
Read our review of Dolly Parton's 'Run, Rose, Run,' a new album that arrives as a companion to Parton's book with James Patterson.
As one of the all-time great narrative songwriters, Parton harnesses the mystery-plot momentum for these 12 original songs
Nearly 50 studio albums into her career, Dolly Parton manages to find a novel hook for Run, Rose, Run, her first record since 2017's I Believe in You.
Released to 'soundtrack' her debut thriller, this music-fiction mashup is an odd hybrid. Still, the country-pop veteran remains a class act
Dolly Parton, Run Rose Run album review for the Arts Desk - an ebullient soundtrack to her first-ever novel, by Tim Cumming