Well, she never said she wouldn’t accept it: , who last month said she didn’t feel she had “earned the right” to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, reiterated today that she would, indeed, “accept gracefully” if voting goes her way.
In an appearance on NPR’s today, Parton, promoting the book that she has co-written with James Patterson, was asked what she’d do if the Rock Hall votes for her induction.
“Well, I’ll accept gracefully,” Parton said. “I would just say thanks and I’ll accept it because the fans vote. But when I said that, it was always my belief that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was for the people in rock music, and I have found out lately that it’s not necessarily that. But if they can’t go there to be recognized, where do they go? So I just felt like I would be taking away from someone that maybe deserved it, certainly more than me, because I never considered myself a rock artist. But obviously, there’s more to it than that.”
Parton was among 17 Rock Hall nominees announced in February, alongside A Tribe Called Quest, Beck, Pat Benatar, Kate Bush, Devo, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Fela Kuti, Judas Priest, MC5, The New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon and Dionne Warwick. Winners will be announced sometime in May.
Following her nomination, the country music superstar and actress wrote on social media that since she had yet to record a rock album, she did not feel she had “earned that right” of being in the rock hall. “I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out,” Parton wrote.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation subsequently responded that not only was it too late to alter the voting process and that rock and roll is “not defined by any one genre,” but that Parton is in fact deserving of induction.
“We are in awe of Dolly’s brilliant talent and pioneering spirit and are proud to have nominated her for induction into the .”
Listen to or read the entire NPR interview .
