Willie Nelson Joining Dolly Parton for ‘Pretty Paper’ Remake
Willie Nelson's name was a pleasant surprise on the tracklist for Dolly Parton's upcoming A Holly Dolly Christmas album. The two singers have a history of duets together and will team up for a Christmas classic.
"Pretty Paper" is a song that Nelson wrote nearly 60 years ago, in 1963. His version from 1979 became the title track for his first Christmas album, and it's been a country standard since. Many artists have recorded the song over the years, with Nelson himself often re-cutting it. In 2003, he teamed with Kenny Chesney to sing the song on Chesney's All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan album.
Parton and Nelson previously teamed for songs including "Everything's Beautiful (In Its Own Way)," "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby" and "From Here to the Moon and Back," from Nelson's To All the Girls album. All the songs on Parton's new album were recorded during the pandemic, so all singers kept a safe distance from one another.
"We've been very smart, very careful," Parton shares. "I'm not out to get it if I don't have to. I'm hoping I can outrun all that."
Nelson has been quarantined for the most part at his home in Texas, although he was in Hawaii for a period of time. He, too, released new music in 2020. First Rose of Spring dropped on July 3 to positive reviews. In interviews, he's shared that he has several other projects in the works.
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