Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers go together like bread and butter.
Dolly, who famously sung “Islands In the Stream” with Kenny, will help celebrate the storied career of her longtime duet partner at the All In For The Gambler concert event taping tonight (Oct. 25) in Nashville.
In an exclusive video chat with CMT’s Cody Alan, Dolly sounds off on her more than 30-year friendship with “The Gambler.”
“Kenny’s friendship means more to me than our hit records. Actually, we’re kind of like soul mates,” she says. “He’s from Texas and I’m from Tennessee. There’s an old famous country song, ‘T for Texas, T for Tennessee.’ We always sing that to each other. I love his singing. I love his voice. I never tire of hearing him sing. And I think our voices blend great, so I’m really proud of the musical part of that as well.”
All In For The Gambler will also feature performances by Alison Krauss, Chris Stapleton, Elle King, Idina Menzel, Jamey Johnson, Lady Antebellum, Lionel Richie, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, The Flaming Lips, The Judds, Wynonna and Kenny himself to mark the legend’s final farewell to Nashville.
For Dolly, saying goodbye to Kenny is hard to imagine.
“Kenny is just dear to me and I can’t believe we’re old enough for him to think about retiring,” she adds. “I guess he’s a little tired of it. He’s done it all his life as well. I’m so proud that I’m going to get to be there with him to see him go out in fine fashion, and I’m going to give him all kinds of trouble that night I’m sure.”
In addition to “Islands in the Stream,” Dolly and Kenny also collaborated on “Love is Strange,” “Real Love” and “You Can’t Make Old Friends.”
No official word when fans can expect to purchase the taping of All In For The Gambler.
Photo: Getty Images
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