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When Dolly Parton did an exquisite impression of Elvis Presley as a woman
30 March 2021, 17:04 | Updated: 10 January 2024, 10:17
Dolly Parton singing 'All Shook Up' as Elvis Presley while on tour in London in 1983 is the perfect example of just versatile the country music star really is.
Dolly Parton doing an impression of Elvis Presley is the best thing we've seen in ages.
The country superstar was on stage in 1983 when she started telling the audience a story of how she used to do Elvis impressions when she was a child.
See more: Paul McCartney recalls meeting Elvis Presley with the Beatles: One of the "coolest" people ever
Dolly said she would "up onto the hill behind the barnyard" of her family's farm, and once there she would think about what "Elvis would be like had he been a woman."
Continuing her trip down memory lane Dolly said: "I used to entertain those chickens and hogs and this is sort of how it looked."
"God knows I ain't no Elvis – there never will be another one," she added as a disclaimer: "but I thought this might be fun and he might be watching and get a kick out of it."
See more: QUIZ: How well do you know Elvis Presley's song lyrics?
Dolly then launches into a hilarious impression of Elvis Presley, first as The King introducing a song against a drum roll back drop, and then singing a brilliant cover of The King's 1957 hit, 'All Shook Up'.
The clip comes from a recording of Dolly Parton when she was on tour in London in 1983.
The video was recorded on March 29 for an HBO special 'Dolly in Concert' which saw Dolly perform hits including 'Jolene', 'Coat of Many Colours', '9 to 5' and 'I will Always Love You' at the Dominion Theatre on Tottenham Court Road.
See more: Watch 25-year-old Elvis Presley sing duet with Frank Sinatra in incredible footage from 1960
The video comes after Dolly Parton recently opened up about a clash she had with Elvis Presley which left her "crying all night".The story came as Dolly revealed she once turned down a request by Elvis to record a duet of 'I Will Always Love You'.
The song was released by Dolly in 1974, 18 years before it become a world-famous hot sang by Whitney Houston for The Bodyguard.
Dolly Parton: All Shook Up as Elvis
Speaking to The Big Issue for it's Letter To My Younger Self feature in November 2020, she explained she once turned down The King and regretted it ever since.
“I’d been invited down to the studio to meet Elvis and be there when he sang my song. That was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me. Who doesn’t love Elvis?
See more: Dolly Parton's brother and songwriting partner Floyd Parton dies, aged 61
“But then Colonel (Tom Parker, Presley’s legendary manager) called me the afternoon before the session and said ‘You do know we have to have at least half the publishing on any song that Elvis records?’
Dolly Parton pays tribute to Kenny Rogers
“And I said ‘No, I did not know that’. He said ‘Well, it’s just a rule’. So I said ‘Well, it’s not my rule’.”
Parton added: “And I cried all night long, ’cause I was so disappointed. It wasn’t Elvis, I loved Elvis. And I’m sure he was as disappointed as I was because he had it all worked up and ready to go. I know he loved the song.”
See next: QUIZ: How well do you know Elvis Presley?
However, it turned out that Elvis never forgot about the song, and speaking about Presley’s wife of six years, Parton said: “Priscilla told me later that he sang that song to her when they were coming down the steps of the courthouse after they divorced. That really touched me"
