Dolly Parton said she is prepping "thousands of songs" for release after she dies, because she doesn't want to leave her material "in the same shape like Prince or Aretha [Franklin] or anybody that don't plan ahead."
In the final episode of WNYC's podcast Dolly Parton's America, the legendary country singer revealed that she is already planning her legacy after she dies. "I am a lucky person, because I've got hundreds, hundreds, even thousands of songs, and a big part of them have never even been recorded," Parton said. "There's enough stuff to go on forever with my music-to do compilation albums, to do actually new and original stuff."
Parton revealed that she recorded a series of click tracks and vocal takes for other artists to record around. "I am purposely trying to put songs down for that very purpose to have a click track and my vocals to where any arrangement can be done," she said. "Any producer, anywhere in the world, a hot producer-when I'm gone--they could take my songs, just the click track and my vocal, and build a complete arrangement around that--any style, anything."
"I'm one of those people that believe in being prepared," she said, stating a plan for her estate after she passes. Both Prince and Franklin passed without penning an official will, resulting in legal issues.
Since his 2016 death, Prince's estate has released two albums Piano and a Microphone 1983 and Originals, both demo compilations. In 2017, the Universal Music Group rescinded an estimated $31 million contract to distribute the artist's posthumous recordings, accusing representatives for the estate of fraud and misrepresentation, according to The New York Times. In 2019, USA Today reported that Prince's estate was still not officially valued or disbursed amongst his six surviving siblings. As of April 2019, administrators had spent $45 million trying to settle the estate.
After Franklin's 2018 death at her Detroit home, it was first assumed that she left no will. But in May 2019, The New York Times reported that three handwritten documents that could qualify as wills were found under a couch cushion in the soul singer's home. Despite the findings, it was still unclear whether or not the newfound documents met the state of Michigan's requirements.
Parton's management company CTK Management and publicist Guesty PR did not immediately respond to Newsweek's request for comment.
In the interview, Parton said: "I'm hoping as a Christian-faith person, that we go onto a greater thing. I'm hoping to get on up there and do some more writing and singing and play one of those golden harps."
