Beatles musicians Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to reunite for ‘Let it be’ cover on Dolly Parton album

The Beatles members are part of a star-studded lineup of musicians set to feature on the new rock album from Dolly Parton.

Paul McCartney and fellow Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr are set to reunite on the forthcoming Dolly Parton album. The legendary musicians from Liverpool have teamed up with the iconic American singer-songwriter for a cover of ‘Let It Be’, which will feature on her new album Rockstar, set to be released later this year.

The album features a star-studded lineup of musicians and includes a mix of nine original songs and 21 rock classics. “Paul McCartney sang with me on [a cover of the Beatles’ 1970 song] Let It Be,” Parton said in an interview on the Rachael Ray Show. “I’ve got a lot of wonderful iconic songs that people love and wonderful iconic singers joining me on them.”

Beatles Paul McCartney (L) and Ringo Starr (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Beatles Paul McCartney (L) and Ringo Starr (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Beatles Paul McCartney (L) and Ringo Starr (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Let It Be was released by The Beatles on 6 March 1970 as the title track of their album of the same name. The iconic track, written and sung by McCartney, was the last Beatles single unveiled before he announced his departure from the band.

The Liverpool legend said he was inspired to write the song after a dream about his mother - who died from cancer when he was 14. During his Carpool Karaoke with James Corden in 2018, he explained: "I had a dream in the sixties where my mum who died came to me in a dream and was reassuring me, saying ‘It’s gonna be OK. Just let it be...’"

Paul’s mother was named Mary hence the "Mother Mary" lyric in the track. When asked if the phrase "Mother Mary" referred to Mary, the mother of Jesus, McCartney said listeners can interpret the song however they like.

It is also reported that McCartney was known to sing "Brother Malcolm", a reference to the Beatles’ assistant Mal Evans. Evans discussed the line in a 1975 TV special hosted by David Frost called A Salute To The Beatles.

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Evans said: "Paul was meditating one day, and I came to him in a vision, and I was just standing there saying ‘let it be, let it be…’ And that’s where the song came from… It’s funny because we were coming home from a session one night, and it was 3 o’clock in the morning, raining, dark in London, and Paul was telling this, saying I’ve written this song. ‘It was gonna be Brother Malcolm, but I’ve had to change it in case people get the wrong idea!’”

Both McCartney and Starr are reportedly collaborating with the Rolling Stones and have contributed to parts of an unannounced album. According to Variety, Paul recorded bass parts for the forthcoming album during a trip to Los Angeles earlier this year.