Kesha honored Dolly Parton during her concert at the Pavilion at Star Lake in Pittsburgh last night, showcasing a cover of Parton’s 1980 hit “Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle to You.)”
The singer shared her familial connection to the song, which was originally released by Joe Sun in 1978 and then popularized by Parton a few years later. Kesha noted that her mom, Pebe Sebert, was one of the writers on the tune.
“I just want to say thank you for bringing me so much joy today, because earlier today, I’m sure many of y’all know that we lost Ms. Dolly Parton,” Kesha told the crowd. “We literally lost an angel. But through her art and through her kindness and through her love, she will live forever. And I want to talk about her a little bit. For those of you who don’t know, I come from a long lineage of songwriters and before I was born, my mom actually wrote a song for Dolly Parton. And that song bought us a house, like a roof. That song put me through school.”
Parton later recorded a duet of “Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle to You)” with Kesha for her 2017 album Rainbow. The album was recorded while the singer was involved in a highly-publicized legal battle with her former music producer Dr. Luke.
“For those of you who don’t know, I was making that album in the middle of a very scary litigation, and I was in the #MeToo movement, and having such a legendary woman do this song with me and stand beside me, it made me really feel like God was on my side,” Kesha said. “And that’s how it feels working with Dolly Parton. So in honor of her incredible legacy and her beautiful life, I’d like to sing the song that my mom wrote for her.”
Kesha has spoken previously about Parton’s impact on her. In 2022, she told Rolling Stone that the country star had been a “guiding light” for her growing up. “Dolly didn’t seem like a real human to me,” she said. “It was almost like when you talk about unicorns. I remember as a little kid, it was like she was this fable, like untouchable, unhuman, just badass.”
She added, “It was a real corner turned in my mind once she said she would collaborate with me. I made a rule to not do any music — no matter how successful it could be, no matter how many people would love it — that Dolly Parton wouldn’t fuck with. I don’t ever want to put out any music that Dolly Parton wouldn’t enjoy or listen to, or find some humor in. She’s so much of a guiding light, and she has no idea.”
In 2017, Parton explained that “Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle to You)” was “one of my favorite songs that I ever did.” She said she jumped at the chance to record a version with Kesha. “I said, ‘Why did you choose to do that song? That’s an unusual choice for you,’” Parton recalled. “She said, ‘Well, because my mother wrote it.’”
