JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford joining Dolly Parton on stage was an unforgettable moment. Even if you don’t have the highest regard for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, you have to admit that their performance there was like none other.
In a new interview with San Antonio Current, Halford looked back at the moment, saying: “I knew that there was going to be an opportunity a few weeks before the event. Again, it was just kind of floating around that she was going to do this song at the end of the show and bring all of her friends onstage with her. And I didn’t realize that we were going to be so connected. I sang one chorus with Dolly Parton and the world’s gone nuts. And I can appreciate that now. I didn’t understand it at first. And now these days have gone by, and people are going, ‘Where’s the album with Dolly and The Metal God?’
“I’ll tell you something about her: she’s been here forever, a bit like Her Majesty the Queen, who left us recently,” he continued. “What I mean by that is when Dolly walks into the room, you feel this regal presence.
“She’s just got this aura about her personality. She’s a genuinely beautiful light of love and caring and philanthropy and humanity. It’s all real, man. It’s all very real. There are some people who are very different on and off stage. Well, no, not with Dolly. That’s Dolly‘s thing.
“So, for me to have that opportunity, I was just blessed and honored and thrilled,” Halford added. “I know her work because I’ve lived as long as Dolly, and I was aware of Dolly as a young person growing up and seeing her on British television. She’d come over and do these British variety shows. And here I am, this kid from a public housing estate in the West Midlands in England, and I’m standing next to Dolly f**king Parton, who is now a rock chick.”
PRIEST received the Musical Excellence Award at the event, which honored Eminem, Dolly Parton, DURAN DURAN, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, EURYTHMICS and Carly Simon in the Performers category.
The PRIEST members that got inducted include current members Rob Halford (vocals),Ian Hill (bass),Glenn Tipton (guitar) and Scott Travis (drums),along with former members K.K. Downing (guitar),Les Binks (drums) and late drummer Dave Holland.
