Orville Peck has paid tribute to Dolly Parton by putting his own spin on her hit song ‘I Will Always Love You’.
Parton passed away on Tuesday (August 25), aged 80, following “a brief battle with cancer”. She had spoken publicly about her health in the run up to her passing, and shared an update last week, telling fans that she was dealing with issues she had neglected while caring for her husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, before his death last year.
While on stage at Rough Trade East in London just hours after news of her passing broke on Tuesday, Orville Peck told his audience what the country music star’s impact on him was, and said that he was “a little bit of a mess” after hearing about the loss.
“She really stood for kindness and I think that’s something that is really lacking in the world these days… I feel we can always remember what she stood for,” he shared. “I think as a gay man coming into country music and feeling sort of alone, the thing that always felt comforting [was] just knowing Dolly existed in country… made me feel like maybe I had a friend there.”
Launching into a rendition of her hit song ‘I Will Always Love You’ – which was most famously covered by Whitney Houston – Peck put his own spin on the track. He moved it down an octave to better suit his vocal range, and seemed visibly emotional towards the end.
“We love Dolly and this is for her,” he said just before the cover. The slot at Rough Trade East came in support of his new album ‘Mule’, which drops on September 18.
Peck has covered the classic track in the past too, also putting his spin on it back in 2019 for a performance at VFILES’ 12 Mercer HQ.
As well as Peck, other artists paying tribute to Dolly Parton include Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Eminem, Elton John, Mick Jagger, Cyndi Lauper, Oprah, Barbra Streisand, Jack White, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kelly Clarkson, Debbie Harry, Shania Twain, Barack Obama, Beyonce and more.
Jack White paid tribute too at his show in London, performing a rousing rendition of ‘Jolene’, and her team have shared that the singer “worked up until the day she died” to create projects such as an avatar show and a Broadway musical.
The King’s Guard has paid tribute to Dolly Parton too by performing ‘9 To 5’ at Buckingham Palace, and Donald Trump has paid his respects, and ordered that, for a full week, flags be flown at half-mast across the US in Parton’s memory.
On Truth Social, he said that Parton was “one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER” and her passing came as “a true loss” for millions around the world. “There has never been anyone like her, and never will,” he added.