Dolly Parton’s Final Recording Lives On in a New U2 Duet

Dolly Parton’s voice features on a newly released U2 album in what the report describes as her final recorded vocal performance. The country music icon joined Bono on “Torn,” the closing track of the Irish band’s 16th studio album, “Carnaval de Luz,” released Friday. Parton begins the song with quiet humming before her vocals grow more forceful alongside Bono’s. Its closing line, “Every heart is torn,” gives the duet a poignant finish, particularly in light of the report that Parton died from cancer in August. According to Parton’s official website, she co-wrote the country song with U2 and Irish singer-songwriter Johnny McDaid. The track centers on broken family ties, bringing together Parton’s country songwriting and U2’s rock sound. Parton recorded her contribution in Nashville in June, the article says, making “Torn” her last recorded vocal performance before her death. The release gives fans a newly heard collaboration that had been completed months earlier. Speaking about how the project came together in an interview on the “Today” show released Friday, U2 member The Edge said the band had been exploring different collaborations. “We were trying out a lot of collaboration and one of the thoughts was that we might do something with Dolly,” he said.