Country legend Dolly Parton released her world-renowned song ‘9 To 5’ in 1980, and has now revealed that she has recorded a new version of the classic track with singer Kelly Clarkson, Planet Radio reports.
This new version of the song is slower and has been described as “haunting”, according to the report.
The new take on the song, it adds, will be included in an upcoming documentary called Still Working 9 To 5, which follows on from the 9 To 5 film released in 1980, and features participants from the original film.
The official description for the documentary says that the film: “Examines the 40-year evolution of gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace since 1980,” and “Explores why workplace inequality 40 years later was never a laughing matter.”
Speaking about how the new song differs from the original, co-director and producer Camille Hardman explained: “The first iteration, Dolly’s original version, was very upbeat. There was a lot of hope I would say in the song.
“And this version is just a little bit melancholic.” She went on to talk about the new documentary’s themes and said: “Women are still trying to get equality and it hasn’t happened yet, 42 years after this song was created.”
This version of the song also differs from the 1980 track as it features the incredible vocals of Kelly Clarkson, which co-director and producer Gary Lane commented on: “Kelly — you can’t believe how she changes it, too. It’s really mind blowing.”
Speaking about the singers joining forces for the track Gary said: “We could do a documentary just on the making of the duet. It almost feels like launching two projects in one.”
Steve Summers, Dolly’s creative director and an executive producer on the film, commented that the new version of ‘9 To 5’ focuses more on the lyrics: “I’ve probably heard that song a thousand times, and I really never heard the words to the song till I heard them right there.’”
