Reba McEntire looked to her friend, Dolly Parton, to record a new version of her classic “Does He Love You.” Reba was “thrilled to pieces” when Dolly agreed to do it, and once they heard their blended voices, they couldn’t have been happier. What’s surprising is that this is the first time the two global superstars have done a duet.
“At the beginning when Dolly starts to sing, she has that beautiful whisper and then when she comes on powerhouse, I’m like, ‘Omigosh!’ It just gave me goosebumps,” says Reba.
The two powerhouses offer a twist on the differing perspectives tackled in the new version of the track with Dolly singing the original part of the 1993 original with Linda Davis. “We’ve known each other so long, we really feel where we’re gonna go,” says Dolly. “I knew…what she was feeling when she was singing certain notes, I thought, I’m not gonna let her out sing me. (REBA LAUGHS) So, I mean I love her singing, I thought well, I’m really, really, really gonna have to woman up on this one. But I really felt it though. It’s such a great song, to start with, such a well-written song, such a good subject, so I thought this time I get to be the Jolene (REBA LAUGHS), but she’s the redhead!”
The iconic pair also released the video for “Does He Love You” on Friday (October 8th), the same day Reba released her three-part box set REVIVED REMIXED REVISITED.
REVIVED REMIXED REVISITED is a reimagined collection of some of Reba’s most iconic songs. REVIVED includes some of Reba’s biggest hits as they’ve evolved over the years in her live show and features all new arrangements of fan favorites. REMIXED puts a whole new spin on some of her most beloved tracks and on REVISITED, Reba works with Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb to strip things back.
Audio / On the set of the “Does He Love You” video, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton talked about recording the new version of it for Reba’s REVISED REMIXED REVISITED box set.
DownloadReba Dolly (recording Does He Love You) OC: (Reba) …thrilled to pieces. 1:02
REBA: “When I first heard Dolly singing on the ‘Does He Love You’ song, I said, ‘I’ve got to hear it again!’ I absolutely loved it, but we didn’t get to record together. I did it with the band, and then we sent it to Dolly, because of COVID and everything, couldn’t get together, so I’m really glad that we got to be together today to do the video.” DOLLY: “Well, I was so excited when she wanted me to sing on it, ‘cause I thought, well, I cannot sing like Linda Davis and I thought, well, she is such a great singer so that’s gonna be a tough one, but I love Reba and I love the song. And I thought well, I’m not supposed to sound like anybody else again anyway, so and Reba and I have such similar feelings in our voices and I’ve always felt we’d sing great together, so when I heard her singing it, I thought I think I can do this. (REBA LAUGHS) I was very moved by her vocal, so I seem to know kind of what to do. But when we heard it both when it was all put together, I thought this was really good. I was real happy with it.” REBA: “Me too. I was thrilled to pieces.”
Audio / On the set of the music video, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton talk about singing together on “Does He Love You.”
DownloadReba Dolly (Does He Love You banter) OC: (Dolly) …but she’s the redhead! :48
REBA: “At the beginning when Dolly starts to sing, she has that beautiful whisper and then when she comes on powerhouse, I’m like, ‘Omigosh!’ It just gave me goosebumps.” DOLLY: “But we’ve known each other so long, we really feel where we’re gonna go. I knew… what she was feeling when she was singing certain notes, I thought, I’m not gonna let her out sing me. (REBA LAUGHS) So, I mean I love her singing, I thought well, I’m really, really, really gonna have to woman up on this one. But I really felt it though. It’s such a great song, to start with, such a well-written song, such a good subject, so I thought this time I get to be the Jolene (REBA LAUGHS), but she’s the redhead!”
