Dolly Parton Would Rather "Drop Dead In The Middle Of The Stage" Than Retire

Dolly Parton has no intention of giving up performing live, insisting that she would rather "drop dead in the middle of the stage" than retire.

The country music legend insisted that she has no intention of packing up her music career in a recent interview, stating that she intends to focus on playing intimate live shows, rather than extensive tour dates. 

“‘I would never retire!”, Parton said earlier this week. “I would hopefully drop dead in the middle of a song on stage someday – and hopefully one I’ve written". 

“That’s how I hope to go", the '9 To 5' singer continued.  “I don’t have much of a choice in that but, in the meantime, I’m going to make hay while the sun shines". 

Dolly Parton added that she is keen to focus on fewer "special" appearances, instead of a major tour.

“I’m not touring anymore but I will continue to do special shows here and there now and then like a long weekend or festival shows", she revealed.  “But as far as touring I think those days are pretty much behind me… you have to stay gone so long on a tour to make it productive and prosperous and that’s a lot of time at my age – I ain’t got no years to waste!". 

Dolly Parton's latest album 'Rockstar' is to arrive in November, and is to feature contributions from some of rock music's biggest names, as well as covering tracks from the likes of Prince, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones among others.