Dolly Parton Kenny Rogers duet Islands In The Steam song dating

Country music stars Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers collaborated multiple times during their careers, and their chemistry was evident to millions of fans. However, the two of them had a fantastic answer as to why they never actually dated.

Dolly And Kenny Make Beautiful Music Together 

Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers released their first duet, “Islands In The Stream,” back in 1983.

Not everyone knows that this legendary duet was written by the Bee Gees. The song hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was even voted “CMT 100 Greatest Duets” back in 2005

You can watch Dolly and Kenny make magic together performing “Islands In The Stream” in the video below. 

This collaboration came after Dolly already fell in love with Kenny’s voice. 

“I first became aware of Kenny when he was with a group called First Edition,” Parton explained during the CMT GIANTS special honoring Rogers, according to PopCulture.com. “I heard a song called ‘I Just Dropped In to See What Condition My Condition Was In.’”

She added, “I thought that was very clever, but I loved the sound of his voice and I kind of followed around to see who he was and got more involved in his music.” 

One year after releasing “Islands In The Stream,” the two released “The Greatest Gift of All” for Christmas.

The country superstars would go on to release “Real Love” in 1985, “Love Is Strange” in 1990, and “You Can’t Make Old Friends” in 2013. 

Related: Dolly Parton Sings Touching Tribute To Kenny Rogers While Quarantining From Coronavirus

Why Did Dolly And Kenny Never Date?

Fans often wondered why Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers never dated, and the two had a sense of humor about this.

“First of all, she’s hard to look at for me,” Kenny said jokingly in an interview with Today in 2017. Then Dolly added, “I’m not his type.” 

Kenny went on to say that he believed that the fact that they never dated helped their art.

“I’m a believer that tension is better if you keep it than if you satisfy it,” he said. “And then secondly, she said no to me.”

As for Dolly, she said she never felt that their relationship could be romantic.

“Nah. You know what, we were almost like brother and sister,” she said. “And it would almost be like incest. So we just never went there.”

Aside from that, Dolly Parton has been married to her husband Carl Dean since 1966, so dating Kenny Rogers would have been a little difficult!

Country Music Loses Kenny Rogers

Rogers sadly passed away in 2020, and after his death, Parton paid an emotional tribute to him.

“You never know how much you love somebody until they’re gone,” Parton wrote on Twitter. “I’ve had so many wonderful years and wonderful times with my friend Kenny, but above all the music and the success I loved him as a wonderful man and a true friend.”

FULL STORY: Dolly Parton Breaks Down As She Pays Tribute To Longtime Friend Kenny Rogers

While it’s sad that the world lost a country music legend in Kenny Rogers, he will live on forever in the music that he created, especially the songs he did with Dolly Parton. 

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