Dolly Parton wants to be a star.
Yeah, that Dolly. The 62-year-old icon with the legendary decolletage, dozens of gold records and piles of golden hair.
With the release of her latest album, “Backwoods Barbie,” and a world tour that stops at the Opera House on Monday, Parton wants to be the next Carrie Underwood - and not just because she’s taken to popping up on “American Idol.”
It seems odd because Parton already was the next Carrie Underwood when she made her debut on “The Porter Wagoner Show” in 1967. Parton went on to become one of the biggest country stars of the ’70s and ’80s. But after being ignored by the country music machine for a decade, she wants to wedge herself back into the industry and get heard alongside Underwood, Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert.
“I want to get played on country radio,” said Parton from her Nashville, Tenn., headquarters. “Lots of people my age have been dropped from country radio. They’ve been dropped from major labels. But I feel that this album is right for country radio.”
Parton says “Backwoods Barbie” is a mainstream country album. And she’s right, kind of. “Backwoods Barbie” is her most mainstream country record in 20 years. But it may be too uncontrived - a shock considering Parton is the ultimate dolled-up woman - for today’s Nashville to get behind.
The 12 tracks, nine of which were penned by Parton, brim with classic country’s witty but economic wordplay, deep-woods twang and harmonies. It also has some of the brilliant bluegrass she’s spent the past decade making.
“The majors didn’t really want me so I made my own label (Dolly Records) to put it out on,” the Locust Ridge, Tenn., native said. “I’ve always had my own style, but with my backwoods Barbie look, my big hair and big boobs, so it took a long time for people to see that when I started out.
“It might take time, but I think people will realize how young this music is,” she said before adding with a giggle, “There needs to be a stop to this attitude that old people ain’t any good (to) get me back on the radio.”
As of yet, Parton’s been unable to reverse the industry’s entrenched ageism. In February, “Backwoods Barbie” debuted at No. 2 on the country album charts, Parton’s highest first-week sales in almost two decades. It’s since tumbled down the charts.
But the bumps in the road haven’t stopped Parton from taking her own advice and “gettin’ to living.” After a few weeks sidelined by a back injury (insert your own breast joke here), she’s embarked on her biggest tour in years and is simultaneously finishing the music for the upcoming Broadway version of her hit movie, “9 to 5.”
“Oh, yeah, I’ll be staying busy,” she said. “I’ve got to head over to Europe for a big tour and I’ll keep writing. I know how to keep going, so that’s what I’ll do. Lots about me from my hair to my eyelashes is fake, but the show I put on and songs I write ain’t.”
Maybe that’s why Dolly hasn’t broken through with today’s country audiences: They like real hair and eyelashes - and fake music.
Dolly Parton, at the Opera House, Monday. Tickets: $95-$55; 617-931-2000.
