Mötley Crüe were already kings of the Sunset Strip before they released the grand, crashing power ballad "Home Sweet Home." They were three albums deep into their career, and they'd made plenty of drunk, horny glam metal hits. "Home Sweet Home" became an MTV staple, and it opened the band up to audiences who hadn't previously been interested in what they were doing. Tomorrow, Theatre Of Pain, the album that gave us "Home Sweet Home," turns 40. To celebrate, Mötley Crüe have released a brand new version of "Home Sweet Home," with vocals from country legend Dolly Parton.
Did you see that coming? I didn't see that coming. In 1985, Dolly Parton was just reaching the end of her major pop-crossover moment. Rhinestone, the disastrous country musical in which she starred with Sylvester Stallone, came out the year before. I don't know if Mötley Crüe were really on Parton's radar back then. But Parton apparently hasn't gotten done recording classic rock covers after the release of her extremely silly 2023 album ROCKSTAR. (The Crűe's Nikki Sixx helped out on that record.) She also covered Tom Petty's "Southern Accents" on a tribute album last year. This year, Parton joined Sabrina Carpenter on a "Please Please Please" remix and shared "If You Hadn't Been There," a heart-crushing song for her late husband Carl Dean. Now, she's singing with Mötley Crüe.
"Home Sweet Home" already had a slight country vibe to it; it was the sort of glam metal power ballad where the guys in the band would wear cowboy hats in the video. In 2009, country star Carrie Underwood had a minor hit with a "Home Sweet Home" cover. The new version of the song is for a forthcoming greatest-hits collection called From The Beginning. Nobody needs this version of the track, but it's kind of fun to hear Parton howling out ad-libs alongside Vince Neil. Below, check out the new version of "Home Sweet Home," as well as the original Mötley Crüe video.
From The Beginning is out 9/12.
