Dolly Parton, Kelly Clarkson Re-Tool ‘9 to 5′ for a New Doc About the Challenges Women Face at Work
Dolly Parton's classic "9 to 5" is getting revamped as a duet with Kelly Clarkson. The song gets a significant production update from in-demand Nashville producer and songwriter Shane McAnally, as well as Sasha Alex Sloan and King Henry.
"I was blown away when I heard what Shane had done with my song," says Parton, according to Rolling Stone. "This arrangement shows how differently a song can be done and the story can be told in a whole new way. And special thanks to [Dolly Parton Enterprises creative director] Steve Summers for getting the ball rolling on this musical venture."
It was Summers who first had the idea to slow down Parton's peppy original, giving "9 to 5" a moody and slightly sinister new treatment that reflects the continuing plight of women struggling to find equal footing with their male counterparts in the workplace.
The new version of the song, featuring Clarkson's vocals alongside Parton's, was created especially for the new documentary Still Working 9 to 5, which will be released in select theaters on Sept. 16. The new version of "9 to 5" comes out Sept. 9.
A trailer for Still Working 9 to 5 features interviews from a variety of experts, including Parton and her co-stars in the original 9 to 5 movie from 1980, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. In the trailer, the three women reflect on the making of 9 to 5, the risks they took in mounting a film with three female leads, and the issues of gender inequality that the movie addresses, many of which women still face four decades later.
"My Lord, it's 40 years now!" Parton says of those issues in the trailer for the film. "And it's still important."
"We've got so much more to do," Tomlin adds.
Both the film and the revamped version of "9 to 5" coincide with National Women's Equality Day, which was first established by Congressional resolution on Aug. 26, 1973. The 2022 Nashville Film Festival, which is set to take place Sept. 29-Oct. 2, will screen Still Working 9 to 5 this year.