Eminem and Dolly Parton landed in the same Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class, attended the same Los Angeles induction ceremony and both performed that night. Somehow, the two music icons still left without ever meeting.
Four years later, Eminem revealed the letter Parton sent him after that missed encounter. He shared it on Instagram on August 25 following her death at 80, saying the unexpected note had “really had an impact on me,” as Just Jared reported.
Parton had written to congratulate Marshall Mathers on his November 2022 induction. Although she admitted rap was not a genre she knew particularly well, she told him she had come to regard him as “the very best at it” and praised the performance he gave that night.
The note then became considerably more personal. Parton said she had always felt an “unexplained connection” to Eminem despite never knowing him, regretted missing him amid the chaos of the ceremony and hoped that perhaps they would meet someday. They never got that chance.
Parton Wrote After Missing Her Chance to Meet Eminem
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Parton’s letter began with congratulations on Eminem’s Rock Hall induction and praise for his performance. She acknowledged that she did not know much about rap but had learned enough about his work to recognize the stature he held within it. She then admitted that her reason for writing went beyond professional respect. Parton told Eminem she hoped it would not sound “weird or strange,” but she had long felt an unexplained connection to him, almost as though she somehow knew him already.
The November 5, 2022 induction ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles appeared to offer the obvious opportunity for that first meeting. Parton wrote that she had hoped to find him there but noted how hectic major awards events could become, joking that she personally hated that kind of chaos.
Instead of allowing the missed encounter to end the story, she sent encouragement afterward. Parton urged Eminem to continue doing what he did well and reminded him that, regardless of how complicated his world became, his work affected people in ways he might never fully see. She signed the note, “With love & respect, Dolly Parton.”
They Were Inducted on the Same Night but Had Very Different Rock Hall Moments
Eminem and Parton were two of seven performers inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022, alongside Duran Duran, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, Eurythmics and Carly Simon. Dr. Dre inducted Eminem, while P!nk handled the honor for Parton.
Eminem’s performance became a rapid tour through different periods of his career. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame preserves the induction as a medley featuring Steven Tyler and Ed Sheeran, with the full set moving through songs including “My Name Is,” “Rap God,” “Sing for the Moment,” “Stan,” “Forever” and “Not Afraid.”
Tyler appeared during “Sing for the Moment,” whose chorus draws from Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” while Sheeran handled the vocal part associated with Dido on “Stan.” It was that performance Parton called “amazing” in the letter she sent afterward.
Parton’s induction carried a different kind of story. She had initially tried to withdraw her nomination because she did not believe she had earned a place in a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, then accepted after the organization explained that its definition extended beyond artists working strictly within rock music. Onstage that November, she embraced the honor and performed “Jolene” with an all-star group of fellow inductees and guests.
Parton’s Rock Hall Experience Eventually Led to ‘Rockstar’
Parton did more than simply accept the Rock Hall’s decision. During the induction ceremony, she said the experience had inspired her to make a rock album and joked that she would now have to “earn” the honor that had initially made her uncomfortable.
She followed through the next year with Rockstar, an expansive 2023 album featuring collaborators including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Elton John, Debbie Harry and P!nk. The project mixed original material with Parton’s interpretations of classic rock songs.
Eminem Says Parton’s Note Stayed With Him
Eminem kept the letter, and its significance became clear when he posted an image of it after Parton’s death. “I’m sorry we never got a chance to meet,” he wrote in his tribute. He emphasized that Parton had gone out of her way for someone she did not personally know.
“She definitely didn’t have to take the time to do it,” he added, before explaining why the gesture registered with someone whose own childhood listening had been centered far more heavily on rap than country music.
“Even for a kid who mostly listened to rap music, she was an icon,” Eminem wrote. He called Parton “a superstar in every sense” and thanked her for the kindness she had shown him four years earlier.
Parton died August 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville after what her representatives described as a brief battle with cancer. The specific type of cancer has not been disclosed.