Listen: Lost Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton Song Resurfaced

Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton were friends from the day they met in 1976 up until Rogers’ death in 2020. Together, they’re responsible for several classics, including their most popular duet, “Islands in the Stream.” In their discography is a song called “Tell Me That You Love Me” that was released about 15 years ago and eventually lost. But the song has newly resurfaced and fans of Rogers and Parton can hear it today. 

‘Tell Me That You Love Me’ by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton 

“Tell Me That You Love Me” was recorded for a compilation album about 15 years ago. But, as reported by Taste of Country, the album is now out of print and the song ended up lost. Luckily, “Tell Me That You Love Me” is featured on Rogers’ new, posthumous album, Life Is Like a Song.   

“Tell Me That You Love Me” is a song about wanting to feel loved (again) by your partner. Parton can be heard in the chorus echoing such lyrics as “Show me that you need me/ Like the river needs the early morning rain/ Show me that you want me/ Cause I really need to feel your heart again/ Tell me that you love me.”

Parton and Rogers go back and forth with yearnings of wanting to get back to how their love once felt — “If a flame was fadin’ from a lost desire/ Would you put another log on the fire?/ Baby, like a candle burnin’ down/ Maybe we could turn this thing around.”

The song ends with Parton and Rogers repeating the name and plea of the song: “Tell me that you love me.”  

‘Life Is Like a Song’

Life Is Like a Song was curated and executive produced by Rogers’ wife, Wanda. 

“When listening to these recordings, it’s a beautiful reminder that everyone has experiences that these songs describe,” she said, according to Taste of Country. “Kenny had a gift of expressing so many people’s feelings through his music and his voice. He reached millions, but because he was so humble, he didn’t realize the impact he truly had.”

The album also includes the previously unreleased “Catchin’ Grasshoppers,” which is said to be dedicated to Rogers’ twin sons Justin and Jordan, a cover of Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight,” and a collaboration with Jamie O’Neal called “Straight Into Love.”

Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s friendship

Parton and Rogers met in 1976 while filming the Queen of Country’s variety show. The “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” singer says they became fast “buddies.” Through the years, the duo shared many laughs together. 

“I just loved him,” Parton wrote in her 2020 book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. “We were such kindred spirits.” 

While there were rumors that the pair shared a romantic connection, Rogers said that Parton turned him down when he broached the possibility. As for the “Jolene” singer, she always thought of her singing partner as more of a brother. She loved him until the day he died.   

“When Kenny died, it was like losing a brother,” she wrote. “That’s the way we were with each other, like brother and sister.”