Dolly Parton’s final recorded vocal performance is now available: “Torn,” her duet with U2 frontman Bono, appears as the closing track on U2’s new album, Carnaval De Luz, released Friday, Nov. 13. The song gives listeners a new Parton performance while also marking a collaboration that the artists’ representatives say was recorded before her death.

The timing makes the release a notable moment for both Parton’s catalog and U2’s first full-length album since 2017. The Associated Press reported ahead of release that “Torn” was the album’s last track and Parton’s final recorded vocal; her official site published the recording and production credits.

How “Torn” came together

Parton recorded her vocal in Nashville in June, according to the announcement on her official website. The song is credited to Parton, U2 and songwriter Johnny McDaid, with Bono and Parton on vocals. Jacknife Lee produced the album version, which also features Daniel Lanois on pedal steel.

Rather than presenting the release as a newly recorded performance, the official credits place it within the sessions for U2’s 12-track album. The band’s first full-length studio release since Songs of Experience came out in 2017, the AP reported.

The album version and the country radio version

There are two arrangements to know about. The version on Carnaval De Luz was produced by Lee. A separate “Kent Wells Version,” produced by Wells, received a country radio premiere on Thursday, Nov. 12, through participating broadcasters and Music Choice, according to Parton’s announcement.

That distinction matters for listeners looking for the country arrangement: the album track and the radio version have separate production credits. The official release also lists the album’s musicians and engineering credits, offering a fuller picture of how the collaboration was completed.

For more artist and release updates, browse The Globuzz’s Music coverage.

Sources

Sources: Dolly Parton’s official announcement and credits (Nov. 10); The Associated Press preview of U2’s album (Nov. 6); and ABC News coverage of the release (Nov. 13). The featured image is an AI-generated editorial illustration, not a documentary photograph.