Bono said Dolly Parton got out of bed while ill to record “Torn” in June, her final recorded vocal, for U2. Producer Jacknife Lee said she heard and was proud of the finished track. It will close U2’s album “Carnaval De Luz,” due Nov. 13; Parton died Aug. 25 at 80.
Parton first declined Bono’s invitation to contribute to a separate Irish folk-influenced project, saying it was too Irish for her style. She instead brought him “Torn”; she shares the writing credit with Johnny McDaid and U2, and Bono and McDaid developed its lyrics around a mother watching divisions grow in her family.
The recording includes pedal steel by Daniel Lanois and drums by Larry Mullen Jr.; Mullen’s approach was influenced by Bob Dylan’s “Most of the Time.” Separately, Parton’s representatives later said she had faced a brief battle with cancer but did not disclose the type. “Carnaval De Luz” is U2’s 16th studio album and its first full album of new material in nine years.
