Emmy Rossum still vividly remembers the heartfelt “mother-daughter duet” she recorded with Dolly Parton for the 2000 film Songcatcher.
The independent drama followed a musicologist documenting traditional songs in the Appalachian Mountains with the help of a young orphan, played by Rossum. The performance earned the actress, then a child star, an Independent Spirit Award nomination.
The film also gave Rossum the extraordinary opportunity to step into a recording studio with country music icon Parton.
Parton, who grew up in Appalachia, wrote “When Love Is New” for the movie and flew Rossum, now 40, to Nashville to record the duet. The experience stayed with the actress for years.
Rossum reflected on those memories during an appearance at StyleWeekOC and the Newport Beach Film Festival on Sunday, praising both Parton’s talent as a teacher and her character.
“I mean, the song that she wrote for us was a mother-daughter duet,” Rossum told The Hollywood Reporter executive editor Scott Feinberg during a recording of the Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, California.
Emmy Rossum remembered working with Dolly Parton on their ‘mother-daughter duet’ for the 2000 film Songcatcher
Parton sent the world into a state of mourning following her passing at age 80 in August
Rossum proceeded to sing the song: ‘”Love is pretty when love is new, like a blushing rose in a dazzling dew.”‘
‘I loved spending time with her, even though I only got to spend like a day with her. She was so down-to-earth, and she was a really excellent teacher because she was the perfect blend of compliment sandwich but it felt honest,’ Rossum, who also received the Outstanding Performance in Television Award at the event, said.
‘She could really make you feel special, but also teach,’ she added.
Parton was asked by producers to write a song for the film and asked to compose a duet with Rossum.
‘Somehow Dolly saw “Songcatcher” after the producers asked her if she might be interested in doing a song on the soundtrack and she said, “Wow, I’d really like to write a duet for me and this girl who’s in the movie to sing,” Rossum told CNN in 2001.
‘She flew me out there, and we recorded it, and it’s like a mother/daughter duet about a girl who wants to run off and get married.’
The film marked Rossum’s feature film debut.
‘I play a young girl in the mountains who is an orphan and who is really hopeful and eager to learn, but she doesn’t have many opportunities because she’s in this little village in the middle of nowhere — until this independent woman, this musicologist, comes to Appalachia and discovers this little girl’s music and (the) ballads that have been passed down to her through oral tradition from her grandmother,’ she told CNN.
Rossum previously praised Parton’s ‘light’ when looking back at their recording last month.
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‘I flew to Nashville and was coached by her and we recorded this song,’ she said on the Pretty Tough podcast.
‘She was just such a joy and such a light and I only met her those two days but I loved both of them,’ she said.
Parton’s death at age 80 sent the world into mourning in August.
The indie film followed a musicologist collecting music in the Appalachian mountains with the help of a young orphan (Rossum)
Rossum recalled the unforgettable experience during an appearance at The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast
Rossum was flown out to Nashville to record When Love Is New with Parton; pictured Sunday
Her nephew Bryan Seaver, who acted as her head of security, confirmed her death in an Instagram video.
‘This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,’ Seaver said.
He praised his aunt for having ‘lived in the light’ and said she was now ‘in the arms of Jesus’ and the company of her late husband Carl Dean, in addition to her parents and the ‘countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.’
Parton’s representatives revealed she died following a ‘brief battle with cancer’ in a statement to People, though they did not disclose what type of cancer it was.
‘Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched,’ the statement read.
The critically-acclaimed star received the Outstanding Performance in Television Award after the recording
The actress received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her role in Songcatcher
‘After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.’
Her representatives also highlighted the extraordinary reach of Parton’s ‘unmatched generosity,’ noting she touched the lives of countless people she would never meet and was always ready to ‘offer a helping hand.’
‘Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.’
