Though Sinéad O’Connor‘s name may not have been synonymous with country music, the late Irish artist, who died on July 26 at 56, was quietly enchanted by the genre throughout her career. In the ’90s and on through the early 2000s, O’Connor covered songs by Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton and even shared a duet with Willie Nelson.
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Here’s a look at four standout country moments within O’Connor’s career.
1. Recording the Loretta Lynn Hit “Success” (1992)
In 1992, O’Connor covered Loretta Lynn‘s 1963 hit “Success,” for her third album I Am Not Your Girl, and retitled it “Success Has Made Me a Failure of Our Home.” Produced by O’Connor and Phil Ramone, “Success Has Made Me a Failure of Our Home,” became one of the Irish singer’s biggest hits and reached No. 20 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.
Originally written by Johnny Mullins — who also penned Lynn’s hit “Blue Kentucky Girl” — “Success” was recorded as the opening track of her debut album Loretta Lynn Sings and peaked at No. 6 on the country charts. It became Lynn’s first top 10 hit and also spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Western and Sides chart.
Though she didn’t write it, O’Connor called the song her most personal on I Am Not Your Girl because of the abuse she suffered from her mother as a young child.
“That’s definitely the most biographical song on the album, the one that is the most personal,” said O’Connor in 1992. “I didn’t see it in terms of being a country song even though Loretta Lynn recorded it, but as a song that expressed something important, how everyone is concerned with material success and what that can do to people. Success has made a failure of our home, my home.”
2. A Duet with Willie Nelson on Peter Gabriel’s “Don’t Give Up” (1993)
In 1993, O’Connor partnered with Willie Nelson for a duet of Peter Gabriel‘s “Don’t Give Up.” The song is featured on Nelson’s album, Across the Borderline, a collection of his interpretations of songs by Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Willie Dixon, Lyle Lovett, and Gabriel, among others.
Gabriel originally wrote and released “Don’t Give Up” as a duet with Kate Bush on his fifth album So, released in 1986.
3. Singing Bobbie Gentry’s Classic “Ode to Billie Joe” (1995)
In 1995, O’Connor contributed a more atmospheric rendition of Bobbie Gentry‘s 1967 No. 1 hit “Ode to Billie Joe” for the charity compilation Help: A Charity Project for the Children of Bosnia. The project also featured songs by Radiohead, Johnny Depp and Oasis, Paul Weller, Manic Street Preachers, and more.
Originally written by Gentry, the somber ballad was the title track of her debut album and went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, won three Grammy Awards, and was later adapted into a film of the same name in 1976.
“Anyone who hears the song can think what they want, but the real message of the song, if there must be a message, revolves around the nonchalant way the family talks about the suicide,” said Gentry of the song in 2005. “They sit there eating their peas and apple pie and talking, without even realizing that Billie Joe’s girlfriend is sitting at the table, a member of the family.”
4. Covering Dolly Parton’s “Dagger Through the Heart” (2003)
O’Connor took a more folk and bluegrass approach to Dolly Parton‘s 2002 song “Dagger Through the Heart.” The song was originally released on Parton’s 39th album, Halos & Horns. O’Connor’s version was featured on a 2003 tribute compilation to the country legend entitled Just Because I’m a Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton.
“Dagger Through the Heart” was also the first song O’Connor performed during her infamous 1992 performance on Saturday Night Live. Parton’s song was her first number, prior to her a cappella rendition of Bob Marley‘s 1976 song “War,” and before she tore a photo of Pope John Paul II.
Shortly after O’Connor covered “Dagger Through the Heart,” Parton wrote her a note thanking her for singing her song.
[RELATED: Dolly Parton’s Heartfelt Letter to Sinéad O’Connor]
“Well, I have always loved you anyhow, but now I love you more,” wrote Parton, who hand-picked O’Connor to cover the track for a tribute album. “I absolutely love how you sang ‘Dagger Through the Heart.’ Man alive, I feel that through and through. Thank you for being a part of this special project and for giving so generously of yourself and your talent.”
Photo: SGranitz/WireImage
