Romeo

Album: Slow Dancing With The Moon (1993)
Charted: 50
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Fresh from his "Achy Breaky Heart" breakthrough, Billy Ray Cyrus appeared on this star-studded track from Dolly Parton's 32nd solo album. Dolly leads a group of amorous women, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kathy Mattea, Pam Tillis, and Tanya Tucker, who have their sights set on the hunky singer, who gamely endures their catcalls.
  • For his part of the tune, Cyrus details instructions for a country line dance that features in the music video. In the clip, the women admire Cyrus when he struts into the bar, and Dolly gets her flirt on when she approaches him. He's smitten by her charms and they leave together at the end of the night. Dolly says she's flattered to be chosen out of all the other younger women there but, she quips, "But after all, it's only right. I am paying for this video."
  • Dolly knew it was good business sense to cast the popular singer as her Romeo, but she didn't write the song about him. It was inspired by her then-16-year-old nephew Bryan Seaver, whom she often teased about his love life. She recalled in her 2020 book, Songteller: "I kept saying to him, 'You Romeo, one of these days you're going to get your heart broke like that.' After I wrote it, I sang the song to him and the whole family, and we all got a kick out of it."
  • The album's lead single, this peaked at #50 on the Hot 100 and #27 on the Country chart.
  • This was nominated for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals at the 1993 Grammy Awards. It lost to the Reba McEntire and Linda Davis duet "Does He Love You."
  • Like her previous studio album, Eagle When She Flies, Slow Dancing With The Moon earned a platinum certification for selling more than a million copies in the US. Her biggest commercial success of the decade, however, came in 1992 when Whitney Houston record a smash cover of "I Will Always Love You" for The Bodyguard soundtrack.
  • Steve Buckingham, who co-produced the album, had a connection to its guest star Mary Chapin Carpenter. He signed her with Columbia Records in the late '80s and co-produced her debut album, Hometown Girl. Prior to her "Romeo" appearance, she released her best-selling album, Come On Come On - featuring the hit "Passionate Kisses" - which also boasts Buckingham as a producer.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Rock Stars of Horror

Rock Stars of HorrorMusic Quiz

Rock Stars - especially those in the metal realm - are often enlisted for horror movies. See if you know can match the rocker to the role.

Frankie Valli

Frankie ValliSong Writing

An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.