Richie Sambora Talks Rocking Out with Dolly Parton — and How His Daughter Ava Made Him a ‘Swiftie’

The legendary Bon Jovi guitarist is featured on Dolly Parton’s new single, “Rock Star”

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Richie Sambora and Dolly Parton perform at Glastonbury in June 2014. PHOTO: SAMIR HUSSEIN/REDFERNS

Dolly Parton is going rock n’ roll on her new album, in a long-documented quest to legitimize her induction into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame. So now, she’s calling on an old friend to help her get there: Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora.

“Listen, Dolly is the queen of country man, let’s face it — she’s a national treasure,” Sambora, 64, tells PEOPLE exclusively of being invited to record the guitar part on “Rock Star,” which debuted Friday. “I go, ‘What would you like me to do? I’ll take it as far as you want me to take it.’ And they said, ‘Be you.'”

Sambora and Parton first met in 2014 when they took the stage together at the British music festival Glastonbury.

“She had covered a song I wrote called ‘Lay Your Hands on Me’ and she was doing Glastonbury, and she says, ‘Richie, it’s Dolly. I’m doing Glastonbury and I need some of that Richie Sambora rock and roll juice,'” Sambora recalls. “It’s a pretty heavy crowd, right? So I said, ‘So I go, ‘Yeah, but you’re going to have to chopper me out there babe.’ So we went out there and we blew the roof off the place together.”

The duo reunited in the recording studio this March. “It’s such a pleasure to be a part of other people’s records. I’ve played on a lot of records, I’ve wrote a lot of songs for other people on records, I’ve produced records for other people. It’s always a compliment and it’s always a kick,” he says. “I mean, I’m still a big fan of everybody, I’m still like a kid. So to be asked by Dolly, it’s an honor.”

Sambora authored Bon Jovi’s rock / country cross over hit “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” featuring Jennifer Nettles and says he’s long admired cross-over music as an art form.

“People don’t cross over that much! Everybody is usually in their own domain, so to speak,” Sambora says, “So when it happens, and it goes No. 1, it’s really cool.”

Richie Sambora in Los Angeles on Nov. 4, 2023.GILBERT FLORES/VARIETY VIA GETTY

As for working with a Nashville legend, “I really do have gratitude for it, and I don’t take it for granted,” he says, adding that he and his daughter Ava, 26, with his ex-wife, legendary TV actress Heather Locklear, bonded over the invitation to record on her album.

“Ava has lived through many records with me. In this house, she’s seen it all and been through it all, seen me work and I explain everything. And she loves music,” he says. “And my daughter’s generation loves Dolly, and you know why? Because she’s ageless and timeless. She happens to be a magnificent songwriter, and a tremendous singer, and the whole thing. I mean, she hasn’t lost a step, that’s for sure.”

Ava and Richie Sambora in Callifornia in August 2011.JOHN SHEARER/GETTY

Sambora says his daughter was also responsible for his diverse taste in music these days including Post Malone, Ariana Grande and Lizzo. ” I have my steady diet of blues, and jazz, and just everything as long as it’s good songwriting.”

And don’t be surprised if he turns up at a Taylor Swift concert sometime soon, rocking the friendship bracelets.

“Having a daughter, and being a musician, I’ve been a Swiftie for a long time,” Sambora says of his affection for the singer/songwriter. “I always respect the work ethic… I mean, she’s a hard working woman. And she blew up Ticketmaster. That’s something to boast about!”