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

Maxi Priest

Maxi PriestSongwriter Interviews

The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.

Bible Lyrics

Bible LyricsMusic Quiz

Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New York

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New YorkSong Writing

Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.

Brenda Russell

Brenda RussellSongwriter Interviews

Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.