"You Can't Make Old Friends" is a song by

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

in duet with

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

from Roger's 2013 album of the same name. It was written by Ryan Hanna King,

Don Schlitz Donald Alan Schlitz Jr. (born August 29, 1952) is an American country music songwriter. For his songwriting efforts, Schlitz has earned two Grammy Awards, as well as four ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year awards. In 1993, he was inducted int ...

Caitlyn Smith Caitlyn Smith (born June 13, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She was raised in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Smith's debut album ''Starfire'' was released on Monument Records on January 19, 2018. Her second studio album, ''Supern ...

. The song was released as a digital download on September 3, 2013. Its music video premiered on ABC's '' Good Morning America'' on September 16. The song was subsequently sent to country radio on November 4. It debuted on the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay chart in December 2013, eventually peaking at number 57. For their performance, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton were nominated in 2014 at the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid comp ...

for

Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. It was first awarded in 2012, after a major overhaul of Gramm ...

. "You Can't Make Old Friends" was later included on Parton's 2014 album, '' Blue Smoke''.

Personnel

– guest vocals * J. T. Corenflos – electric guitar * Eric Darken – percussion * Paul Franklin – steel guitar *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

– electric guitar *

Ilya Toshinsky Bering Strait was a Russian country music band, whose style was sometimes called "redgrass". In 2003, the band was nominated for a Grammy Award and appeared on the TV show ''60 Minutes''. The group disbanded in 2006. The lineup on their first alb ...

– acoustic guitar * Charlie Judge – acoustic piano *

Greg Morrow Greg Morrow is an American drummer, percussionist, session musician, mixing engineer, and vocalist. Biography Morrow was born in Ripley, Tennessee and raised in Memphis. At age 11, Morrow and his band performed on a local TV show, and he par ...

– drums *

Jimmie Lee Sloas Jimmie Lee Sloas is an American session musician, producer, and songwriter, who plays bass guitar. History Jimmie Lee Sloas, born in Ashland, Kentucky, grew up in Fairborn, Ohio and Isonville, Kentucky. His father, Dave, was a member of the po ...

– bass

Production

* Producer – Dann Huff * Engineer – Todd Tidwell * Additional Engineer – Russell Terrell * Assistant Engineers – Shawn Daugherty, Mike Lancaster and Seth Morton. * Recorded at Starstruck Studios (Nashville, TN). * Additional Engineering at RTBGV (Nashville, TN). * Kenny Rogers' vocals recorded by Steve Marcantonio at Starstruck Studios, Blackbird Studio (Nashville, TN) and Doppler Studios (Atlanta, GA). * Mixed by Steve Marcantonio at Blackbird Studio * Digital Editing by Sean Neff

Charts

Cover versions

A cover version of "You Can't Make Old Friends", a duet between Nathan Carter and

Lisa McHugh Lisa McHugh (born 16 August 1988) is a Scottish pop and country singer. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland to Irish parents. Her father is from Castlederg in County Tyrone and her mother is from Falcarragh, County Donegal. In June 2010 she mov ...

, appeared on McHugh's 2015 album ''Wildfire''. The Petersens released a Bluegrass version on May 20, 2020, on their Youtube Channel as a tribute to then recently deceased Kenny Rogers.

References

{{Dolly Parton 2013 songs 2013 singles Kenny Rogers songs Dolly Parton songs Warner Records Nashville singles Male–female vocal duets Songs written by Don Schlitz Song recordings produced by Dann Huff Song recordings produced by Kyle Lehning Music videos directed by Trey Fanjoy Songs written by Caitlyn Smith