Nikki Sixx On The Crue Working With Dolly Parton

Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” was, according to Nikki Sixx, intended to be a signature song for the L.A. hard rock icons. Originally released in 1985, the power ballad was their answer to the great ‘70s rock ballads, like Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” KISS’ “Beth,” Alice Cooper’s “You And Me” or “Only Women Bleed.”

After releasing the fierce Shout At The Devil collection, the Crue was eager to show another side of their music and, like all the bands mentioned above, come up with their anthem. It indeed became a defining song for the band.

Forty years later, they are again showing another musical side of the band by brilliantly teaming with Dolly Parton to reinvigorate “Home Sweet Home” for a new generation and, more importantly, raise money for Covenant House, a cause near to Sixx’s heart.

I’ve known Sixx for years, but spurred on by his infectious enthusiasm for getting the privilege to work with Parton – a rock star to all rock stars – and the subjects that prompts, like Johnny Cash, Nashville, the importance of being open to all walks of music, this was, without question, the best interview we have ever had. This was a privilege.

Steve Baltin: Congratulations on taking it to number one 40 years later.

Nikki Sixx: It’s those surprise things. You write a song, and it means something to you. Then, at least the way I look at, it is once the song is released and it’s out, it becomes other people’s song. And it means different things to them. What does “Home Sweet Home” mean? It means so much to so many different people. Everywhere around the world, we play this song and it’s an intimate moment where the song means something to everybody. Then Dolly comes on and re-ignites the song in a way that doesn’t lose what it’s originally all about yet also kind of updates it and working with her is just a career high.

Baltin: All artists agree, once you release a song, it is no longer yours, it goes out into the world and evolves. But your relationship with your songs also changes because you grow older, you have different experiences. I imagine your definition of home in 2025 is a hell of a lot different than it was in 1985. So, what does the song mean to you today?

Sixx: Dolly looked at me and said, “I really love these lyrics.” This was one of her husband’s Carl’s favorite songs. And she goes, in her very sweet southern accent, “When you’re young, you want to get as far away from home as possible. You want to chase those dreams. You want to chase whatever you want to do. And then once you get there, it’s the journey getting back to your roots.” I was like, “No one’s ever explained my lyrics to me that clear.” That just touched me on so many levels.

Baltin: What a compliment. I remember the whole controversy when she didn’t feel she belonged in the Rock Hall, which was hilarious because she’s as much of a rock star as anybody in the world.

Sixx: I loved that moment when I saw online where she said if she’s going to be in the Rock Hall she’s got to make a rock record. And I remember I read that at like midnight or something online, and my very first phone call the second I could get a hold of my manager, was like, “I want to play bass on that record.” So, I was one of the first people that had reached out. They’d started reaching out, this whole concept, so they had a song ready to go, they sent it out, and I cut the song. I thought, “Wow, how exciting that I get to be part of Dolly making a rock record. Me and probably 25, 30 other people that really respect her.” Then I got a phone call from 615 area code and I’m like, “I’m not answering if you’re not in my contacts, I’m not going to answer the phone until I could listen to the voice message.” Cause we all get inundated with too many telemarketers and all this stuff. So, after the message was done, I pushed play and it was like, “Nikki, this is Dolly.” She went on to say how much she loved the bass on the record. So, I missed a phone call from Dolly Parton, I just pushed re-send and she picked up the phone. We had this sweet conversation about everything from songwriting to where she’s at as far as touring. At the time she had no plans on doing any kind of live touring. That started this relationship, and my wife has a flower company called Bouquet Box. So, we sent Dolly these flowers from Bouquet Box and her and her friends and I believe her sister all got together and they did this whole DIY flower thing that my wife’s been building. Then we started getting more thank yous and we had a great time, so by the time we got around to wanting to do something special with “Home Sweet Home,” and Dolly’s name came up, I was like, “If all those other things had not happened, it could have been a shot in the dark. It’s like calling Paul McCartney. It’s like, hey, what are you doing, Paul? You feel like singing ‘Home Sweet Home?’ But if you have a relationship with her.” So, this relationship started to build in a friendly way. And they reached out and she was a hard yes. That was just a career high.

Baltin: I grew up on Motley Crue. Being a kid in the 80s, I was like, “Oh, I’m a metal kid. I hate this type of music, this type of music, this type of music.” Long story short, I’ve since realized what an ignorant kid I was as a lot of people are when you’re a teenager. It’s so funny to think about it because I’ve never met a rock star who doesn’t worship at the altar of Johnny Cash, for example.

Sixx: Yes! We were in Nashville with Dolly and you’ve seen the video where I’m in the studio with her and they’re filming and she’s in there and I’m like sitting there pinching myself like this kid that came from Idaho on a Greyhound bus with a dream is sitting there and the director goes, “Hey, would you just ask her to sing it one more time.” I’m looking at the talkback button and I’m looking at Dolly and I look at him I go, “Are you f**king crazy? You want me to ask Dolly to do it one more time? He goes, “Yeah, just please ask her to do it one more time.” I’m like, “Well, there’s only one way around this.” So I go, “Hey Dolly. Could you sing that eight more times for me?” And she goes, “Well, absolutely.” And then I turn around and her manager, Danny, looks at me and goes, “She will outwork everybody in this building. She’ll be the last person here and she won’t leave until it’s perfect.” Then we did all these takes together. And the kid inside of me is going, “What the f**k is happening? I’m hanging out with Dolly Parton” She makes it so easy, that’s why I think also why so many people adore her, you know, she makes you feel like the biggest star in the room.

Baltin: You’ve had so much success. But when you get the respect of your peers and especially peers that you admire, it means more than anything in the world.

Sixx: And the amount of songs that woman has written, I think it’s like 5,000 songs. It’s unbelievable. We were talking about songwriting, and she says she gets up between two and three in the morning. She likes that time. One of her rituals is she’ll pick up a guitar or a banjo or something and she’ll just start fiddling around and it’s the quiet time for her. She’s already had a full day, we’re all sleeping and she’s kicking our ass.

Baltin: Have you been surprised by the response?

Sixx: This has been a real joy, and it makes me happy that so many different types of people have responded to the song, like you were talking about it. I remember when I was young, I was like, “This is my kind of music.” I was definitely not into a lot of the records that my mom had in her record collection, all the way to even like Woodstock stuff, like Crosby, Stills & Nash. I’m like, “Where’s my Black Sabbath? I want Led Zeppelin, I want Aerosmith.” That’s what I was about until punk came. But now I would listen to all these albums that I probably never even gave a chance because I’m older and you realize that music’s not so one-dimensional. A song like “Home Sweet Home” can touch a metalhead and it can touch a country person at the same time. And that’s something you just don’t know about a song until it’s been around for a while.

Baltin: For you, what was that one album from your parents that you didn’t like as a kid that you’ve now realized is the best?

Sixx: Oh my god, that’s a great question. I think growing up something like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, the crooners. And then you go back, and these guys were f**king nailing it; melody lines, lyrics, vocal, presentation, the musicianship. You start listening to the records, there are no Pro Tools, no auto tune, that kick drum and that bass is that tight because that’s what happened on that take. You go back and you really start to appreciate it. There’s so much out there now that you can find out about artists. There are a lot of ways we discover music that might not have been for us. One of them happened to Motley Crue is a lot of people discovered Motley Crue. They had heard of Motley Crue, but when The Dirt came out it was like, “Oh, right.” That kind of happened to me with the Johnny Cash movie and The Doors movie. I was never a massive Doors fan at all. But the movie was just fascinating.

Baltin: What is it about Covenant House specifically that speaks to you?

Sixx: I’ve been involved with them since we released The Heroin Diaries and we were donating proceeds to build a music program there, which we did. So, my thought at the time specifically around this charity was music saved me, it gave me something to live for when I was younger specifically and lost my ways to stuff. And I was like, “Man, what if these kids that are out on the street, they have an amazing outreach program and they’re bringing them in and they’re assessing them and giving them physicals and finding out where they’re at education wise. Now they have to get back into school and therapy and it’s so much easier just to go out on the street and score drugs.” I was like, “What if at the end of the day they can go into the music program, and they could learn how to rap or learn how to write country music or take piano lessons, whatever it would be?” And I saw so many kids just light up through that music program that it’s just been a relationship that I’ve maintained with them. When we were doing the Hollywood takeover I went and talked to the guys in the band. I said, “Would be amazing for us to go back on the Strip and [give back].” We figured out a way for each venue, the Troubadour, the Roxy and the Whiskey, all the instruments, everything was color-coded, one-of-a-kind basses, guitars, drums, we put it up for auction and we ended up raising about $350,000, which all went to Covenant House and the guys were super stoked about it and it’s now become a part of the Motley Crue world. I believe in Vegas we’re going to be working with the localized charity that helps kids get off the street. We could relate; we were a bunch of street rats. None of us ever experienced any of the hardships these kids do, but we know how important the music was. So, to raise awareness to that, raise money for that, they’re like this this is fantastic to do.