Ashley Monroe & Blake Shelton Duet, 'You Ain't Dolly (And You Ain't Porter)' Almost Didn't Happen

Posted Mar 7th 2013 2:00PM by Erin Duvall
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Ashley Monroe's newly released solo album, Like a Rose, includes poignant, tearjerking songs, as well as off-the-wall comedic tunes with which you can't help but laugh along. One of the latter is a flirtatious duet with Blake Shelton, "You Ain't Dolly (And You Ain't Porter)." However, the song almost didn't make the record, due to Blake's filming schedule for "The Voice" (which actually gets name-checked in the song). But Ashley was adamant and went as far as pushing back the project's release date in order to include the playful track.

"She was having to get her album done and I had agreed to do the duet and was excited to be a part of it," Blake told The Boot and other reporters at a media event in Nashville. "I love Ashley, she's family to me. I hadn't ever even heard the song and I said, 'Hell yeah, I'll do it,' because I knew she wouldn't have any bombs on this record, she's just too good of a writer. But it turned into, 'When can you sing it?' 'I don't know, I'm in L.A., crap, this sucks.'"

Listen to "You Ain't Dolly (You Ain't Porter)

As luck would have it, the "Sure Be Cool If You Did" singer was also beginning to record his next album, Based On a True Story .... In order to do that, his producer and label executive Scott Hendricks built a studio in Blake's California abode.

"It worked out to where they were down to literally days before they had to have it done, and it happened to be right when Scott got there and set up all the equipment because I was just kind of stuck out there," the Oklahoma native explains. "I couldn't come to Nashville and record it, so he was able to get the track and I sang on it and immediately shipped it back out to them. I think they had like a day and a half to edit my vocal and get what they wanted out of it. And I'm so happy because I think that song is hilarious. It's so funny because it's ridiculous!"

The duet isn't the only collaboration from the two being released this year. The first tune on Based On a True Story ... is titled '"Boys 'Round Here'" and includes Ashley's trio (with Blake's wife Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley), the Pistol Annies.

"I love that song," Blake says. "To me, that is the best way to put it into a song. My personality and the people I hang out with, that is the guys back in Oklahoma and in every town in this country. I love that for once I got to pull from my Jerry Reed influence on that one and do some talking in it."

The rowdy tune's chorus goes: "The boys 'round here / drinkin' that ice cold beer / talkin' 'bout girls, talkin' 'bout trucks /runnin' them red dirt roads out kickin' up dust / The boys 'round here / sendin' up a prayer to the man upstairs / Backwoods legit, don't take no s---."

"I don't know what the official word is but I'm hoping it could be the next single," Blake admits. "It will either have a bleep on the 's---' or we actually have a radio edit where we use with word 'lip' -- 'Don't take no lip' -- so I'm sure that will be the only one you hear on the radio. I can't imagine they'll play the one with the bleep or the mute on it. But things are changing in country music every day, so maybe so."

Based On a True Story ... is available March 26, while Like a Rose is available now.

Watch Blake's 'Sure Be Cool If You Did' Video

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