Everyone seems to have a Dolly Parton story in the wake of her heartbreaking passing. But Pebe Sebert, mother of the pop star Kesha, has one very, very few people can match. She co-wrote one of the only No. 1 songs Parton ever recorded yet did not write herself, 1980's “Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle to You)." Now interest in the song's origin has reignited.
On Sept. 18, Sebert released the original recording of "Old Flames (Can't Hold a Candle to You)," showing fans what Parton would have heard. It stands as a tender, romantic anthem written and recorded with Sebert's then husband, Hugh Moffatt, which changed the course of Sebert (and Kesha's) life.
"I’m proud to release my guitar-vocal version of 'Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You,'" Sebert
told The Tennessean exclusively. It was written 48 years ago after she "got home from my waitress job at The Old Time Pickin' Parlor, on 2nd and Broadway, in 1977."
Known today as a beloved piece of Parton's mid-career catalog, "Old Flames (Can't Hold a Candle to You)" is a warm ballad of two hearts, lost in the glow of a love that changes everything.
Sebert has said the song was written after she casually tossed the title out in front of Moffatt at the couple's Nashville home. He instantly recognized its potential, and the intimate recording she released is how the song was penned, with Moffatt playing guitar and singing behind Sebert's lilting voice.
In 1978, country artist Joe Sun became the first artist to record it, taking the track to No. 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Parton gave the tune her special vocal shine and released it on her "Dolly, Dolly, Dolly," album, and her version reached No. 1.
Sebert said it helped establish her songwriting credentials, and also her family's solid foundation, which would ultimately help make Kesha's remarkable pop career of hits like "Tik Tok" and "Timber" possible.
Kesha has her own connection to the song. She recorded her mother's famous song on the "Deconstructed" EP in 2012, and again with Parton for the Platinum-certified, No. 1 album "Rainbow" from 2017, creating a moving full circle moment. Now that circle has become more clearly defined.
Sebert went on to write hit songs for her daughter like "Your Love Is My Drug" and "Cannibal," as well as songs for Miley Cyrus, another Nashville pop star with connections to Parton. (Cyrus was Parton's goddaughter). Sebert would ultimately release her first single as an artist in 2021 ("Vampires"), and in December of 2025 she went on to release her "long lost" self-titled debut album.
It completed a dream she said would not have happened without Parton's recognition of her song, nearly 50 years ago. Nothing can hold a candle to that story.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Kesha's mom wrote Dolly Parton a No. 1 song | Exclusive
