She might be known for her hit 9 to 5, but country music icon Dolly Parton sounds like she's putting in a lot more hours than the standard 40.

In fact she's probably been working overtime on 9 to 5, a new musical Parton, 62, created based on the popular 1980 film that also starred Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

"As a matter of fact I'm in Los Angeles right now, actually the preview show is this coming Saturday," Parton says on the line. "We were supposed to preview it a couple of days before but there's a lot of mechanical things and we're working with computer things and a lot of things on stage. So there's been some slow-ups with that because there's so many huge sets. But it's going off really good and we're very excited."

Parton, who has a string of Canadian tour dates in November supporting her latest album Backwoods Barbie, also says writing material for the musical (some 18 new pieces in all) freed her up creatively.

"I had a chance to write all the words and the music to it so it was a challenge for me. I've never done it before and I had a little knack for it," she says. "I was surprised at myself with how it turned out. I was really apprehensive at the start, I wasn't sure that I could do it because that was a foreign world for me. But it's been kind of fun because you're not as limited as a writer as you are trying to be an artist writing for radio because you need to keep your songs three minutes or not far above that in order to get radio play."

And it's that same radio play which Parton, a longtime staple of country radio, has been fighting for with this new album. Like other country artists such as Willie Nelson, George Jones and Merle Haggard that are more fall chickens per se than spring chickens, Parton says Backwoods Barbie was written with the goal of getting radio play.

'I HAVE BEEN SO FORTUMATE'

"I have been so fortunate and I have been at this for so long and I had so many great wonderful years that I was accepted and on the record charts," she says. "Now it's kind of hard to get played with all the new country but you still feel like you're as good as you ever were if you ever were any good. That was the biggest challenge, trying to get something that they would play, and also on the other side of that coin one of the biggest thrills is that they have been playing it."

The singer has certainly helped hordes of country female artists by being an inspiration to the likes of Carrie Underwood, Alison Krauss and even Jessica Simpson. Parton sang the title track with Simpson on her new album Do You Know.

"You never know what you're going to mean to people through the years when you start out yourself, you just hope that you do well and hope people like what you do," she says. "It's only when you're older that you get a chance to look back and say, 'Well, thank god, at least I've meant something to someone and hopefully paved some way for some of them.' But there are a lot of young and wonderful people out there."

'THERE'S AUNT DOLLY!'

One of those people would be Miley Cyrus, the teenage Hannah Montana star. Parton just happens to be her godmother.

"Miley Cyrus is the sweetest thing and Billy Ray has been a huge fan of mine and he said when he was a little boy I was his great inspiration," Parton says. "When I'm on her show, which I've been on a couple of times, she refers to me as Aunt Dolly. And now everywhere I go every little child I see goes, 'Aunt Dolly! There's Aunt Dolly! Hi Aunt Dolly!' At least I can say I'm going to be involved in that world of children and Miley is a great example for young children.

"It's amazing with the kind of popularity that she's received recently," she adds. "That's got to be hard but she's got a wonderful support system and hopefully I'm a good Aunt Dolly. If she needs me for anything she can call and ask. Sometimes I'll say, 'Keep your cool, everything is okay, it will all pass. You won't always be this popular so enjoy it while you can.' But she's a doll and I'm very proud of her."