Dolly Parton – Jolene

“Jolene” – Single by Dolly Parton from the album Jolene.
Released: October 15, 1973
Recorded: May 22, 1973

The title was inspired by an encounter with a 10-year-old fan. “She had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me, holding [out] for an autograph,” Parton recalled to NPR in 2008. “I said, ‘Well, you’re the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?’ And she said, ‘Jolene.’ And I said, ‘Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about that.'”

This was written and recorded around the time Parton was leaving one-time singing partner and manager Porter Wagoner. The song became the first of five consecutive #1 Country hits and created momentum as Dolly embarked on her solo career. It was also the only one out of the five to cross over to the American Pop charts.

Some of the many artists who have covered this: The White Stripes, Reba McEntire, Olivia Newton-John and 10,000 Maniacs.

Dolly Parton has disclosed in several interviews that the song was also inspired by a red-headed bank clerk who flirted with her husband Carl Dean around the time they were newly married. Recalling the origins of her hit tune during her performance at Glastonbury 2014, she said:

“Now, some of you may or may not know that that song was loosely based on a little bit of truth. I wrote that years ago when my husband was spending a little more time with Jolene than I thought he should be.

I put a stop to that. I got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry.

I want you folks to know, though, that something good can come from anything. Had it not been for that woman I would never have written ‘Jolene’ and I wouldn’t have made all that money, so thank you, Jolene.”

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Dolly Parton - Jolene

Dolly Parton - Jolene 1988011003:29

The song was ranked No. 217 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” in 2004 and No. 63 on their revised list in 2021. According to Parton, it is her most-covered song.

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