Yahoo Sports Dolly Parton responds to Beyoncé’s cover of ‘Jolene’
Beyoncé‘s big splash into country music is getting a ringing endorsement from Dolly Parton.
On Wednesday, the 32-time Grammy Award winner revealed the track list for her “Cowboy Carter” album — which drops on Friday — with Parton’s hit “Jolene” among the songs featured.
The legendary country star, who previously hinted about “Jolene” making the final cut of Beyoncé’s eagerly anticipated project, took to social media to officially give her stamp of approval.
Parton, 78, shared Beyoncé’s announcement to her verified X account Wednesday night, writing, “Listen to my original ‘Jolene’ while you wait for Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter,'” adding a link for where to find her 1973 hit on streaming platforms.
As with all of Beyoncé’s previous albums, mystery has surrounded her upcoming opus. There’s no telling if her new take on “Jolene” is a cover or collaboration with Parton. Trailblazing country artists Willie Nelson and Linda Martell were also named in the track list announcement.
Like other beloved Parton songs — most notably “I Will Always Love You,” covered by Whitney Houston in 1992 — “Jolene” has lived on throughout the decades thanks to genre-defying renditions by an array of other artists. The song in which Parton begs another woman not to “take her man” has been covered in recent years by hip-hop superstar Lil Nas X, Parton’s goddaughter Miley Cyrus, and vocal powerhouse Wendy Moten.
The song peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1974, and No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart in June that same year.
The original studio recording of “Jolene” and a live version were both nominated for Grammy Awards for best female country vocal performance in 1975 and 1976, respectively.
