Beyoncé put her own, empowering spin on Dolly Parton’s hit classic, “Jolene,” for her latest country-tinged album, Cowboy Carter. Now that the album is getting Grammy buzz, Parton shared her thoughts on potentially performing the cover with Queen Bey at the ceremony.
“Of course I would! If I’m available,” she told E! News. “That would be wonderful. I mean, who wouldn’t want to sing ‘Jolene’ with Beyoncé?”
She added, “I think it was very bold of her. When they said she was going to do ‘Jolene,’ I expected it to be the regular one, but it wasn’t. I loved what she did to it. As a songwriter, you love the fact that people do your song, no matter how they do them. She wasn’t about to beg some woman like I did. ‘Don’t steal my man.’ S— out of here, b—-, you ain’t stealing him!”
Lastly, Parton said that she’s “very proud” of Bey’s new album. “I think she did a great job in country music. I was just happy she did ‘Jolene.’ I would, of course, loved to hear how she’d done it in it’s original way, but of course, it’s Beyoncé. Her life is different than mine.”
Before the Cowboy Carter track list arrived, Parton addressed speculation that Bey may be taking on her classic track. ““Well, I think she has!” she told Knox News. “I think she’s recorded ‘Jolene’ and I think it’s probably gonna be on her country album, which I’m very excited about that.”
“I love her!” Parton added of the 32-time Grammy winner. “She’s a beautiful girl and a great singer.”
Parton’s “Jolene” peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1974, and No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart in February that year. The song also earned Parton a 1975 Grammy nod for best female country vocal performance for the recording, while the live version earned her a nod in the same category the following year.
Beyoncé’s “Jolene,” meanwhile, peaked at No. 7 on the Hot 100 dated April 13, 2024.
