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Not even a deadly wildfire and an evacuation could stop one L.A.-based singer-songwriter from submitting her audition tape to play the role of Dolly Parton in a Broadway musical.

Last year, Parton announced a casting call for a musical about her life. Haley Spence Brown — who is one-half of country duo The Doohickies — was planning to audition for the role of Dolly, but those plans hit a bump in the road after a string of devastating fires broke out in the L.A. area last week.

But Brown wasn’t about to lose out on her chance to be in Parton’s musical.

She didn’t take much of her recording or filming equipment when she evacuated her home, but the singer did bring her acoustic guitar. Even more importantly, she brought her voice, which bears a jaw-dropping similarity to Parton’s. Watch the video below to hear the resemblance for yourself:

@the.doohickeys#searchfordolly is time sensitive, so here’s my audition. In light of the devastation in our city of Los Angeles, I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to post this. Still, this particular song has gotten me through some rough times, and I hope it can distract you for a minute. Dolly is a helper and remains positive in the face of tragedy—check our our story for a list of local musicians who lost their homes that you can donate to.

♬ original sound – The Doohickeys

“Dolly’s gotten me through some really, really hard times and she’s doing it again today,” Brown says at the beginning of the clip, which has since gone viral on TikTok.

“…I didn’t bring a microphone, so instead, you’re getting the rag-tag version,” she says in a shockingly good impression of Parton’s voice, “which kinda feels a little bit like Dolly’s start.”

She then goes on to perform a rendition of Parton’s “Wildflowers,” which appeared on the singer’s 1987 Trio album with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.

That particular song — about resilience and finding ways to grow where you’re planted — is an especially poignant choice in light of the L.A. fires and all the people that have been injured, killed or displaced as a result of the catastrophe.

“This particular song has gotten me through some rough times, and I hope it can distract you for a minute,” Brown noted. “Dolly is a helper and remains positive in the face of tragedy.”

In the comments section, fans praised Brown’s authentic delivery of this beloved Parton hit.

“#SearchForDolly can stop right here,” one commenter wrote.

“This is the one!! No gimmicks or costumes or makeup just raw talent,” another added.

At the end of the clip, Brown proved that she’s a multi-faceted talent, throwing a little of yodeling out to make her audition stand out. “I can also play fiddle and I can play banjo, but you’ll have to call me back to hear that,” she concluded.

Country Star Homes Devastated By Fire

At least two artists on this list of country star home fires were better for it, professionally. One legend used the tragedy to inspire greatness, while a second newcomer actually wrote his first No. 1 hit about the blaze.

Over a dozen country stars have watched their homes go up in flames. Here are their stories.

Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes

Travis Tritt

Rick Diamond, Getty Images

Travis Tritt

Travis Tritt was home when fire consumed his kids’ playground at his house in Powder Springs, Ga., on July 29, 2015. He wasn’t aware of the fire at first — it was his mother-in-law who dialed 911. Photos showed a trampoline ruined and the ground covered in soot.

Trace Adkins

Michael Loccisano, Getty Images

Trace Adkins

Trace Adkins’ home in Brentwood, Tenn., was a total loss after an electrical fire spread throughout. It happened on June 4, 2011, while the singer was en route to Alaska. His daughters were home with a babysitter, but they were able to escape. His wife at the time was out running errands, so one was injured, but the family lost everything.

Carrie Underwood

Joy Malone, Getty Images for Songwriters Hall of Fame

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood and her family were unharmed after a fire started near their garage in Williamson County, Tenn., in June 2024. Investigators said it may have been sparked by a UTV parked nearby. The family home is a fair distance off the road, but fortunately, Underwood had an underground well designed for just this kind of occasion.

Nate Smith

Jason Kempin, Getty Images

Nate Smith

Nate Smith’s home was one of the 18,000 structures that burned during a wildfire in Paradise, Calif. in 2018. It was the worst wildfire in state history, and Smith was lucky to have had a doctor’s appointment 30 miles away the morning his house went up in flames.

Not only did that save his life, it inspired him to try Nashville a second time. Armed with a new song about the fire, he moved back to Music City. Years later, “World on Fire” would become a No. 1 hit.

Willie Nelson

Brandon Bell, Getty Images

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson’s story is similar to Nate Smith’s in that a house fire inspired a change in his life and tremendous professional success. On Dec. 23, 1969, he returned from a Christmas party to find his house on fire. Quickly, he dashed inside to grab two things.

First, he needed to get the pound of marijuana out, because he knew if cops found it, he’d go to jail. Second, he saved his guitar, Trigger. Everything else was lost.

Chris Janson

Jason Kempin, Getty Images

Chris Janson

In April 2023, Chris Janson’s wife Kelly woke up to a faint beeping noise below them. It turned out to be a smoke detector in his home studio, and it was the only one warning them of a fast-growing blaze.

Everyone rushed to safety and the couple tried to pour water on the fire until fire crews arrived. The room was a loss, but most of the house was saved.

Dolly Parton (But it was Ashley McBrydes Fault)

Jason Kempin, Getty Images

Dolly Parton (But it was Ashley McBryde’s Fault)

Before she was famous, Ashley McBryde was staying at Dolly Parton’s house as it was being remodeled. She was hired to let workers in and keep an eye on the place and everything was going fine until a friend — Parton’s niece — put an entire box of bagel bites in the microwave.

Flames caught some of the wallpaper on fire, and there was a small scare. Yeah, she was fired after that.

Darryl Worley

Jason Kempin, Getty Images

Darryl Worley

In January 2024, Darryl Worley’s barn burned to the ground. The animals escaped, but many precious memories were lost in the blaze. He shared video of it on social media, noting that it was a total loss but he was grateful no one was injured.

Loretta Lynn

Rick Diamond, Getty Images

Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn had two house fires in two years in 2013 and 2014. The first caused a cook shack on her Hurricane Mills, Tenn., property to burn. The second was at her residence and was said to be caused when a candle touched a chair.

No one was hurt and the singer and family escape.

Caylee Hammack

Jason Kempin, Getty Images

Caylee Hammack

In October 2017, Caylee Hammack’s house burned down while she was at a writer’s retreat. Lost were her wardrobe, bedroom furniture, instruments and artwork. Flooding cause much of her living room furniture to be ruined as well.

Billy Dean

Rick Diamond, Getty Images

Billy Dean

Billy Dean’s barn burned to the ground just prior to Christmas 2011. It happened in Smithville, Tenn., just east of Nashville. Nobody was injured, but his boat, tractor and a career’s worth of memories were destroyed.

Yola

Amy Sussman, Getty Images

Yola

In 2014, British singer Yola was handling a bioethanol burner that leaked throughout the room, eventually catch her and the house on fire. Flames raced up her dress but she managed to escape. She was injured, but survived.

Adam Brand

Lisa Maree Williams, Getty Images

Adam Brand

In December 2023, Australian country singer Adam Brand’s house caught fire. He recalls a friend telling him there was smoke, and then 10 minutes later seeing flames engulf all his hard work and memories. Everyone in the family survived.

Johnny Cash

Hulton Archive, Getty Images

Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash’s Tennessee home burned down several years after his death, but it was still worth grieving because it’s where he and wife June Carter Cash died, several months apart in 2003.

The historic Hendersonville home was amid a renovation when it went up in flames. Nearly everything was destroyed, save a small apartment and a stone wall. Since then, the property has maintained historic value, but the fate of any structure has been unstable.

“💍 Jon Bon Jovi Reveals Heartfelt Memory of Eloping with Dorothea in Vegas: ‘We Got It Right the First Time’ 💕🎸”

Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea Hurley will impressively celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary next Monday.

The 62-year-old Bon Jovi frontman recalled the moment he decided to elope with the 61-year-old JBJ Soul Foundation founder during a break on his band’s New Jersey Syndicate Tour in 1989.

‘We were in Los Angeles, California. The band was on the road on the New Jersey tour, and if you opened up the curtains of my hotel room, there’s a big billboard of the five of us [Bon Jovi band members] staring into my window,’ Jon said in his People cover story on Wednesday.

‘My girlfriend, who was my fiancée at the time, we had a night off and I said, “I need a higher high. I got an idea let’s go to Vegas now.” And she said, “Now?” I said, “Now.” And we went and didn’t tell anybody. The taxi cab driver was our witness. And in about a month from now, it’ll be my 35th anniversary so we got it right, you know, got it right the first time.’

The couple – who originally met in 1980 while attending Sayreville War Memorial High School – proceeded to tie the knot at the Graceland Wedding Chapel, but not everyone was happy about it.

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Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea Hurley will impressively celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary next Monday (pictured April 17)

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The 62-year-old Bon Jovi frontman recalled the moment he decided to elope with the 61-year-old JBJ Soul Foundation founder during a break on his band’s New Jersey Syndicate Tour in 1989 (pictured in 1985)

‘It shocked a lot of people — shocked about everybody: the band, management, agents, lawyers, parents, you name it,’ Bon Jovi (born John Bongiovi) recalled.

‘It’s a shame because it should have been a beautiful moment, but after we did it, people were trying to take it away, until I stood up and went, “Wait a minute, why are we living our life for anyone else?” And 35 years later, we’re still married.’

The Legendary rocker – whose 1993 hit Bed of Roses is allegedly about his infidelities on the road – admitted to The Independent on Sunday: ‘It’s about never lying about having been a saint, but not being a fool enough to f*** up the home life, either.’

Jon and Dorothea’s 21-year-old son Jacob ‘Jake’ Bongiovi is currently pursuing an acting career just like his famous fiancée Millie Bobby Brown.

The Bon Jovis are also proud parents of 30-year-old daughter Stephanie Bongiovi, 29-year-old son Jesse Bongiovi, and 20-year-old son Romeo Bongiovi.

Since 2006, the inseparable married couple have run the JBJ Soul Foundation, which includes three JBJ Soul Kitchens for the hungry and 1,000 units of affordable and supportive housing for the needy in 12 states.

Fans can hear more about Jon’s legendary love story in Gotham Chopra’s four-part, all-access docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, which premieres this Friday on Hulu.

The rock-doc will include Bon Jovi’s surgery to mend an atrophied vocal cord in 2022, which almost forced him into retirement.

Trailer for docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story

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Jon said in his People cover story on Wednesday: ‘We were in Los Angeles, California. The band was on the road on the New Jersey tour, and if you opened up the curtains of my hotel room, there’s a big billboard of the five of us [Bon Jovi band members] staring into my window’

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Bon Jovi added: ‘My girlfriend, who was my fiancée at the time, we had a night off and I said, “I need a higher high. I got an idea let’s go to Vegas now.” And she said, “Now?” I said, “Now.” And we went and didn’t tell anybody. The taxi cab driver was our witness’ (pictured in 1988)

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The couple – who originally met in 1980 while attending Sayreville War Memorial High School – proceeded to tie the knot at the Graceland Wedding Chapel, but not everyone was happy about it

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The Legendary rocker recalled: ‘It shocked a lot of people — shocked about everybody: the band, management, agents, lawyers, parents, you name it. It’s a shame because it should have been a beautiful moment, but after we did it, people were trying to take it away, until I stood up and went, “Wait a minute, why are we living our life for anyone else?”‘

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Jon – whose 1993 hit Bed of Roses is allegedly about his infidelities on the road – admitted to The Independent on Sunday: ‘It’s about never lying about having been a saint, but not being a fool enough to f*** up the home life, either’ (pictured in 1988)

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The Bon Jovis’ 21-year-old son Jacob ‘Jake’ Bongiovi (L, pictured March 1) is currently pursuing an acting career just like his famous fiancée Millie Bobby Brown (2-L)

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The inseparable married couple are also proud parents of 30-year-old daughter Stephanie (3-L, pictured in 2022), 29-year-old son Jesse Bongiovi (2-L), and 20-year-old son Romeo Bongiovi (L)

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Since 2006, Jon and Dorothea have run the JBJ Soul Foundation, which includes three JBJ Soul Kitchens for the hungry (pictured on January 16) and 1,000 units of affordable and supportive housing for the needy in 12 states

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Fans can hear more about Bon Jovi’s legendary love story in Gotham Chopra’s four-part, all-access docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, which premieres this Friday on Hulu

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The rock-doc will include the Oscar-nominated songwriter’s surgery to mend an atrophied vocal cord in 2022, which almost forced him into retirement

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On June 7, the Grammy-winning New Jersey rock band will release their 12-track 16th studio album Forever, which is about ‘love and loyalty and finding things that make you want to get up out of bed in the morning’

Bon Jovi attend premiere of documentary at London’s Leicester Square

‘The thing that gave me so much pleasure had been taken away,’ the Oscar-nominated songwriter told People.

‘Joy is something you got to work at, right? Happiness is what you make it. It’s not about seizing the day anymore. I think it’s about embracing the day. I don’t have to punch it in the face anymore, now I just give it a hug, and that’s a good place to be.’

On June 7, the Grammy-winning New Jersey rock band will release their 12-track 16th studio album Forever, which is about ‘love and loyalty and finding things that make you want to get up out of bed in the morning.’

“⚽ Like Father, Like Son: Watch Deuce Shine on the Field – A Heartwarming Moment at the Game! 💙👨‍👦”

The Eastern Conference has selected Kristaps Porzinga as its Player of the Week

Kristaps Porzingis, who has been instrumental in leading the Celtics to a perfect record since April 1st thanks to his combination of efficiency and overall power, was selected the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week ending April 1st.

 

His absurd shooting splits were a major factor in Porzingis’s award argument. His field goal percentage is an astounding 65.9% and his three-point percentage is an otherworldly 63.6% since April 1. In addition to his 27 points, 12 boards, and 4 assists, Porzingis stuffed the stat sheet in the game against Oklahoma City.

Porzingis has won Player of the Week four times overall, but this is his first time doing so while playing for the Celtics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Porzingis becomes the fourth Celtic to earn the honor this season, after Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White. The 2023–2024 Celtics have an unprecedented amount of talent and a team-oriented approach that has allowed them to become the first NBA club with four individual champions.

With Marcus Smart traded tо Memphis by the Washingtоn Wizards fоr Kristaps Pоrzingis, the Bоstоn Celtics have been nearly unstоppable since, gоing 62–16 in league play. The Celtics have made excellent use оf the new weapоn the additiоn оf Pоrzingis has prоvided them due tо his tоwering stature, rim prоtectiоn, and оffensive prоwess reminiscent оf a unicоrn.

 

 

 

Injuries have severely limited Porzingis’s career thus far, which was the primary worry of the Celtics when they dealt for Smart—a fan favorite—to acquire him. Nevertheless, Porzingis has had an exceptionally healthy season, and the Celtics have benefited. He is on track to play in more than 58 games for just the third time in his eight-year NBA career. The Celtics have done a great job of managing Porzingis’ health this season, so he probably could have played more if they needed him.

Even though the Celtics’ final four games are a dress rehearsal for the playoffs, Porzingis might get some playing time to get him ready.

“💖 A Love That Defies Time: The Untold Story of Jon Bon Jovi & Dorothea Bongiovi’s Unbreakable Bond 🌟🎸”

 

In the world of rock ‘n’ roll, where relationships often flicker and fade like the lights on a concert stage, there shines a beacon of enduring love: Jon Bon Jovi and Dorothea Bongiovi. As they celebrate their remarkable journey together, we look back on the love story that began on a fateful day in Las Vegas, April 29, 1989, and continues to inspire millions around the globe.

Jon Bon Jovi, the iconic frontman of the legendary band that bears his name, and Dorothea, his steadfast partner, exchanged vows in an intimate ceremony amidst the glitz and glamour of Sin City. While Las Vegas may be known for its whirlwind romances, theirs was built on a foundation of friendship, trust, and mutual respect.

Through the highs and lows of fame, fortune, and the relentless demands of the music industry, Jon and Dorothea have remained unwavering in their commitment to each other. Their love story is not one of flashy headlines or tabloid fodder but rather a testament to the power of a genuine connection forged in the fires of life’s challenges.

As Jon’s career soared to unprecedented heights, with chart-topping hits and sold-out world tours, Dorothea stood by his side, a steady presence in a world often characterized by chaos. Away from the glitz and glamour of the stage, theirs is a life of quiet moments and simple pleasures: family dinners, walks on the beach, and shared laughter that echoes through the halls of their home.

But theirs is not just a love story—it’s a partnership built on a shared vision of making a difference in the world. Together, they founded the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, dedicated to addressing issues of homelessness and hunger in communities across the United States. Their philanthropic efforts have touched countless lives, embodying the spirit of compassion and generosity that defines their relationship.

Through the years, Jon and Dorothea have navigated the challenges of fame, fortune, and the inevitable passage of time with grace and humility. As they mark another milestone in their journey together, their love burns as brightly as ever, a beacon of hope and inspiration in a world often fraught with uncertainty.

So here’s to Jon Bon Jovi and Dorothea Bongiovi, two souls intertwined in a love that defies the odds and stands the test of time. May their anniversary be filled with joy, laughter, and the profound gratitude that comes from knowing they’ve found their forever in each other’s arms.

“I was playing guitar pretty seriously back then,” Dolly said

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(Image credit: Getty Images/Paul Natkin)

It has been hailed by critics as one of the most expressive songs in the country genre and has been recorded by artists such as The White Stripes, Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus and Olivia Newton-John.

It is also the song that launched its writer Dolly Parton into the mainstream pop market and became her first big crossover hit, encapsulating in two minutes and forty one seconds her straight-talking Tennessean roots with a storyline and hook that would resonate with millions across the globe.

Jolene was the song that made Dolly Parton, transforming her into a household name. It’s also a song that she regards as one of her crowning achievements.

“The one that’s most recorded is Jolene, that seems to be the favourite,” said Parton in a Q&A with The Guardian on 31 October 2024. “Do you know that song has been recorded, somebody told me, 450 times in the last 52 years? I’m so proud of it.”

The whole story of how Dolly Parton rose from a dirt-poor background in the Tennessee hills to become a global superstar has become the stuff of legend.

The fourth of 12 children, she was born on 19 January 1946 to sharecropping parents in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon river in East Tennessee.

When Parton was a young child, the family moved to a farm in the Smoky Mountains. Parton attributes her musical abilities to the influence of her mother Avie Lee Carlin (née Owens), who entertained her children with ancient ballads from her Welsh immigrant ancestors, brought to southern Appalachia in the 18th and 19th centuries.

At seven, Parton started playing a homemade guitar. One year later, her uncle, Bill Owens, bought her a proper instrument, and by the age of ten she was appearing on The Cas Walker Show on WIVK Radio in Knoxville Tennessee.

At the age of 13, she appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, where she met Johnny Cash for the first time.

The day after she graduated from Sevier County HIgh School in 1964, Parton moved to Nashville. She landed a publishing deal and co-wrote several singles with her uncle, including two Top 10 hits for Bill Philips and Fuel To The Flame (1967), a No. 11 hit for Skeeter Davis.

In 1967, she released her debut album Hello I’m Dolly and was invited by country music entertainer Porter Wagoner to join his weekly TV variety show The Porter Wagoner Show. It launched her career. Her natural onscreen persona suited the show’s informal feel.

While singles such as Just Because I’m A Woman were only moderate hits, her recording of the Jimmie Rogers’ song Muleskinner Blues in 1970 yielded a No. 3 hit in the Country Chart, followed by a No. 1 hit with Joshua the following year.

Her signature song Coat Of Many Colours reached No. 3 and heralded a series of hits.

By the end of 1974, Parton had parted from Wagoner, formed her own band and launched her solo career. But not before she had written and recorded the song that would become her biggest hit. That song was Jolene and it was immediately clear she had created something special.

In a 2008 interview with Washington DC-based public broadcasting organisation, NPR, Parton said she first got the idea for a song called Jolene back in the late ’60s while signing autographs after one of the Porter Wagoner live shows.

“One night, I was on stage, and there was this beautiful little girl – she was probably eight years old at the time,” Parton says. “And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me for an autograph. 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’. I said, ‘That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about that’.”

This touching encounter would take on a more adult tone when Parton sat down to write the song in 1973. According to Parton, the song was ultimately inspired by a red-headed bank clerk who flirted with her husband, Carl Dean, at his local bank branch around the time they were newly married in 1966.

Six decades on, Parton and Dean are still married and it’s hard to recall a celebrity spouse who has so successfully maintained their privacy. “I’ve never seen Carl Dean, nor never met him,” recalls session musician Lloyd Green in the BBC documentary Dolly Parton: Here I Am. “I know he exists [but] I don’t know anyone who’s ever seen Carl Dean.”

One person who clearly did see Carl Dean was the red-headed bank teller who became immortalised as Jolene.

“She got this terrible crush on my husband,” Parton told NPR. “And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. It was kinda like a running joke between us – when I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money!’ So it’s really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one.”

It’s also a story that Parton has recounted thousands of times from the stage when introducing the song. “She was trying to take care of my husband while I was out on the road,” says Parton in a live clip in the BBC documentary. “Well that didn’t go over too big with me. I fought that red-headed woman like a wildcat. She took my wig off and almost beat me to death with it! But I kept my husband.”

Simplicity is key to the song’s appeal. “It’s just the same word over and over,” Parton told NPR. “Even a first-grader or a baby can sing, ‘Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene’. It’s like, how hard can that be?”

The lyrics of Jolene are essentially an exchange between two women and as author and musicologist Lydia Hamessley points out in the BBC documentary, the man is noticeably absent throughout. “In Jolene, Dolly is singing a song about a cheating man. But she doesn’t address the man at all. In fact, he seems not to be relevant to the story. She’s really engaging with this other woman. It may seem that she doesn’t have very much power in that dynamic but in fact she’s the one who speaks all the lines.”

Parton has said that Jolene is a song that “fits a lot of people”, because it is fuelled by our insecurities. “We all are insecure,” says Parton in the BBC documentary. “There’s always someone that could take that person from you and you’re vulnerable.”

The song is instantly evocative. “I can see Jolene walking down the street,” says Kylie Minogue in the BBC documentary Dolly Parton: Here I Am. “I can see Dolly bristling. It’s a real art of storytelling. How to say a lot and paint a picture in a three minute song.”

Jolene was recorded in RCA Studio B in Nashville, in October 1973. Written and recorded in the key of C#min, with a capo on the fourth and the chord shapes of Am-C-G-Am-G-Am, it skips along at a pacey 111bpm. “It’s a great chord progression,” Parton told NPR.

What first draws the listener in though the song’s infectious guitar lick.

“The thing I remember most was all the musicians when I came up with the little guitar lick, the Jolene lick, saying: “Damn, that’s so good. That’s the coolest little lick’,” Parton told The Guardian. “I was playing guitar pretty seriously back then, before I had all the long nails. I remember all the guys learning to play it and everybody thinking how cool a rhythm it was. It was a little out of the norm for the things we’d been doing up to that time. I remember everybody in the studio just loving that song.”

The lick is a one measure, four-beat riff played in the Am shape, which is repeated throughout the track and gives the song a real skip and groove. This lick was played in the studio by the late Nashville session guitarist chip Young, a revered player renowned for his thumb-style, or Travis-picking style.

The other Nashville session guitarist who played on Jolene was Wayne Moss, handling the steel-string part that complements Young’s primary riff, which Young played on a gut-string classical guitar.

“It’s a great chord progression, people love that ‘Jolene’ lick,” Parton told NPR in 2008. “It’s as much a part of the song… as the song [itself].”

Jolene was released on 22 May 1973 and reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Chart, peaking at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2024, in Rolling Stone’s poll of 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time, Jolene was placed at No. 1.

Parton has re-recorded and re-released the track a number of times, as in 1995, when it appeared on her thirty-third album Something Special.

In 2000, The White Stripes released the first of a number of covers of the song, raw and visceral renditions that elevate the core sentiment of the song to one of yearning desperation.

On 29 March 2024, Beyoncé released her version of Jolene. “With similar instrumentation but fresh lyrics, Beyoncé has taken the age-old concept and breathed new life into it,” wrote Lauren Boisvert in American Songwriter magazine. “Beyoncé employs a smoother guitar sound backed by a pulsing beat to tie the song into her pop/R&B roots.”

Beyoncé – JOLENE (Music Video) – YouTube

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Such covers are a testament to the enduring power of the song and yet Parton’s original 1973 recording still resonates across the decades, thanks largely to her effortlessly heartfelt delivery and simple restraint.

“Staying true to her intentions, Parton fortunately chooses not to decorate the song with vocal harmonies, additional instruments and pop hooks,” wrote Barry Webber of AllMusic in a retrospective review. “The song is stripped down to guitar and Parton’s vocals. The melody itself is immensely catchy, and the lyrics are simple enough to avoid melodrama in favour of raw, blunt emotion.

“Jolene… continues to stand as not only one of her best songs, but one of the great country ballads of the 20th Century.”