Dolly Parton released Jolene back in 1973 as the lead single from her album of the same name. At the time, it was nominated for two Grammy Awards, with Dolly later winning the gong for Best Country Duo/Group Performance 43 years later for her rendition with a cappella group Pentatonix. It’s gone on to become an iconic hit for the country star, and was even named in Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
With Dolly’s new Netflix anthology series, Heartstrings, arriving on the streaming service today, set to tell the stories behind eight of her hits, here’s the truth about the inspiration behind Jolene.
In the past, country music favourite Dolly has detailed the real life situation which gave rise to the lyrics for Jolene, citing a flirtatious bank teller who apparently had eyes for her husband Carl Dean.
“She got this terrible crush on my husband,” the musician said in an interview with 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.’
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“I got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry,” she added, prompting a huge cheer from the crowd.
“I want you folks to know, though, that something good can come from anything,” she continued. “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.”
However, there’s more to the song than meets the eye — more than the jealous woman and the head-turning bank clerk.
In an unearthed interview with a Norwegian TV programme, Dolly recalled a young girl who inspired her to pen a song with around her name.
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“One night, I was on stage and there was this beautiful little girl — she was probably eight years old at the time,” she said. “And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes and she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph.
“I said, ‘Well, you’re the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So, what’s 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,’” Dolly revealed.
While the star has said there were elements of truth to the story in Jolene’s lyrics, she has been happily married to Dean for over 50 years.
Elsewhere, Dolly’s new Netflix show, Heartstrings, is released today, with episode four focusing on Jolene.
Each of the eight episodes will explore the inspiration and story behind one of Dolly’s hits, including These Old Bones, Sugar Hill and Two Doors Down.
In the trailer, Dolly says: “Songs, they’re just stories put to music. “They’re stories of my life: every trial, every struggle, ever smile, every sorrow.
“It’s the melody of my memories. It’s the sound of my heartstrings.”
Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings is available to stream on Netflix from today.
