Dolly Parton reacted to Beyoncé’s reimagined version of “Jolene,” which made its debut on COWBOY CARTER on Friday morning (March 29).
“Wow, I just heard Jolene. Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it! Love, Dolly P,” Parton wrote in a statement posted to Instagram on Friday afternoon, captioned with a red heart emoji. The beloved country music legend’s signature references a track on Beyoncé’s highly-anticipated new album. Parton addresses “Miss Honey Bey” leading into “Jolene” on the 27-track project.
Beyoncé revamped “Jolene” with lyric swaps like “I’m warning you, don’t come for my man/ Don’t take the chance because you think you can.” The newly-debuted version of a 1970s classic is one of many ways Beyoncé pays tribute to and collaborates with other artists on the album, which also includes Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts, among others.
Parton said in a recent interview with Knox News — the East Tennessee-based Knoxville News Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network — that she believed Beyoncé covered “Jolene” on COWBOY CARTER. She said at that time that she was “very excited” about “Jolene” appearing on Beyoncé’s country-themed album. “I love her! She's a beautiful girl and a great singer.”
During an interview on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah in 2022, host Trevor Noah asked Parton, “there are over 400 renditions of ‘Jolene,’ multiple different languages, people have done it, and you said you specifically want Beyoncé to do that. Are there any updates? …And why Beyoncé?”
Parton said at that time that she didn’t know whether Beyoncé had received the message, but “wouldn’t that be killer,” if she covered the 1974 hit? “I think she’s fantastic and beautiful and I love her music. I would just love to hear ‘Jolene’ done in just a big way, kind of like how Whitney (Houston) did my ‘I Will Always Love You,’ to someone that can take my little songs and make ‘em like powerhouses. So, that would be a marvelous day in my life if she ever does do ‘Jolene.’”
Beyoncé revealed after Usher’s Halftime Show during Super Bowl LVIII that she would release a country-themed album. She released two tracks at that time, “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em,” and has since made history as the first Black woman to release a single that reached No. 1 on country charts. Beyoncé shared in a statement that COWBOY CARTER “was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.”
COWBOY CARTER is a continuation of RENAISSANCE, which released in 2022. Beyoncé, who will receive the iHeartRadio Innovator Award at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday (April 1), previously said, “this ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”
Fans across the country will be able to watch and find out the all the winners of the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards live as the show will be airing live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday, April 1st from 8pm-10pm ET live/PT tape-delayed on FOX. The event will also be broadcast on iHeartRadio stations nationwide and on the free iHeartRadio app. And catch all the action from the Yellow Carpet from your favorite artists this year by tuning in to the iHeartRadio Music Awards - On The Carpet Live! Presented by Otezla at 5:30pm ET/2:30PT via iHeartRadio's YouTube, Twitch and Facebook accounts.
Listen to Beyoncé’s “Jolene” below, and find the full COWBOY CARTER on iHeartRadio here (warning: language).