Jolene is considered one of Dolly Parton’s most iconic songs, coated over the years by artists together with Miley Cyrus and Olivia Newton-John.
The track served as the lead single in addition to the title monitor of Parton’s 1974 album, and it shortly turned her second hit to succeed in #1 on the Billboard Country chart.
Although it technically falls into the nation class, the track is beloved by followers of all genres for its distinctive storytelling, one thing Parton has lengthy since been identified for.
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The track has since change into a quintessential piece of music historical past, and though it tells the story of 1 lady’s jealousy towards one other, the concept for the track struck Parton in an sudden method.
“One night, I was on stage, and there was this beautiful little girl – she was probably eight years old at the time,” she as soon as mentioned in an interview.
“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 mentioned, ‘Well, you are the prettiest little factor I ever noticed. So what’s your title?’ And she mentioned, ‘Jolene.’ And I mentioned, ‘Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. Jolene.’ I mentioned, ‘That is fairly. That seems like a track. I’m going to put in writing a track about that.'”‘
And write a song about that she did.
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Inspired by her meeting with the young girl, Parton set off to write a tune with the name Jolene at its centre, and she ended up using an experience from her everyday life to pen the lyrics.
The song’s lyrics were inspired by a red-haired bank teller who flirted with her husband, Carl Dean.
“She had all the pieces I did not, like legs – you recognize, she was about 6 ft tall,” Parton said in a 2008 NPR interview.
“[She] had all that stuff that some little quick, sawed-off honky like me do not have.”
Rather than attempt and tear the different lady down, Parton wrote the track with grace and vulnerability, permitting the narration to convey the sense of ache and concern of doubtless shedding one thing you’re keen on.
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And it appears Parton continues to be taking the excessive street to at the present time.
Having been fortunately married to Dean since 1966, she has since even thanked that red-headed financial institution teller for being her inspiration behind the hit single.
At a Glastonbury present in 2014, Parton spoke about the story behind the track.
“I wrote that [song] years in the past when my husband … was spending a bit of extra time with Jolene than I believed he must be,” she said.
“I put a cease to that. I removed that redhead lady in a rush … Had it not been for that lady I might by no means have written Jolene and I would not have made all that cash, so thanks, Jolene.”
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