Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” was released on October 15, 1973. Rolling Stone ranked the song No. 217 out of the 500 greatest songs of all time. While the song revolves around jealousy, the origins of the tune is much more innocent.
Parton shares how she came up with the song,
“One night, I was on stage, and there was this beautiful little girl — she was probably eight years old at the time. 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 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.'”
Until Parton used a bad experience for the song. A red-headed bank teller began flirting with her husband Carl Dean.
“I wrote that [song] years ago when my husband … was spending a little more time with Jolene than I thought he should be. I put a stop to that. I got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry … 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.”
It’s a hit alright!
And that’s why even modern artists like Miley Cyrus, and her sister Noah still sing the classic.
The Cyrus sisters take the stage to blow the roof off. And the energy the two sisters bring to the stage is unbelievably infectious.
For a song released in 1973 to get the crowd on their feet, clapping and singing along, you know it’s a rocking hit.
And Miley brings that rawness she’s known for onstage.
It’s a lovely contrast to Noah’s softer tone.
Miley loves her sister so much that when Noah sings, she steps back a bit for Noah to take the spotlight.
And the sisters don’t try to outdo each other either. It’s a perfectly balanced harmony.
To think that Miley sounds way better now as compared to her earlier years.
To think that a song about jealousy, written with around 200 words, could still rock the place is impressive. Parton put all her emotions in it, and the Cyrus sisters put their own spin on it.
“They really should work together more, their different musical tastes styles, just complement each other so well. That performance was electric, the dynamic worked so well, and Noah’s voice is just getting better and better – terrific.” says a viewer named Robert Courtney.
And we couldn’t agree more!
It surely has a lot of viewers kept going back to play this rendition.
It’s a version you can sing your heart out to in the bathroom or the car!
Rock out to “Jolene” with Miley and Noah below!
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