| "Jolene" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Dolly Parton | ||||
| from the album Jolene | ||||
| B-side | "Lonely Coming Down" | |||
| Released | October 1973 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | RCA Studio B, Nashville; May 22, 1973 | |||
| Genre | Country pop | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Writer(s) | Dolly Parton | |||
| Producer | Bob Ferguson | |||
| Dolly Parton singles chronology | ||||
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"Jolene" is a song written and performed by Dolly Parton from her album Jolene (1974), produced by Bob Ferguson. It is ranked #217 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Contents |
"Jolene" tells the tale of a housewife confronting a voluptuous seductress who she believes is trying to steal away her husband and begging her "please don't take my man". Throughout the song, the housewife implores Jolene "please don't take him just because you can." The song became Parton's second solo number-one single on the country charts after being released as a single in late 1973 (prior to the album's release). It reached the top position in February 1974; it also was a moderate pop hit for her and a minor adult contemporary chart entry, and was released as a single in the UK the following year, where it reached number seven in the UK singles chart.
Parton has said that the inspiration for the story was a tall, red-headed bank teller who Parton believed was flirting with her husband, and her husband's apparent vulnerability to the teller's charm as indicated by his sudden interest in making frequent trips to the bank. In her live performances of the song, Dolly often states she fought this woman tooth and nail for her husband. The name "Jolene" came from a beautiful little red-headed girl with green eyes who sought her autograph at a concert.[1]
| “ | I said, what is your name? And she said, Jolene. And I said, well, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. I said, that is pretty, I said, that sounds like a song. I'm going to write a song about that. | ” |
| Chart (1973–1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 60 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 44 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 84 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 40 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 7 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 8 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 16* |
| Danish Singles Chart | 19 |
*19 June 2008[2]
| "Jolene (Live Under Blackpool Lights)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The White Stripes | ||||
| from the album Under Blackpool Lights | ||||
| Released | November 20, 2004 | |||
| Format | CD, 7" | |||
| Genre | Garage rock, alternative rock | |||
| Length | 2:37 | |||
| Label | XL Recordings | |||
| Producer | Jack White | |||
| The White Stripes singles chronology | ||||
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Strawberry Switchblade: Scottish female pop group Strawberry Switchblade released an electro-pop version as a single in the UK and Japan in 1985, and it was later included on an expanded edition of their 1985 s/t album.[3]
A version by Swedish show group Spirella Girls in 1992 was named "Brolin, Brolin" and was about Swedish soccer player Tomas Brolin.
In 2010, Parton's original version was featured and performed by Jessica Lowndes as Adrianna Tate-Duncan in the 90210 episode "What's Past is Prologue".
In 2011, John Mayer, Keith Urban, and Norah Jones performed the song at the Grammy Awards as a tribute to Dolly Parton. Vicci Martinez covered the song on The Voice.
Also in 2011, Samuel Larsen performed this song in the finals of Oxygen's reality competition series The Glee Project. Samuel won the competition along with a fellow contender.
It was also performed on the show Glee by Dot Marie Jones who portrays Coach Beiste in the episode "I Kissed A Girl". The episode aired on November 29th, 2011.
| Preceded by "I Love" by Tom T. Hall |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single (Dolly Parton version) February 2, 1974 |
Succeeded by "World of Make Believe" by Bill Anderson |
| Preceded by "Hey Loretta" by Loretta Lynn |
RPM Country Tracks number-one single (Dolly Parton version) February 16, 1974 |
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| Preceded by "Love is Blind" by Janis Ian |
Japanese Oricon International Chart number-one single (Olivia Newton-John version) November 8–22, 1976 |
Succeeded by "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver |
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