Story of the song: Jolene by Dolly Parton

From The Independent archive: Robert Webb on the country star’s pleading, powerful hit

‘Jolene’ introduced Parton to the UK charts (Getty)

Dolly Parton used to introduce live versions of “Jolene” with a story. It was that the song was about an affair her husband, the country music television celebrity Porter Wagoner, had had. Parton sang as a cheated wife, pleading for her husband’s mistress, the seductive Jolene, not to take him. It was a good tale and a powerful song, but the scenario was entirely of Parton’s invention. Although they were on the verge of separating, Parton was certain that Wagoner had been faithful.

In fact, it was inspired by one of her fans. “When I used to work with Porter, we used to sit on the stage after a show and sign autographs,” Parton recalls. “One night this little redheaded girl with the prettiest eyes and the prettiest hair I had ever seen was looking up at me. She was maybe 10 or 12.” Parton asked her name: it was Jolene. The singer was struck by the girl’s beauty and promised to write a song for her. “If you ever hear one on the radio called ‘Jolene’, you’ll know I wrote it about you,” Parton said. It probably wasn’t quite the song the girl was expecting.

By the 1970s, Parton was one of the bestselling country artists. “Jolene” took her to a whole new market. It was recorded at RCA’s Nashville Sound Studio in June 1973, and was issued as a single to trail the 1974 album of the same name. Two years later, it introduced Parton to the UK charts. After the song’s release, Parton split from Wagoner, although hardly to the detriment of her career. The title track isn’t the biggest song on the album, either. A love song to Wagoner, “I Will Always Love You”, was taken to over-produced heights in 1992 by Whitney Houston. And what of the girl who inspired the title? Parton says: “Over the years, I thought maybe this girl would contact me to say ‘I was Jolene’, but I’ve never heard.”