Jolene by Dolly Parton

Jolene, Dolly Parton's thirteenth solo studio album, arrived on RCA Victor on February 4, 1974, just as she was striking out on her own after seven years on Porter Wagoner's weekly TV series and road show. You can hear a woman clearing the decks.

In the title track she squares up to a beautiful rival she suspects of stealing her husband, singing with a trembling urgency over a guitar figure that won't let go; it became her second solo number-one country single, a modest pop hit and a success in the UK too. Then there's "I Will Always Love You", reportedly her way of saying goodbye to the Wagoner partnership, a tender farewell that also topped the country chart, the same song Whitney Houston later carried around the world. Elsewhere she revisits "Early Morning Breeze" from Coat of Many Colors and "Lonely Coming Down" from her 1972 tribute album to Wagoner.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.