Dolly Parton’s fans have always been desperate to know who the real Jolene was that inspired her iconic song of the same name.
Considered by music critics to be one of the most standout songs of the country genre, the toe-tapping track tells the plight of a desperate housewife who confronts a sexy seductress named Jolene, who she reckons is deliberately trying to steal her man. The frantic woman begs Jolene again and again to have mercy on her and not to take her husband ‘just because you can’.
Dolly, whose death was announced this week at the age of 80, revealed that the inspiration for the famed ballad was “loosely based on a little bit of truth” by a woman who had a crush on Carl.
Taking to X, posting a photo of Dolly looking gorgeous in double denim with her blonde hair swept up off her face with a bright silk bow, aged 26, from her 1977 album, one fan asked incredulously: “I want to know what Jolene looked like” as many praised the singer for being “so beautiful”.
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Dolly opened up about the real Jolene, who had ‘red hair, long legs and was about six foot tall’ during the Glastonbury Festival in 2014. After performing the song – which has been covered by Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus and a host of other artists – she told the crowd: “Now, some of you may or may not know that that song was loosely based on a little bit of truth. I wrote that years ago when my husband … was spending a little more time with Jolene than I thought he should be.”
After fans booed in defence of Dolly, the pint-sized star reassured them she’d “put a stop to that” and “got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry,” spurring cheers from the audience.
Dolly also lifted the lid on the real Jolene in NPR in 2008, revealing: “She got this terrible crush on my husband. And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. She had everything I didn’t, like legs — you know, she was about 6 feet tall. And had all that stuff that some little short, sawed-off honky like me don’t have. So no matter how beautiful a woman might be, you’re always threatened by certain… You’re always threatened by other women, period.”
Dolly Parton and Carl Dean were united until the end -Credit:Dolly Parton
The stunning star told fans she felt threatened by the beautiful Jolene, who was six feet tall with red hair -Credit:Getty Images for American Greetings
As for whether or not that bank teller was named Jolene, Dolly confirmed she decided to use the name of a young fan. Explaining she was on stage when a little girl, aged around eight came up to her asking for her autograph, she said: “She had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes. 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.’ “
Thankfully, Jolene did not take Dolly’s beloved Carl Dean in the end with the devoted pair staying together till Carl’s death in 2025 at the age of 82.
Carl never publicly make statements about the song “Jolene,” but Dolly shared that her notoriously private husband was “a little embarrassed” when the track came out.
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