The internet exploded after watching talk show host Trevor Noah’s interview with decorated country singer, Dolly Parton.
The South African comedian brought up Parton’s 1973 chart-topping hit “Jolene” and mentioned how the song has been so popular that the singer and her record label has had it translated into several different languages. While the song has been covered by many, there is one person in particular, the 76-year-old 10x Grammy award-winner would like to see re-make the song.
“Wouldn’t that be killer?” Parton queried.
“I think she is fantastic and beautiful. And I love her music. I would just love to hear Jolene done in just a big way,” she continued. “Like how Whitney did my ‘I Will Always Love You’ just someone that can take my little songs & make them powerhouses. That would be a marvelous thing in my life.”
Fans were mixed in their opinions about a Queen Bey rendition of the song.
“I am not for Beyoncé covering Jolene,” Búcate Plata tweeted. “Somn about a black woman begging a white woman not to take her man while complimenting her ivory skin, auburn hair and green eyes don’t sit right with me. Miley does a wonderful cover, Ms Dolly should let that bless and keep her.”
Some people believed it would be a major hit and big money move.
Vince Falconi said, “Dolly wanting Beyonce to cover ‘Jolene’ is a god-tier business move.”
Considering Rolling Stone rated it one of “Greatest Songs of All Time” and it was nominated for a Grammy three times, two years in a row in 1974 and 1975 and winning in 2021 when Pentatonix remade it, the song is bankable.
But then there are others that believe that Parton, the keen business woman that she is, is looking for another huge payout from the song, by enlisting younger and more popular talent. #RinseandRepeat.
One comment said, “Dolly isn’t interested in how Beyoncé’s voice will sound on Jolene, she just wants another check like she got when Whitney released IWALY.”
Twitter user @TruthTellingTea agreed that this was not the art, but the money that comes with charts. She wrote, “With all due respect Dolly Parton asking Beyoncé to sing Jolene doesn’t sit right with me. This is the perfect example of white people trying to eat off Black people’s talents. You’re already sitting pretty with from Whitney’s version of “I will always love You”! That’s enough!”
As usual, Twitterverse is onto something.
When Houston released her version of “I Will Always Love You” on the soundtrack of the 1992 film “The Bodyguard,” it became one of the best-selling singles in the history of recorded music, spending a mind-boggling 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in the number-one position — making over $20 million in sales.
Because of Houston’s dynamic elevation of the ballad, the song made Parton, the songwriter, allowed Parton to make history as she penned the best-selling song ever to be made by a woman.
Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene” both have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and are a part of an extensive 3,000-song catalog valued at $150 million, according to Forbes.com. The money earned from her music and her Dollywood amusement park allowed her to invest $1 million into the research behind the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Business aside, some fans love a good song and just want to hear Beyoncé kill it.
