Dolly Parton Responds To ‘AGT’ Song Inspired By ‘Jolene’

Yesterday, we reported that the judges on “America’s Got Talent” had broken their own rules by unanimously hitting the Golden Buzzer for a trio of women that performed a song that was inspired by Dolly Parton’s hit “Jolene.” Now, the country music legend Parton has given the perfect response to this. 

‘What A Fun New Take On My Song’

“What a fun new take on my song, @ChapelHartBand!” Parton tweeted alongside a video of the performance. “Carl’s birthday is today so I think I’ll hang on to him, and I’m not notifying Jolene that today is his birthday  #AGT.”

Backstory: ‘AGT’ Judges All Hit Golden Buzzer For Tribute To Dolly Parton

Parton, 76, was referring to her husband Carl Dean, who she has been married to since 1966. He was the inspiration for her song “Jolene,” which she wrote about a flirtatious redhead who tried to steal her man, according to Yahoo News. 

While auditioning for “America’s Got Talent,” the trio Chapel Hart performed their own follow up to “Jolene” that they called “You Can Have Him, Jolene.” Chapel Hart is made up of sisters Danica and Devynn Hart, and their cousin, Trea Swindle. 

‘We Were So Inspired By The Song Jolene’

“We were so inspired by the song ‘Jolene’ and we just love the storyline,” Danica said. “And we figured, though, from 1973 to 2022, we could not still be fighting over the same man. So, we decided to tell her, ‘You can just have him, Jolene.'”

The three women also opened up to the judges about how hard it has been for them to break into the Nashville scene as black performers. 

“You’ve just got to break down that door, and you may have just broken down the door with that performance, trust me,” judge Simon Cowell told them.

Thanks to the judges, Chapel Hart has now been sent through to the live shows, and we can’t wait to see what they perform next!

Parton’s Marriage To Dean

Though Dean is married to one of the most famous women on the planet, he has always stayed out of the public eye. However, this does not mean that he isn’t supportive of Parton’s career. 

“He’s not in show business. He’s not resentful of any of that,” Parton said of Dean in 2015, according to People Magazine. “He loves to hear about the things I do. I love to hear about the things he does. So we enjoy each other’s company. We get along good.”

Parton was only 18 when she met Dean at a Nashville laundromat.

“I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me),” she recalled on her website. “He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.”

Related: Dolly Parton Reveals Why Her Husband Of 54 Years Stays Out Of The Spotlight

Parton Never Had Children

Despite being married for over fifty years, Parton and Dean never had any children.

“When my husband and I were dating, and then when we got married, we just assumed we would have kids,” Parton told Billboard in 2014. “We weren’t doing anything to stop it. In fact, we thought maybe we would. We even had names if we did, but it didn’t turn out that way.”

“I often think, it just wasn’t meant for me to have kids so everybody’s kids can be mine,” she added at the time. 

We’re glad to see that Parton and Dean got such a kick out of Chapel Hart’s performance, and we can’t wait to see how they do for the rest of the season on “America’s Got Talent!”