Back in March, Beyoncé released her country music album Cowboy Carter, which included a cover of the iconic Dolly Parton song “Jolene.”

Parton Sounds Off On Cowboy Carter

“Well, I think it was very bold of her,” Parton, 78, told E! News. “When they said she was gonna do ‘Jolene,’ I expected it to be my regular one, but it wasn’t.”

“But I love what she did to it,” she added. “And as a songwriter, you love the fact that people do your songs no matter how they do them.” 

Parton also got a kick out of the new lyrics that Beyoncé, 42, added to the song.

“She wasn’t gonna go beg some other woman like I did,” she continued.

Check out Beyoncé’s version of “Jolene” in the video below.

As for what Parton thinks about the country music album overall, she wants the world to know that she’s a fan.

“I was very proud of her album,” Parton said. “I thought she did a great job in country music, and I thought it was great.”

“And I was just happy she did ‘Jolene.’ I, of course, would have loved to have heard how she would have done it in its original way,” she added. “But of course, you know, it’s Beyoncé. Yeah, her life is different than mine.”

Watch Parton talk more about this in the video below.

Beyoncé’s Country Roots

While some took issue with Beyoncé entering the world of country music for the first time, others pointed out that she was born and raised in Texas. This means that with this country album, it can be argued that she was really going back to her own country roots.

Cowboy Carter ended up being a huge hit. It debuted at number one on the Americana/Folk Albums, Top Album Sales, and Top Country Albums charts. This made Beyoncé the first black woman to ever have a number-one country album, according to Forbes.

The album remained on the Billboard 200 for two weeks. This was Beyoncé first multi-week number one since her eponymous 2013 album “Beyoncé.”

Find out more about Beyoncé’s journey to Cowboy Carter in the video below.

Parton Wants To Perform ‘Jolene’ Duet With Beyoncé

When asked if she communicated with Beyoncé much in the lead-up to this album, Parton played it coy.

“We communicated when the album came out, when I was doing some of the little things to put on the album,” she said. “And we were sending each other flowers and little love notes and all that. So, yeah, it’s all good.”

That being said, Parton wants it to be known that she is more than willing to perform a duet of “Jolene” with Beyoncé at the 2025 Grammy Awards, should Cowboy Carter get nominated.

“Why of course I would—if I’m available, if I’m not caught up in something I cannot get out of, yeah, that’d be wonderful,” she said. “I mean, who wouldn’t wanna sing ‘Jolene’ with Beyoncé?”

Clearly, Parton is still just as gracious and humble as ever! No wonder that even after decades in the business, she remains one of the most popular figures in country music.

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