“Jolene” hardly needs an introduction. That name alone is enough to get the chorus going in your head.
But Dolly Parton’s duet with Olivia Newton-John gives the familiar song a particularly moving place in both singers’ stories.
Released on February 17, 2023, the collaboration was Newton-John’s final song recording and music video before her death in 2022.
That background brings a certain sadness to it, of course. Yet the recording also offers something much warmer: two longtime friends finally getting to share a song that already connected them!
The Real Feeling Behind It
“Jolene” has always packed an awful lot of feeling into a few short minutes. There’s jealousy, fear, admiration, and that uncomfortable feeling of knowing someone else might have the power to turn your life upside down.
That directness is a big part of why the song still works. No complicated explanation needed.
With Parton and Newton-John attached to the same recording, there’s another reason to pay attention.
Both built careers around voices that listeners could recognize almost immediately.
Bringing those identities into one familiar song makes this collaboration an especially appealing discovery for anyone who missed its release.
Their connection, though, went back much further.
A Friendship That Started Decades Earlier
Olivia Newton-John had already recorded “Jolene” for her 1976 album Come On Over. According to Dolly’s official website, the singers became friends following Newton-John’s win for Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1974 Country Music Association Awards.
Decades before this duet arrived, the song was already part of their shared history.
That gives the collaboration a lovely sense of coming full circle. A song Olivia once recorded on her own became an opportunity to sing with the woman who wrote it.
“I have always wanted to record with Dolly”
“I have always wanted to record with Dolly,” Olivia said in a 2021 interview, also recalling Dolly’s support early in her Nashville career. It’s a small piece of background, but it makes the eventual duet feel all the more personal.
Dolly’s memories were equally affectionate. In her tribute, she remembered the occasions they had shared backstage and on the same shows, praising Olivia’s tenderness and determination. She also identified their “Jolene” collaboration as her last memory of singing with her friend.
Now let’s listen to this moving duet in the official video below:
The duet later appeared on Just the Two of Us: The Duets Collection, Volume One, released on May 5, 2023.
The 17-track album brought together Newton-John’s collaborations with artists including Dolly Parton, John Travolta, Mariah Carey, and Barry Gibb.
For anyone who mainly associates Olivia with Grease or “Physical,” “Jolene” is also a welcome reason to spend some time with her country recordings. There’s a whole part of her musical story there that deserves another listen.
And for Dolly fans, the appeal is easy enough to understand. One of her most beloved songs, shared with a friend who had carried it into her own career decades earlier.
There’s sadness in the timing of its release. Still, there’s real pleasure in being able to hear them together!