Dolly Parton was planning to contribute her signature vocals to Bad Wolves‘ heavy metal cover of “Jolene” before her sudden passing last week. On Monday, August 31, the band releases their version of the song in her memory, with proceeds going to Dolly Parton‘s Imagination Library.
“Our singer is a big fan of Dolly and had posted a bunch of videos of her covering ‘Jolene.’ So, we decided to make a rock cover version for our next album,” says Bad Wolves founder, drummer, and songwriter John Boecklin. “On hearing our version, our label CEO Dan Waite sent the finished record to Dolly‘s manager, Danny Nozell, with a request for Dolly to guest feature on our version. We heard back that Danny had played the track to Dolly, and that Dolly loved our version, and that Dolly was going to go into the studio and add her vocals very soon. We then sent over the stems for Dolly‘s studio engineers to work with. Like everyone, we were devastated by last week’s news of Dolly‘s passing.”
Danny Nozell, Dolly Parton‘s longtime manager, confirmed that she had been eager to record her vocals for the track before her passing, while explicitly clearing up recent online misinformation surrounding the tribute, stating. “Dolly was a champion of artists pushing musical boundaries. She listened to the Bad Wolves arrangement of ‘Jolene’ weeks ago, gave it her full blessing, and was incredibly excited to collaborate on it. Releasing this track on Monday as a tribute—with proceeds directly supporting her beloved Imagination Library—is exactly what Dolly and her team wanted.”
Don Burton, manager and husband of the late Dolores O’Riordan (The Cranberries), offered his perspective on the band’s integrity.
“When Dolores died, prior to recording with Bad Wolves on ‘Zombie,’ Better Noise Music’s Allen Kovac and Dan Waite reached out say that with our blessing they would like to continue with their plans to release ‘Zombie,’ but wanted to donate the proceeds to Dolores‘ children.
“As a parent, I was touched, and also very surprised when the label and band were true to their word and presented our kids (aged 12, 16, 20, 27 at the time) with hundreds of thousands of dollars. A very gracious gesture, which helped with their college costs, and we will always remember the band’s kindness in honouring their pledge and Dolores‘ memory.
“The similarities here with Dolly Parton loving Bad Wolves version of Jolene, and sadly passing before recording, is tragic, but once again the Bad Wolves have agreed to donate their proceeds to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, and based on the ‘Zombie’ track record, this could provide a lot of books for young children around the world.”
Boecklin continued: “We will honor Dolly‘s incredible legacy by donating proceeds from ‘Jolene’ to Dolly Parton‘s Imagination Library. We know that we can contribute to Dolly‘s vision of giving access to books and improving literacy.”
The release of “Jolene” comes just days after Bad Wolves guitarist AJ Rebollo announced his departure from the band, with the controversial cover playing a major role in his decision to step away. Rebollo said that the band had expressed its opposition to releasing the song following Dolly Parton‘s death, particularly because her planned involvement with the track was no longer possible and the members feared its release could be viewed as an attempt to capitalize on her passing.
Despite those objections, Better Noise Music moved forward with the release, with proceeds from the song going to Parton‘s Imagination Library. Rebollo described the label’s decision as the “final nail in the coffin,” arguing that the band members were ultimately left to deal with the backlash over decisions they did not make. He ultimately said he could no longer “in good faith remain a member” of Bad Wolves, while making it clear that he still has love and respect for his former bandmates and the music they created together.
