The Two Dolly Parton Classics She Wrote on the Same Day

Far more than an extraordinarily successful country artist, singer-songwriter Dolly Parton has become an American icon—a public figure who, across an astonishing six-decade-long career, has cemented her place in the annals of pop culture history.

With eleven Grammy Awards to her name, not to mention six Golden Globe nominations for acting, no one can dispute her talents. But even by those standards, writing not one but two major hit singles on the same day is quite a feat. 

That's just what Parton achieved back in 1972, when she penned “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” in a single day—or at least in a very short span of time. 

The Story of “Jolene”

Universally considered a classic of country music, “Jolene,” a song about a jealous woman confronting her rival, was recorded by Parton at the famed RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 22, 1973. 

According to the singer, the character of Jolene was based upon two real people—a bank teller who had flirted with Parton's husband, Carl Dean, and a memorable fan who had asked for her autograph. 

Several Nashville session musician stalwarts played on the recording, including renowned guitarists Chip Young and Wayne Moss. Released as a single, “Jolene” hit number one on the Billboard Country Chart. 

Perhaps the greatest testament to the song’s greatness is the long roster of artists who have since covered it. At the time of writing, no fewer than ninety-seven alternate recordings have been cataloged, including a version by Beyoncé, who covered “Jolene” on her 2024 hit album, Cowboy Carter, to Parton's great approval. Other notable names on this list include Miley Cyrus, The White Stripes, Ellie Goulding, and even the UK goth band The Sisters of Mercy.

“I Will Always Love You” Joins “Jolene”

Less than a month after recording Jolene, Parton returned to Studio B on June 12 to lay down the romantic ballad, I Will Always Love You, with Chip Young again joining on guitar. 

This song was written as an ode to Parton's mentor, the country singer Porter Wagoner. He had given her career a vital boost with a regular spot on his television show and had convinced RCA to sign the then-up-and-coming star. 

When she wrote “I Will Always Love You,” Parton had decided to leave behind her partnership with Wagoner to pursue a solo career. She penned the song to let out her feelings about abandoning her longtime professional partner and advocate. 

“It’s saying, 'Just because I’m going don’t mean I won’t love you. I appreciate you and I hope you do great, and I appreciate everything you’ve done, but I’m out of here,’” Parton said of the tune's meaning. “I took it in the next morning,” she continued, recalling the first time she played it for Wagoner. “I said, ‘Sit down, Porter. I’ve written this song, and I want you to hear it.’…And he was crying. He said, ‘That’s the prettiest song I ever heard. And you can go, providing I get to produce that record.’ And he did.”

The song reached the top spot of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and repeated that feat a year later when Parton re-recorded the number for the soundtrack to the film, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. “I Will Always Love You” became a huge hit again in 1992, when Whitney Houston released her own version for the movie, The Bodyguard. 

Did Dolly Parton Really Write “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” on the Same Day?

In 2017, Parton was asked about when she wrote “I Will Always Love You” in an interview on The Bobby Bones Show. “In 1972, I think I wrote it. At the same time I wrote 'Jolene.' That was a good writing day,” she recalled. 

“You wrote them in the same day?” Bones asked. Parton responded, “Yeah, I believe so. It was right in that period of time because I remember all my paperwork, and like they came out pretty close at the same time. So everybody said, ‘What was you taking, that was a good writing day!’”

However, in a 2022 interview on the app Clubhouse, Parton admitted that the songs may not have been written exactly back-to-back. “Well, I don’t really know if they were written in the same night,” she said. “When we found an old tape, they were on the same cassette. That could have been a few days apart.” 

Regardless of whether they were written in one day or a few, writing two songs like “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” remains a tremendous achievement for any songwriter. 

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