Bad Wolves issued their heavy metal arrangement of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” on Monday, August 31, dedicating the track to the late country icon and directing proceeds to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The country star had heard the finished recording, approved it, and planned to add her own vocals before her sudden passing.
Jolene
Listen to Jolene on Spotify. Song · Bad Wolves · 2026
The project began with the band’s singer, a longtime admirer of Parton who had shared videos of himself performing the song. Founder, drummer, and songwriter John Boecklin said the group decided to cut a rock version for its next album. Once the track was complete, Better Noise Music CEO Dan Waite sent it to Parton’s longtime manager, Danny Nozell, and asked whether she would consider a guest appearance.
Nozell later confirmed that Parton listened to the arrangement weeks earlier, gave it her full blessing, and was eager to record. The band delivered the stems so her engineers could prepare the session. “Dolly was a champion of artists pushing musical boundaries,” Nozell said. “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.”
Boecklin described the band as devastated by the news of Parton’s death. Rather than shelve the recording, they chose to release it in her memory and route the money to the literacy program she founded. “We will honor Dolly’s incredible legacy by donating proceeds from ‘Jolene’ to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library,” he said. “We know that we can contribute to Dolly’s vision of giving access to books and improving literacy.”
The gesture draws a parallel to Bad Wolves’ earlier cover of The Cranberries’ “Zombie.” After Dolores O’Riordan died before she could record with the band, Better Noise Music and the group still released the song and donated the proceeds to her children. Don Burton, O’Riordan’s husband and manager, recalled that the label and band kept their word and delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars that helped cover college costs for the four children, then aged 12 to 27. “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,” Burton said. He noted the similar circumstances now and expressed confidence that the same approach could put many books into children’s hands through the Imagination Library.
Nozell’s statement also addressed circulating online claims about the tribute, emphasizing that Parton herself had embraced the heavier arrangement and that the Monday release and charity designation reflect the wishes of Parton and her team.
The cover arrives as both a memorial and a continuation of Parton’s own history of crossing genres. By sending the track out with her approval on record and directing the revenue toward the cause she championed, Bad Wolves have framed the release as an act of respect rather than opportunism. Listeners who stream or purchase the song will be supporting the Imagination Library’s work of mailing free books to children, extending the reach of a project Parton considered one of her most important.
