On this day in 1973, Dolly Parton recorded “Jolene” during the afternoon at RCA Studio B in Nashville. The song was released in October of the same year and hit #1 on the Billboard US Country Songs chart in 1974.
“Jolene” was Parton’s second #1 of her career on the country charts and was the first single, and title track from her album of the same name.
The single was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance (first for the original release and the following year for a live version). Parton lost both of those awards, but “Jolene” won a Grammy award 44 years later, after the acapella group Pentatonix covered it, along with Parton.