Jack White Covers 'Jolene' in London Hours After Dolly Parton's Death
Jack White performed Dolly Parton's 'Jolene' at London's Eventim Apollo on Tuesday, 25 August, hours after news of Parton's death broke. White, mid-way through his 2026 'Frozen Charlotte' tour, posted a snippet of the cover on his Instagram account following the show, Billboard reported.
Parton died the same day in Nashville at age 80, according to her team, who said the cause was 'a brief battle with cancer.' Her nephew Bryan Seaver shared the news through a video message posted to Parton's social media accounts. Earlier on Tuesday, White had posted a 1965 photograph of Parton on Instagram with the caption 'Instant Sainthood.' He took the Apollo stage that night and turned to a song he has carried for more than two decades.
The White Stripes first released a studio version of 'Jolene' as a B-side to 'Hello Operator' in 2000. A live single followed in 2004. That live release topped the UK Indie chart and peaked at No. 16 on the UK Singles chart — no small feat for a B-side, the extra track labels tuck onto a single's flip side. Parton herself praised White's take, calling it 'one of the greatest versions ever' and telling DIY Magazine in 2016, 'I love him to death,' while hinting at a possible collaboration that never materialised.
Parton's original 'Jolene,' released in 1973, topped the Hot Country Songs chart and peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard's flagship singles chart, in 1974. The song's chart history since then reads as a measure of its reach. Beyoncé's interpolation — a borrowing of melody rather than a direct sample — appeared on her 2024 country album 'Cowboy Carter' and reached No. 7 on the Hot 100. A Pentatonix cover featuring Parton herself hit No. 18 on Hot Country Songs in 2016.
White's Frozen Charlotte tour setlists have opened with 'That's How I'm Feeling' and drawn on material including 'Old Scratch Blues' and 'Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,' Yahoo Entertainment reported in July. The London show's impromptu tribute replaced planned repertoire with a song White has never been far from — a cover he first committed to tape 26 years ago and that Parton, in her lifetime, made a point of blessing.
