“When I came up with the Jolene lick, all the musicians said: ‘Damn, that’s so good. That’s the coolest little lick’”: Dolly Parton recalls writing Jolene’s iconic guitar parts and pushing the boundaries of her playing (before the long fingernails)

Dolly Parton
(Image credit: Andrew Lipovsky/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

There's no overstating the impact Dolly Parton's Jolene has had not only on the history of country music and Parton's career trajectory but also on the globalization and crossover of country into the pop realm. Reflecting on her enduring hit, which was recently reinvented by Beyoncé on Cowboy Carter, Parton recalls how it all started with one “little guitar lick.”

“The thing I remember most was all the musicians when I came up with the little guitar lick, the Jolene lick, saying: ‘Damn, that’s so good. That’s the coolest little lick,’” Parton tells The Guardian in a new interview.

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Janelle Borg

Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.