1973 Hit Voted 'Best Country Song of All Time' Rocked The Music Industry

Dolly Parton's iconic country track "Jolene" was voted No. 1 on Billboard's ranking of the 100 Best Country Songs of All Time.

The single, first released in 1973, was the lead single from Parton's thirteenth studio album of the same name. The singer was already an established figure in the country music scene, but "Jolene" was the song that cemented her as a true legend of the genre.

The song shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Country Songs chart upon release, and even managed to place at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100, which is an impressive feat for such an unapologetic country song.

Parton had already received plenty of praise for being such a bold, confident female voice in an industry typically dominated by men, and "Jolene" was a perfect example of the variety and diversity that her voice brought to the genre.

The lyrics tell the story of an narrator confronting a woman named Jolene, whom she is afraid will attempt to steal her husband from her. It's a refreshingly honest and vulnerable song about love, sacrifice, and insecuity that resonated with listeners across the world.

Parton has suggested on several occasions that "Jolene" is based on a true story, confessing that she struggles to sing the song for this reason.

"Over a galloping guitar that races along like a horseback rider desperate to deliver a message, Parton sends forth piercing, haunted pleas to a woman whose “beauty is beyond compare,” begging her not to take her man away," Billboard writes.

"Although her voice aches with vulnerability, there’s control and drive, too: one almost wonders if Parton isn’t using her uncannily expressive tongue to flatter and cajole this auburn-haired woman into getting what she wants from her."

"Jolene" was an immediate hit both among country fans and general audiences too, topping the Billboard Country Songs chart and selling upwards of 935,000 digital copies alone in the United States.

While this was Parton's second chart-topping hit and arrived relatively late into her musical career, it's now remembered as her biggest song. Along with hits like "9 to 5" and "Islands in the Stream", the song has cemented her legacy as one of America's most prominent, expressive country artists.