Bad Wolves join millions of fans around the world in mourning the sudden passing of the one and only Dolly Parton, whose legacy has touched generations of artists and fans globally.
In a poignant turn of events, Bad Wolves were recently in discussions with Parton’s management team about a special collaboration. Just weeks ago, the band had recorded a heavy metal version of the singer’s iconic hit “Jolene,” and Parton herself was planning to contribute her signature vocals to the recording.
Bad Wolves founder John Boecklin“Our singer is a big fan of Dolly and had posted a bunch of videos of her covering “Jolene”. So, we decided to make a Heavy Metal cover version for our next album. On hearing our version, our label CEO Dan Waite sent the finished demo to Dolly’s Manager Danny Nozell with a request for Dolly to guest feature on our version. We heard back that Danny had played the track to Dolly, and that Dolly loved our version, and that Dolly was going to go into the studio and add her vocals very soon. We then sent over the stems for Dolly’s studio engineers to work with. Like everyone, we were devastated of this week’s news of Dolly’s passing. We will honor Dolly’s incredible legacy by donating proceeds from ‘Jolene’ to the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.”
According to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library they have given away over 300 million books to children around the world, over 3 million each month.
Founded by Dolly Parton in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is the flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation; a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring a love of reading in children around the world. The program provides free, high-quality, age-appropriate books to registered children from birth to age five, regardless of family income, mailing each book directly to the child’s home. Today, the program mails more than three million books to children each month.
Boecklin continued “With ‘Jolene’, we are proud to help deliver critical funding to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, we know that we can contribute to Dolly’s vision of giving access to books and improving literacy.”
In closing, Boecklin offered condolences on behalf of the band, “Our thoughts are with Dolly’s extended family, manager Danny Nozell, and all of the many thousands of people she touched in her extraordinary life who are grieving her passing”.
‘Jolene’ by Bad Wolves is released today Monday 31st August, 2026, stream it below.
ABOUT BAD WOLVES:
BAD WOLVES continue to break all of the rules, merging mind-numbing riffs and rhythms with massive, stadium-size melodies. This uncanny fusion of finesse and fire has quietly cemented the Nashville-based band as a multi-platinum powerhouse. Founded by John Boecklin in 2018, the quartet shows no signs of stopping or slowing down, either. Thus far, they have garnered a 3x-Platinum single and two Gold singles in addition to scoring 6 No. 1 entries at radio and gathering billions of streams. Beyond acclaim from Billboard, Outburn, Loudwire, and more, the group has stood out as a presence versatile enough to collaborate with either Daughtry or Ice Nine Kills. Beyond touring with Papa Roach, Volbeat, Hollywood Undead, and more, they have sold out successive headline tours. Welcoming KILLBOY on the microphone in 2026, they blow the hinges off on their next era with the new single “Paint It Red” — with much more to come.
