Bad Wolves released their cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” on August 31, 2026, six days after the country music icon died at the age of 80. Issued through Better Noise Music, the recording arrives without the vocal contribution Parton had been preparing to make, with proceeds benefiting Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Its release has also become the center of a dispute that contributed to guitarist AJ Rebollo leaving the band.
Work on the cover began before Parton’s death. According to Bad Wolves founder, drummer and songwriter John Boecklin, the idea developed after current vocalist Sara “Killboy” Skinner had expressed her enthusiasm for “Jolene.” The band subsequently created a heavier interpretation for its upcoming album, and the finished recording eventually reached Parton’s camp through Better Noise Music executive Dan Waite and her longtime manager Danny Nozell.
Boecklin said Parton heard the arrangement, liked what the band had done and intended to record vocals for it. The necessary stems had already been sent to her studio team as preparations for the collaboration progressed. Those plans were cut short when Parton died on August 25, 2026, following a brief battle with cancer, prompting tributes across the music world and beyond.
Better Noise Music moved forward with the August 31 release without Parton’s vocals and announced that proceeds would support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the literacy program she launched in 1995. The organization provides free, age-appropriate books to registered children from birth through age five and now operates across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Republic of Ireland.
That decision became a breaking point inside Bad Wolves. On August 28, AJ Rebollo announced his departure and described the situation surrounding “Jolene” as the culmination of broader frustrations with decisions he said were being made for the band by its label. According to Rebollo, multiple members had expressed their opposition to releasing the song after Parton’s death because they feared it could understandably appear to outsiders as an attempt to capitalize on the timing.
Rebollo described the release as the “final nail in the coffin” for his time in the group and said he felt there was “ill intent” behind the decision, while separately acknowledging that directing money toward the Imagination Library was a positive choice. His comments represent his account and interpretation of the dispute; no evidence has established that Better Noise Music intended to improperly exploit Parton’s death.
Danny Nozell confirmed that Parton had listened to Bad Wolves’ arrangement weeks before her death, approved it and was excited about joining the recording. He also said that releasing the finished version as a tribute while directing proceeds toward the Imagination Library reflected what Parton and her team wanted.
The circumstances inevitably recall the most successful cover in Bad Wolves’ history. In 2018, the band broke internationally with its version of The Cranberries’ “Zombie.” Dolores O’Riordan had been scheduled to contribute vocals to that recording before her sudden death prevented the collaboration from happening. Bad Wolves went ahead with the release and later provided substantial proceeds to O’Riordan’s family. Don Burton, O’Riordan’s husband and manager, has now publicly referenced that experience while supporting the way the group approached the new Parton tribute.
