Dolly Parton’s song ‘Jolene’ surged to No. 1 on Spotify with 2.03 million streams on Aug. 26, according to data from the Get the Facts Data Team. The song had already been among the most played tracks on Aug. 25, with 1.29 million streams. Her music dominated the U.S. charts in the days after news of her death was announced.

Posthumous Chart Dominance

Several of Parton’s other hits also saw a dramatic increase in streams. ‘9 to 5’ and ‘Islands in the Stream’ ranked second and third on Aug. 25 with 1.13 million and 1.29 million streams, respectively. Her track ‘I Will Always Love You’ and ‘Coat of Many Colors’ reached the top 10 on Aug. 26, ranking sixth and seventh.

According to Spotify Charts Weekly Top Songs, ‘Jolene’ was the top song in every U.S. city from Aug. 21 to 27. Nashville, Parton’s hometown, had it as the No. 2 streamed song. New Orleans and Portland followed with ‘Jolene’ as their No. 3, while Denver and Memphis had it at No. 4 and 5 respectively.

Health and Personal Life

Parton had been dealing with health issues for some time, including ongoing kidney and autoimmune problems. She was hospitalized on Aug. 21 and died on Aug. 25 at age 80, according to TMZ. She had opened up about her health in an interview with People four days before her death. ‘As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,’ she said, referring to her husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025. ‘Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’!’

Parton and Dean had been married for 60 years. She met him at a laundromat on the first day she arrived in Nashville at age 18. ‘Jolene’ was inspired by a period of mild jealousy Parton felt over Dean, who often visited the bank. ‘En realidad, no fue tan grave (como parece). Simplemente estaba celosa porque ella era una mujer hermosa y él solo estaba coqueteando,’ she revealed in 2023 in an interview with The One Show. ‘Siempre hay una Jolene en la vida de alguien.’

Legacy and Recent Projects

In her final months, Parton had been working on a project involving ‘actuaciones con avatares,’ according to a video statement. She had also canceled her appearance at the NightFlight Expedition event at Dollywood due to feeling ‘mareada y deshidratada,’ as explained by her doctor. Earlier in May, she had canceled her Las Vegas residency, which had been postponed from December 2025 to September 2026.

Tributes poured in from across the entertainment world after her death, including from Eminem, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Sir Paul McCartney, and Sir Elton John. Beyoncé had given a modern twist to ‘Jolene’ in her 2024 album ‘Cowboy Carter,’ changing the lyric to ‘Te lo advierto, no vengas por mi hombre’ from the original ‘Te lo ruego, por favor, no te lleves a mi hombre.’

With over 913 million streams on Spotify, ‘Jolene’ remains her most popular song. Rolling Stone and The Guardian have both recognized it as her best work.