Beyonce recruited a star-studded line-up for guest appearances on her new album ‘Cowboy Carter’.
The pop superstar has made her first foray into country music with the record – which was released on Friday (29.03.24) – and she brought in country legends Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson to feature. Beyonce has recorded a cover of Dolly’s classic track ‘Jolene’ with rewritten lyrics and the album features an interlude by the country legend herself which references both Jolene and Becky – the name of a love rival featured in Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ track ‘Sorry’.
In the interlude, Dolly says: “Hey, Miss Honey B, it’s Dolly P. You know, that hussy with the good hair you sang about reminded me of someone I knew back when. Except she has flaming locks of auburn hair. Bless her heart. Just a hair of a different colour, but it hurts just the same.”
Willie Nelson can be heard on two tracks – ‘Smoke Hour Willie Nelson’ and ‘Smoke Hour II’ – while the record also features guest appearances from Miley Cyrus, who sings on ‘II Most Wanted’, and Post Malone, who joins Beyonce for ‘Levii’s Jeans’.
Beyonce also features Linda Martell – who was the first Black woman to sing at the Grand Ole Opry back in 1969 – as well as Black country artists including Rhiannon Giddens, Tanner Adell, and Willie Jones.
Dolly, 78, previously let slip that the 42-year-old megastar was considering releasing a version of her timeless song for the album – which part two of her ‘Renaissance’ project.
Speaking to Knox News, Dolly said of the rumours that they recorded a duet for the album: “Well, I think she has! I think she’s recorded ‘Jolene’ and I think it’s probably gonna be on her country album, which I’m very excited about that.
“I love her! “She’s a beautiful girl and a great singer.”
The ‘9 to 5’ hitmaker also confessed she has wanted the former Destiny’s Child star to cover the song for years. She said: “We’ve kind of sent messages back and forth through the years. And she and her mother were like fans, and I was always touched that they were fans, and I always thought she was great.”
The ‘Single Ladies’ hitmaker became the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ after it debuted at No.1 on the US chart, and ’16 Carriages’ has also racked up some impressive streams.
‘Cowboy Carter’ is the second part of Beyonce’s planned ‘Renaissance’ trilogy – following the 2022 dance record ‘Renaissance’.