When Olivia Newton-John died in 2022, it was the end of a great career in music and movies. Olivia Newton-John was best known as Sandy in the movie Grease, but she also won four Grammy Awards and had 15 songs that reached the top ten. She is the only person who was not born in the United States who has ever won the Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year award. This led to a friendship that lasted for decades with country music legend Dolly Parton. Now, their powerful duet of “Jolene” has been released. This is the last recording by the Australian singer.
The two people have been friends since the 1970s.
My first memory of Olivia was when her song ‘Let Me Be There’ was a hit. I have loved her ever since,
Dolly Parton said.
Olivia Newton-John covered Dolly Parton’s song “Jolene” for her seventh studio album, Come On Over, which she made in 1976. The famous song was a mainstay of Olivia Newton-John’s live shows for the rest of her career because it showed off her incredible vocal range.
Even though the women knew each other, they didn’t sing together for a long time after that.
I have always wanted to record with Dolly,
Newton-John explained in an interview in 2021.
She was always there for me and what she did for me early on in my career in Nashville is something I will never forget.
With the recording of “Jolene” for her last album, Olivia Newton-John’s wish finally came true. It is called Just the Two of Us and will come out on May 5, 2023. It has 17 songs. This album’s first single is “Jolene.” Mariah Carey, John Travolta, and Newton-daughter, John’s singer Chloe Lattanzi, also make appearances on the album.
My last memory of Olivia was when I sang with her on my song ‘Jolene’ which she recorded for an album not so very long ago,
added Dolly Parton.
I cannot wait to hear that album and Olivia may you rest in peace. You left a spot that one else will ever fill.
Olivia Newton-John’s longtime publicist, Michael Caprio, said that the duet was “the perfect bookend to their decades-long friendship” because it told the story of how they met and became friends.
Knowing that Dolly was there at the start of Olivia’s U.S. Country music career and here she is, one half of a duet of Olivia’s final recording, is pretty special.
The powerful duet “Jolene” by Olivia Newton-John and Dolly Parton has been released. It is the Australian singer’s last recording. Listen to it here:
