Dolly Parton isn’t the only artist with a hit song titled “Jolene.”
While Parton’s is a country classic, folk-pop/rock artist Ray LaMontagne released a different “Jolene” on his 2004 record Trouble, and this song, amongst others in his catalog, has been known to find its way into country artists’ cover repertoires from time to time.
Coming off a massive 2023, up and comer and self-proclaimed Ray LaMontagne fan Nolan Taylor is the latest artist to take to Instagram to cover this modern classic. With a similarly raspy voice, he absolutely kills it, too.
A folk artist, for lack of a better term, Ray LaMontagne has been releasing music for the better part of three decades, and while he has eluded the “country” label throughout his career, his music isn’t all that different from some of the music that falls under the genre today.
This is probably in part due to his living in New England for the majority of his life, as to why he has not fallen within a country scene somewhere. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say LaMontagne has influenced tons of country artists and songwriters with his deft lyricism, raspy vocals, and often sonically simple yet powerful instrumentation.
Give his original version of “Jolene” a listen if you are not familiar.
“Jolene” is just an awesome cover for anyone to pull out, especially someone with a voice like Nolan Taylor. The Cincinnati, Ohio area troubadour is wrapping up a massive 2023 that began with a relatively viral RadioWV YouTube video of Taylor performing his brutally honest and deeply personal song “68.”
The video has since amassed four million views, and several million more streams on streaming platforms such as Spotify since the studio version was officially released in April.
Taylor kept the momentum going all year long, touring with big time acts like Charles Wesley Godwin, 49 Winchester, and The Red Clay Strays, as well as plenty of headlining gigs, and releasing several singles before his incredibly impressive Life & Love EP in November.
Having signed with Atlantic Records this year, Taylor is poised for a potentially meteoric 2024 as he continues to build his fanbase upon the honesty, authenticity, and raw talent exuded in his lyricism and music.
If you haven’t taken the chance to dive into Taylor’s potent catalog, here are some of my favorites.
“68”
“Wicked Ways”
“Life/Love”
“Sorry”
