See Little Big Town’s Rousing Cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’

Grand Ole Opry members Little Big Town may have surprised the crowd by bringing out songwriter-producer Pharrell Williams during their most recent guest shot on the long-running radio show. But the quartet’s flirtation with a genre well outside country’s mainstream (which resulted in the spontaneously created summer-pop LP, Wanderlust, released in June) doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned country music or their Opry family.

That loyalty is evident in the group’s glorious rendition of “Jolene,” the classic tale of an impossibly beautiful other woman, written and originally sung by fellow Opry cast member Dolly Parton. Dripping with the intensity of a Southern Gothic tale, the foursome’s chilling version highlights their supreme gift for magical harmony, even in this truncated two-minute take.

Inducted as Opry members by Vince Gill and the late Little Jimmy Dickens in October 2014, Little Big Town will return to the Opry stage for performances on September 27th and October 18th and continue as special guests on Luke Bryan’s Kill the Lights Tour.