Jeff Tweedy: Dolly Parton Shouldn't Have Written Hit Song

Jeff Tweedy and Dolly Parton — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Jeff Tweedy apparently wants Dolly Parton fans to hate him forever, given that he was happy enough to say something frankly unacceptable about her music on late night TV—and just days before her birthday (Jan. 19), too. For shame!

The Wilco singer and guitarist appeared on Stephen Colbert's The Late Show to discuss his memoir, World Within a Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music. In this book, he shared some of his more controversial opinions about music.

"The book would’ve sounded really silly if I didn’t take ownership of some things that aren’t for me, and one of them is 'I Will Always Love You,'" Tweedy told Colbert.

"Did you hear the gasp?" the host asked him, referring to the audience's reaction. "By Dolly Parton. You hate Dolly Parton."

Tweedy defended himself, "No, I love Dolly."

But Colbert was as shocked as all of us and continued, "That’s what you just said. You said Dolly Parton has no talent is what you said, Jeff Tweedy."

The rockstar added, "I love Dolly Parton. All I know is that she wrote 'Jolene' and 'I Will Always Love You' in the same day and I think she should’ve stopped after 'Jolene.'" Yikesssss, man.

To be fair to him, Tweedy helped himself out by adding, "I know it's me. I know I'm wrong." You don't say!!!!!!

Anyway, despite this whole situation being super awkward, I suppose everyone is entitled to their personal opinions. Still, "I Will Always Love You" as performed by Whitney Houston spent 14 weeks as Billboard's Top 100 number one song in 1992, so...

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Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.