Kelly Clarkson's newest album, Piece By Piece, is a largely pop-centric project, but at her Thursday night (Aug. 28) show in Albuquerque, N.M., she pulled out a country classic: Dolly Parton's "Jolene."

The tune was a request from audience member Robert Nunez, who just so happened to be standing at Clarkson's feet during the show. The "Heartbeat Song" singer's rendition of the 1974 No. 1 hit kept the heart-wrenching quality of Parton's original. Press play on the video above to watch her performance.

"Jolene" has been covered by a number of well-known artists, and while the song sounds as though it could have been inspired by trouble with Parton’s husband Carl, it is actually partly based on an innocuous relationship with a red-haired bank teller.

“She got this terrible crush on my husband,” Parton explains. “And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. It was kinda like a running joke between us — when I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money.’ So it’s really an innocent song all around but sounds like a dreadful one.”

The name Jolene, however, came from an interaction with a fan.

“One night, I was on stage, and there was this beautiful little girl — she was probably 8 years old at the time,” Parton says. “And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph. I said, ‘Well, you’re the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?’ And she said, ‘Jolene.’ And I said, ‘Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. Jolene.’ I said, ‘That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about that.’”

"Jolene" will be the basis for Parton's second NBC TV movie, though it has not yet begun production. Her first, Coat of Many Colors, will air in December.

Fan-requested covers are a staple of Clarkson's setlists. On her current tour, she's sung tunes by everyone from Wynonna Judd to *NSYNC. A complete list of her upcoming tour dates can be found at KellyClarkson.com. At another recent show, the singer let slip that she is expecting her second child.

See Kelly Clarkson's Yearbook Picture!

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