THE DOLLY-WHITNEY CONNECTION

Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston

With the passing of country icon Dolly Parton on August 25 at 80 from cancer, the world lost a singular voice of the ages, a blessed humanitarian and the composer of over 3,000 songs that defied categorization. A partial list of artists who have covered Dolly include Tina Turner, Hank Williams, Jr., Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Kenny Rogers, Waylon Jennings, Miley Cyrus, Beyonce, Olivia Newton-John, Lil Nas X, Brandi Carlile, Conway Twitty, Rupaul, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, Goldie Hawn, Stella Parton, Chet Atkins, Crystal Gayle, David Byrne and Earl Scruggs. 

But, by far, the biggest rendition was when Whitney Houston—born in Newark—did “I Will Always Love You.” Dolly made ten million dollars from that one cover and used the money, not to enrich herself, but to buy and invest in a commercial property in a predominantly Black section of Nashville that she lovingly called “the house that Whitney built.”

Dolly wrote “I Will Always Love You” in tribute to the man who discovered her, Grand Ole Opry star Porter Wagoner [1927-2007] who would make cruel jokes about her appearance on his television show. In fact, her first single was called “Dumb Blonde.” Far from it, Dolly was an astute business person. When Elvis Presley expressed interest in recording “I Will Always Love You” after the 1975 Linda Ronstadt version, Dolly was thrilled, until Tom Parker, Presley’s manager, demanded half the publishing rights for his artist. Dolly said no.