‘I Will Always Love You’

A Reason To Smile

Credit: Getty Images

People often ask me who has been my favorite interview subject. In my 70-plus years as a journalist, I have been very fortunate to have spoken with hundreds of fascinating newsmakers. I can honestly say Dolly Parton, whom I have had the privilege of interviewing many times, is hands down my favorite. And any day that includes Dolly Parton’s music immediately is a better day and always a reason to smile.

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Parton’s ballad “I Will Always Love You.” Some of you might not be aware that she wrote the mega-hit that Whitney Houston took to number one on the pop charts for 14 weeks. Parton released a version in 1974, which went to number one on the country charts. The original, tender and heartfelt, was a goodbye to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner as she embarked on a solo career.

Parton wrote the song the same day she wrote another huge hit, “Jolene.” Not a bad day at the office. A year later Elvis Presley asked to record “I Will Always Love You.” 

“You cannot imagine how excited I am about this,” she told Presley. “This is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me as a songwriter.”

You might wonder why you’ve never heard Elvis’ version. Well, the night before he was set to record the song, Parton got a call saying Elvis wouldn’t do it unless she gave him half of the songwriting rights. “I said, ‘I can’t do that,’” Parton told Howard Stern. “Of course, I cried all night about that.”

Turns out she made the right decision. In 1992, Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner made the movie “The Bodyguard.” “I Will Always Love You” was its chart-busting theme song. 

When Parton heard Houston’s version for the first time, she was driving home. She said she had to pull over so she didn’t crash her car. As a tribute to Houston, who died in 2012, Parton invested some of the $10 million she has made in royalties into a Black neighborhood in Nashville. Yet another reason to smile.

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