Dolly Parton has inspired a lot of artists and is loved by many because of her saint-like reputation. So enthusiasts have been rather stunned when she printed that she once rejected a creative request from the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. Here's what actually happened between them.
Inside Dolly Parton & Elvis Presley's Relationship
A yr after Presley's tragic demise in 1977, Parton stated that she could relate to the Hound Dog performer. "I always felt that we were kin," she instructed Playboy, per the guide Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton.
"I feel like I know exactly how he was. Every time he'd come in town, even if I was home, I just wouldn't go, somethin' always kept me from goin'. There were other people I liked to hear sing better, but there was nobody that I ever related to more."
In the similar interview, the Jolene hitmaker reflected on how the singer-turned-movie star had become an icon. "He was very loving, very emotional, very sensitive, very giving, very humble, thankful, grateful," she explained. "I always felt that he was totally in awe of his own success and he didn't quite understand why he had been so chosen and why he was such an idol."
Both Parton and Presley struggled with cash sooner than fame. The latter grew up in public housing or low-rent properties within the deficient areas of North Memphis. His father, Vernon also labored strange jobs and used to be sentenced to three years in jail for forging a $4 test. The "cursed" legend once advised Life Mag of his rags-to-riches tale:
"I don't regard money or position as important. But I can never forget the longing to be someone. I guess if you are poor, you always think bigger and want more than those who have everything when they are born."
Dolly Parton Refused To Let Elvis Presley Cover 'I Will Always Love You'
Presley if truth be told sang Parton's 1974 hit, I Will Always Love You to his ex-wife Priscilla whilst they have been leaving their divorce courtroom. In The Big Issue's Letter To My Younger Self, the Grace & Frankie guest star shared: "Priscilla told me later that he sang that song to her when they were coming down the steps of the courthouse after they divorced. That really touched me."
So it was once no marvel when Presley reached out to Parton, asking if he could quilt the tune. The 9 to five alum mentioned she was "so excited" about it that she in an instant broke the inside track to her buddies. "I told everybody. They had called me [to tell me] that Elvis was recording it. Elvis wanted to meet me and all that."
Unfortunately, when Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker referred to as her to discuss the phrases of the collaboration, they failed to achieve an settlement. "You know, we don't record anything with Elvis unless we have the publishing, or at least half the publishing," Parton recalled on Living and Learning with Reba McEntire.
"Well, that throws a new light on this because I can't give you half the publishing. I'm gonna leave that to my family. I can't do that," she persevered, noting that she "cried" over the subject. "I cried all night. Oh, I just pictured Elvis, like, singing it. And I know that Elvis loved it. And I know it wasn't him, but it's true. I said no."
Dolly Parton On Whitney Houston's Cover Of 'I Will Always Love You'
About twenty years after turning down Presley's request, Whitney Houston recorded a chart-topping rendition of I Will Always Love You. When Parton first heard it at the radio, she virtually didn't acknowledge the song. At that time, most effective knew that Kevin Costner wanted to use the music for their 1992 film, The Bodyguard. "I knew it was something, but it didn't register," she later told SiriusXM.
"I thought 'What is that? I know what that is.' And then all of a sudden she starts that … when she goes into the 'I will always love you' part, honest-to-goodness, I almost wrecked. I had to pull over."
Dolly Parton added that she'd never fail to remember that second. "I was afraid because I was so caught up in that by then that I had to pull over and listen to it," she remembered. "But it was the most overwhelming feeling that little song mine could be done so beautifully, so big, so overwhelming, that it really almost just heart attack right there; I'll never forget it."
When asked what she felt about Houston making it a bigger hit than she did, Parton jokingly mentioned that she's fantastic with it as long as she gets her royalty checks.
In 2021, she used all that money to strengthen a Black neighborhood in Nashville. "It was off the beaten path from 16th Avenue," she said. "And I thought, 'Well, I am going to buy this place, the whole strip mall.' And thought, 'This is the perfect place for me to be,' considering it was Whitney."
Parton added stated that she "would've loved" appearing a duet with Houston. She quipped:
"I would've loved that, but I don't think I could come up to snuff with her though. She would've outsung me on that one for sure."
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