Dolly Parton Reveals Elvis Sang Her Hit ‘I Will Always Love You’ To Priscilla As They Got Divorced
15.09.2023 - 16:21
/ etcanada.com
Dolly Parton’s classic hit “I Will Always Love You” became a huge smash for Whitney Houston, but in a new interview with BBC2 radio she revealed the song’s history with another singer who is arguably even more iconic: Elvis Presley.
According to Parton, after Presley’s divorce from wife Priscilla Presley had been finalized, as the exes were walking down the steps of the courthouse, he sang the song to her.
In fact, she revealed, Presley loved the song so much that he was eager to record it — until his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, stepped in and kiboshed that plan.
“See, Elvis loved the song,” Parton explained.
READ MORE: Dolly Parton Hopes Lisa Marie Presley Is Up There ‘Being Happy’ With Dad Elvis (Exclusive)
“In fact, I talked to Priscilla not very long ago. She said, ‘You know, Elvis sang that song to me when we were walking down the courthouse steps when we got divorced,'” she continued.
“He loved the song, wanted to do it, had it worked up, they’d already called me to come down to the studio to meet him, and to be part and hear the song,” she added.
“And the night before, Colonel Tom Parker calls me and says, “Well, you know we don’t record anything with Elvis unless we have publishing on it, or at least half the publishing,” Parton explained.
READ MORE: Dolly Parton Turned Down Elvis Presley’s Request To Cover ‘I Will Always Love You’
‘Well, I said, because I had a No. 1 song on it, I said, ‘This is the most important copyright in my whole publishing company, and I can’t do that,'” she recalled.
Parker refused to budge, and so did Parton; as a result, she said that Presley was “heartbroken” that he wasn’t able to record his own version of it.
In her upcoming Rockstar album, Parton offers a tribute to