Dolly Parton didn’t let Elvis record ‘I Will Always Love You’ — here’s why

nypost.com:

Dolly Parton will always love Elvis Presley.In a recent interview with BBC Radio 1, Parton revealed she would have loved for Presley to have recorded her song, “I Will Always Love You.” However, his manager Colonel Tom Parker’s request made it impossible.

She explained everything was prepared to have Presley record the song, but the night before, Parker told Parton he doesn’t allow Presley to record anything without “at least half the publishing [rights].”“This is the most important copyright in my whole publishing company, and I can’t do that,” Parton told Parker.She said she was “heartbroken” the deal fell through because she really wanted to hear the rock star sing the song and knew how much he loved it.“See, Elvis loved the song.

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,’” Parton revealed.Years later, Whitney Houston recorded a cover of the hit song as part of the soundtrack for the film “The Bodyguard.” Parton told Kelly Clarkson on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” in December 2022 she “freaked out” when she first heard the cover on the radio and had to pull over, saying “it was the most overwhelming feeling.”While Parton never got to hear Presley sing the song, she got the next best thing when Ronnie McDowell agreed to duet with her on her upcoming album.“But I wrote a song, 20 some years ago, had the Jordanaires.

I wrote a song called ‘I Dreamed About Elvis.’ It’s in this album,” she said of her “Rockstar” album. “I had Ronnie McDowell, who, he actually used to work on the road with Elvis, but he sounds just like him.