Here’s How Much Dolly Parton Made From Whitney Houston’s Rendition Of ‘I Will Always Love You’ And Invested Back Into The Community – AfroTech
It would be hard to consider the legacy of the late Dolly Parton without “I Will Always Love You.”
The singer and songwriter, who was born in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, wrote the song in 1973, and it was released the following year as the second single from her 13th solo studio album, “Jolene,” according to Genius. The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Chart twice, thanks to its resurgence on “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” soundtrack in 1982. Parton was also nominated for a Grammy for that re-recorded version — Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.
Parton credited the late Whitney Houston for making the song global. Houston covered the song for the “The Bodyguard” soundtrack, which has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide, according to Biography.
“When Whitney did ‘I Will Always Love You,’ I mean look what a grand song she made out of that simple, heartfelt, you know, song… it was just amazing,” Parton said, per the outlet. “Whitney is the one who took it worldwide and really made it a household word — or song, I should say — so I’ll always be thankful to her for that.”
The song earned Houston three Grammy awards in 1994, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Parton also received millions of dollars in royalties from Houston’s rendition, according to Forbes.
The royalties helped fund a complex in Nashville, TN, to support the nearby Black community.
“I bought my big office complex down in Nashville. So I thought, ‘Well, this is a wonderful place to be,’ “ Parton told People. “I bought a property down in what was the Black area of town, and it was mostly just Black families and people that lived around there. It was off the beaten path from 16th Avenue and I thought, ‘Well, I am gonna buy this place — the whole strip mall.’ And I thought, ‘This is the perfect place for me to be,’ considering it was Whitney.”
She continued, “I thought this was great — I’m just gonna be down here with her people, who are my people as well. So I just love the fact that I spent that money on a complex and I think, ‘This is the house that Whitney built.’”
Supporting communities was a recurring theme for Parton, who also empowered children through her foundation with initiatives such as the Imagination Library, giving children free books to promote literacy, BBC reports. The total books gifted has reached 332.4 million so far, according to the website.
Parton died Aug. 25 at 80 after a short battle with cancer, the Los Angeles Times reported. She was laid to rest on Aug. 28 in a private ceremony, according to KCRA.
