Dolly has written thousands of songs, yes, thousands, and besides having her own huge recording career, she's had her own TV shows, starred in movies, and she owns her own theme park Dollywood in the Great Smoky Mountains, but she truly is a humble, giving human being. She started a children's book charity which has given away over a million books and credits her own father's illiteracy as a reason for wanting help less fortunate children learn to read and she even gave a million dollars to Covid vaccine research, along with a lot of direct cash payments to wild fire victims in Tennessee where she grew up. She was born into poverty but has made her life's mission to not only entertain others, but to help others through charitable works. You just have to love Dolly.
Dolly got her song to No.1 THREE TIMES! Dolly also loved Whitney's cover - totally different to Dolly's sweet, soft sentiment which I prefer (the 1974 version). However, she said "When I wrote the song, I went to the bank and opened my first checking account. When Whitney covered the song I went down and BOUGHT the bank!"🤣
When Dolly sings this song, you feel like she's singing it to you! When Whitney Houston sung it, it sounds like she was singing to the whole world! Both versions are great in their own way!
Whitney Houston was given this song to sing in the movie “The Bodyguard”, which she starred in with Kevin Costner. A few others have covered it over the years. But even though it is assumed to be Whitney’s song, those of us who have heard Dolly sing it know it will always only be Dolly’s song. She has the emotional connection to it that no one else can ever match.
Years ago, Elvis wanted to record this song. On the day of the recording Tom Parker (manager of Elvis) called and demanded half the publishing rights and Dolly simply said NO. Dolly knew this song was a hit and years later when Whitney recorded the song Dolly bought the bank, earning around 8 million. Dolly is not just an amazing singer/songwriter she's a savy business woman.
Dolly is amazing. She kept the publishing rights to the song. She made lots of $$$ from Whitney covering it and taking that song worldwide. Check out Dolly's response about Elvis Presley wanting to cover the same song.
@@Lamm139You are so right! Tom Parker held Elvis back in so many ways. Barbra Streisand wanted Elvis to play opposite her in her 70s version of "A Star Is Born", but once again, Parker wanted too much. But, as greedy as he was, I think Norman Petty was worse.
When Dolly sings this song, it takes on a whole different meaning than when Whitney sings it. That’s what I love the most about the two different versions.
Dolly always joked, "Whitney can have the credit, as long as I get the check." The version of her singing it on the Porter Wagoner show is epic. Dolly in her vocal prime. It's the clip on RU-vid with her in a red dress. Porter was always bitter about her leaving but fortunately they reconciled before his death. She bought his music catalog when he was down on his luck and then later gave it back to him as a gift. When he was dying, she held his hand and sang to him. Dolly had already taken this song to number 1 in both the 1970's and 1980s before Whitney took it to number 1 in the 1990's.
Great reaction! Try Dolly's "Coat of Many Colors" or "Jolene" for songs she wrote and sang and another fun one is "9 to 5" used for the movie of the same name from 1980
As a life long Dolly Fan (I recently turned 60) it is a beautiful thing watch your reaction to this Living Legend, with her Talent, her Beauty and her Angelic voice. I would encourage you to dig deeper into Dolly's archive both her performances, and her songwriting. For me, she has always and continues to be one of the best songwriters and performers of our time. She is truly an American treasure, but she belongs to the world. I want to say thanks again for discovering what us older Dolly fans have known for many many years. Her sweetness, her kindness, her beautiful spirit, her endless talent and her unforgettable voice.
Dolly heard Whitney's version of her song driving down the road. She had to pull over to listen to it all. She said it was phenomenal and she was on cloud 9 that this little song that she wrote for her friend was so big. She always jokes that she loved it more because every time Whitney would sing it she'd make a fortune. Dolly used most of the Royalties she got from that song to help out the black community in Whitney's hometown. When he was at his peak of fame, Elvis was supposed to sing this song but Elvis's manager wanted him to get half the publishing credits for the song before he'd perform it and Dolly refused. She said that she couldn't part with it. Something in her gut was telling her not to let it go and she wanted to have it to pass down to her family. She said she was devastated that it didn't work out because she though Elvis would absolutely kill it. But her gut was right because it turned out to be her biggest hit, by far, and her biggest money maker. Listen to her song Coat of Many Colors and it will give you an idea of how she grew up.
Actually it was already her biggest hit at that point. That was also part of her turning it down she said why give away publishing rights on a song that is already a hit.
When you know the back story from Dolly …. 😭😭😭😭😭😭 BEAUTIFUL!! Thank you so much JORDONGK for doing this & giving kudos to her majesty!! Love your reactions!! 👏👏👏💖💖💖
I liked Whiteney's version too but by far the best is the original Dolly. I absolutely love her voice. Linda Ronstadt also did a version on her Prisoner in Disguise album.
I've seen the video of Dolly performing the song on Porter Wagoner's show (the one where she's wearing the red dress and Porter comes and sits next to her at the end) many times. First time seeing this one. Dolly puts a little different inflection on this one, but it's still great. Dolly had a #1 with it twice about 10 years apart. The second time due to the sound track of a movie she starred in with Burt Reynolds. Elvis wanted to record the song, but his manager, Col. Parker, demanded publishing rights. Dolly refused. Pretty gutsy call. An Elvis recording was a sure thing at the time, but Dolly wasn't giving up her rights. Whitney's cover, also a movie sound track, was an international hit. Dolly has joked about going to the bank twice with "I Will Always Love You" and buying the bank on Whitney's cover. Singer, songwriter, entertainer, actress, business woman, philanthropist - there's more to Dolly than meets the eye. And that's saying a lot. ; )
*That is the only song that went to No1 for 2 artist 2 times each. But Dolly will end up to the top with it going to No1 if she passes away for sure....because its her original song.*
Dolly’s original is more intimate and sad. She wanted Patti LaBelle to record it but it never happened. When the Bodyguard was in production the producer were unable to get the rights to the song What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?”. Somebody suggested Dolly’s song.
She wrote and sang/recorded I Will Always Love You in 1973 or 1974. Whitney covered it for the movie The Bodyguard. IWALY was a Dolly original. I love her version better cause it's mellow and full of real emotions. Whitney made it her own but it's somehow commercialized.
Dolly is first and foremost a song writer (she had written over 3,000 songs by 1979, who knows her current total). She has many hits by male and female artists in almost every genre. Selling songs is what she does. To her it was no different when Whitney Houston wanted to record this song. Just a few more million in royalties
Whitney sang this song to showcase her beautiful voice. Dolly sang it to express deep emotion and the concern she felt for a friend that she was leaving behind. I prefer Dolly's version. Whitney did a great job but why wouldn't Dolly have the better version? After all, she wrote it, so she knows the heart and soul behind every word. BTW, the love that Dolly said she had for Porter was platonic love. She was and is very happily married and has been with her husband now for over 50 years. I would love to see you react to her "Coat of Many Colors" that she wrote about a coat her mother made for her when she was a child. Beautiful song!
Here's the story of "I Will Always Love You" on Comedy Central's 'Drunk History' ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mK40qogSdFI.html&si=jFTi6QQJBNIvM0UH
If I’m not mistaken, I believe I saw were Dolly told Whitney that this song was now hers. They each had their own take on the song and I think Whitney killed it!
If you want to see her original version from 1974 and the man she wrote it about check this out ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rGs1soJT9gE.html