Dolly Parton Reveals Why She Told Elvis Presley He Couldn't Record a Cover of 'I Will Always Love You'

“I Will Always Love You” is famously associated with Whitney Houston, but it was actually written and performed by Dolly Parton first.

It was also almost covered by Elvis Presley. However, the “Jolene” country icon turned the King of Rock down at the last moment.

She explained why in a recent interview.

Read more about what happened with Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley…

Speaking with BBC2, Dolly confirmed that Elvis had a special connection to the song and had even sang it to his ex Priscilla Presley after they got divorced.

In fact, at one point, Elvis had prepared a cover that he wanted to release.

“He loved the song, wanted to do it, had it worked up,” Dolly recalled. “They’d already called me to come down to the studio to meet him and hear the song.”

What happened? Elvis‘ manager stepped in and made a demand that she could not agree to. “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,’” she said.

Dolly couldn’t agree and explained that the chart topper was “the most important copyright in my whole publishing company.”

She was “heartbroken” but emphasized that she didn’t tell Elvis he couldn’t cover the song. “I wouldn’t let Colonel Tom Parker,” she stressed.

If you were unaware, Dolly recently released a duet with two other musical legends. She also addressed her retirement plans.

Press play on Dolly Parton’s interview segment below…