Why Dolly Parton ‘broke her own heart’ by refusing to work with Elvis Presley

17 June 2025, 14:23

Dolly was going to collaborate with the ‘Jailhouse Rock’ star in the mid-70s.

Dolly Parton broke her own heart when she refused to let Elvis Presley cover one of her most popular songs in the mid-1970s.

The ‘9 to 5’ artist was asked by the King of Rock and Roll if he could cover her 1973 hit ‘I Will Always Love You’.

• Dolly Parton talks 'big adjustment' of life without husband Carl Dean
• When Dolly Parton did an exquisite impression of Elvis Presley as a woman
• Unreleased Elvis Presley footage teased in first trailer for new Elvis docu-film – watch

As a huge fan of Elvis, Dolly – who was then in her late-20s – was honoured to learn that Elvis loved her song and wanted to cover it.

But as Dolly has since explained in several past interviews, a phone call from Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom Parker soured proceedings.

Dolly Parton on Elvis recording 'I Will Always Love You'

“[He] calls me the day before and says ‘Now you do know that Elvis is recording your song, and you do know that Elvis don’t record anything that he don’t publish or at least get half the publishing on?’” she recalled in a 2014 interview with US TV's Dan Rather.

This meant that if Elvis was to record ‘I Will Always Love You’, she would have to say goodbye to at least half – and perhaps all – of her rights to the song.

• Cher reveals why she turned down a date with Elvis Presley
• Dolly Parton releases beautiful tribute song to late husband Carl Dean – listen
• How Dolly Parton was inspired by Whitney Houston when she spent ‘I Will Always Love You’ royalties

Ever the savvy businesswoman, Dolly refused: ‘I said: ‘I can’t do that. This song’s already been a hit with me... this is going to be one of my most important copyrights.”

This led to Colonel Tom announcing Elvis would be unable to cover her song, and as a result, the recording never happened.

Dolly Parton's Emotional Interview with Dan Rather

“I was just heartbroken,” Dolly admits today, but she still stands by her reasoning for making the heartbreaking decision.

“It hurt me because I was so disappointed that I was going to have to tell my friends that Elvis didn’t record the song, but I just knew that [what was being asked] was not right... I couldn’t give somebody half of a song that had already been number one,” she explained.

Dolly doesn’t blame Elvis or his manager for what happened, but is just happy she stood up for her rights to the track.

The song was of course eventually famously covered by Whitney Houston, and Dolly kept her rights as its writer.

Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (Official 4K Video)

It’s clear the country icon would have liked to work something out with Elvis though, and regrets not managing to before his death in 1977.

Speaking with The Big Issue about their almost-working relationship, she revealed that if she could have one “last conversation” with anyone in history, it’d be Elvis.

“I’d probably talk about 'I Will Always Love You',” she said: “And say ‘Hey, I bet you were as disappointed as I was about all that and I still dream about you singing that song’... I’d like to clear that up with him.”