Dolly Parton Says Why Elvis Presley Never Recorded 'I Will Always Love You'

While Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" has found immense success, especially as it's now synonymous with Whitney Houston's cover, the track nearly had an entirely different life – with Elvis Presley. Now, speaking in an interview with W magazine, Parton is revealing why Presley never wound up recording the song.

Parton initially wrote and recorded the track in 1973 as a goodbye song to her former mentor, Porter Wagoner. Then, Presley's people approached her about him recording the song. And while Parton wanted to say yes, she had to turn them down after they asked for half of her publishing rights.

"I said, 'I'm sorry, but I can't give you the publishing,'" Parton told W in her interview. "I wanted to hear Elvis sing it, and it broke my heart – I cried all night. But I had to keep that copyright in my pocket. You have to take care of your business!"

She made sure to nail the point in, adding, "Everybody's going to use you if they can. These are my songs – they're like my children. And I expect them to support me when I'm old."

Parton's own version of "I Will Always Love You" saw incredible success for the artist, with her first 1974 release and 1982 re-recording both going on to reach No. 1 in the charts. Whitney Houston went on to record a cover of the song for the 1992 film, The Bodyguard, with Houston's cover becoming one of the best-selling singles to be recorded by a woman in music history.

While Presley never recorded the track, it still carried a lot of meaning for him. Parton went on to reveal that Priscilla Presley once told her Elvis had sung her the song as they got divorced in 1973.

""Priscilla, Elvis' wife, told me that when she and Elvis divorced, Elvis sang my song to her," Parton said. "That touched me so deeply. And they also played the song at Whitney Houston's funeral. After that, I thought, I bet they'll play the same song when I go."