Dolly Parton Wishes She Could Have Performed With This Late Icon

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Dolly Parton, a legend in her own right, wishes she had the chance to perform with powerhouse singer, Whitney Houston.

In a recent interview on Watch What Happens Live, the country songstress was asked if "there were ever any plans to perform 'I Will Always Love You' with Whitney [Houston]."

Parton responded, "I was never asked to perform that with Whitney," adding, "I wish that could've happened, I would have loved that."

She goes on to admit that Houston would have outperformed her vocally, stating, "But I don't think I could've come up to snuff with her, though. She'd have out-sung me on that one for sure."

Parton originally wrote "I Will Always Love You" in 1973 as a tribute to her mentor and business partner, Porter Wagoner who passed in 2007. The song climbed the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, making its way to No. 1—not once, but twice—in June 1974, and again in October 1982.

The song picked up steam again in 1992 when Houston recorded her own rendition of the tune for her film, The Bodyguard. Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You" took the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart for 14 weeks straight. The song re-entered the charts after her death in February 2012. 

This isn't the first time the "Jolene" singer has praised Houston for covering her hit single. In October 2020, Parton sat down on The Graham Norton Show and spoke about the first time she heard Houston's interpretation of the single, mentioning that she had to "pull off to the side of the road to listen to it."

She goes on to say, "It was one of the most overwhelming feelings I've ever had, to hear that done so well, so beautiful, so big." Parton continued, noting that, "[I] had no idea I'd written a song that could be that important. And I didn't, I think she just took it and made it so much more than what it would have ever been."

Houston also showed her respects to Parton when she spoke with Rolling Stone back in 1993. "I think Dolly Parton is a hell of a writer and a hell of a singer," she said, adding, "I was so concerned when I sang her song how she'd feel about it, in terms of the arrangement, my licks, my flavor. When she said she was floored, that meant so much to me."

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