Dolly Parton Wrote “I Will Always Love You” as a Farewell, Not a Love Song

Dolly Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” in the mid-1970s, but not as the romantic statement its title suggests. The song first appeared on her 1974 album Jolene and reached No. 1 on the US Hot Country Songs chart. Its origins were more specific: a farewell to Porter Wagoner, the country singer whose syndicated television show gave Parton a regular platform starting in 1967.

After seven years of performing together, Parton wanted to leave and focus on her solo career. The professional relationship had been tense. As she told The Bobby Bones Show, she went home and wrote the song after Wagoner refused to listen. The next morning she sang it for him. He cried, then allowed her to go—on the condition that he could produce the record.

The song later created a different kind of tension. Elvis Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, approached Parton about Presley recording it, with the usual demand for half the publishing. Parton refused and, by her account, cried all night. She kept the copyright.

Whitney Houston’s 1992 version for The Bodyguard soundtrack spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Parton later credited Houston with turning the song into a global hit, but the decision that protected its value was made long before.