Dolly Parton has told the story of how Elvis Presley once tried to take her copyright for ‘I Will Only Love You’.
On the M&J Morning Show, Dolly told how Elvis was going to record her now classic but on the morning of the sessions she got a bizarre call from Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom Parker. “He said you know Elvis doesn’t record anything unless he has the copyright,” Dolly said. “It broke my heart”.It was also another lesson about the ridiculous antics of the music industry. Often when you see a songwriting credit, the listed songwriters may have had nothing to do with the song at all. It is a tactic to make more money off the talents of the songwriter. It is common with a lesser-known songwriter trying to get a song recorded by a better-known artist.
Dolly was already a big star at that time but not as big as Elvis. She originally released the song in 1973 on her ‘Jolene’ album. ‘I Will Always Love You’ was the second single from ‘Jolene’ and went on to become a number one country hit.
Saying “no” to Elvis was a good move. In 1992, Whitney Houston recorded the song but didn’t try and steal her copyright. Houston’s version became one of the biggest selling singles of all time.
