Dolly Parton Used Royalties From ‘I Will Always Love You’ To Support Black Neighborhood: This Is The House That Whitney Houston Built

Dolly Parton Used Royalties From ‘I Will Always Love You’ To Support Black Neighborhood: This Is The House That Whitney Houston Built

“I Will Always Love You” is one of Dolly Parton’s biggest hits, that was later covered by iconic singer Whitney Houston. 

Dolly Parton said she had the late songstress in mind when she used a portion of the money she made from the classic song to support a Black community.

Dolly Parton penned the song in 1973 about her ex Porter Wagoner. Whitney Houston released her own version in 1992, which was featured on The Bodyguard. Parton reportedly made $10 million off the classic.

While on Watch What Happes Live Thursday (July 29th), host Andy Cohen asked Parton about the best thing she purchased from the royalties she earned. She explained,

“I bought my big office complex down in Nashville. So I thought, ‘Well, this is a wonderful place to be.'”

She added that she also purchased property in a Black community.

“I bought a property down in what was the Black area of town, and it was mostly just Black families and people that lived around there. It was off the beaten path from 16th Avenue and I thought, ‘Well, I am gonna buy this place — the whole strip mall.’ And I thought, ‘This is the perfect place for me to be,’ considering it was Whitney.”

She continued and said,

“I thought this was great — I’m just gonna be down here with her people, who are my people as well. So I just love the fact that I spent that money on a complex and I think, ‘This is the house that Whitney built.'”

The song won a Grammy Award in 1994 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It marked her 10th #1 hit as it spent 14 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, at that time breaking a new record.

What are your thoughts on Dolly Parton using some of the royalties to support a black neighborhood? Comment and let us know.