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[Song of the Day] I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton (www.youtube.com)
submitted 2 weeks ago by [M] to c/Music@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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After yesterday's news that Dolly Parton passed away at the age of 80, I think a lot of people are coming out of the woodwork and claiming to be fans. I won't be one of them. I never cared much for her music — classic country just isn't my jam, and I can only be honest about music and what it means to me.

That being said, even as one who is not religious, I don't think it's up for debate that Dolly Parton lived the life of a saint. I'm not saying she didn't make mistakes (though I do not know of any), I'm just saying, that like Fred Rogers and others like that, she was more of a net positive on the world and left it better than she found it. So that alone is worth a tribute in a music comm. I would welcome others to comment or post the songs by her that they enjoyed if they wish to do so, but I'm not a fan. Just my personal opinion. I just like other types of music.

As far as the deep stories... I don't really have any personal experiences here. What I do know is that she was Miley Cyrus's godmother, and the two of them have performed together, and that was probably awesome for both of them. I'm sure, as a world renowned musician, she had an appreciation for music outside of her genre. I also know she had a book club, where if your child requested books and, I think you had to make under a certain amount a year, and live in the United States, and I think it was only certain states... her organisation would send your child a book once a year, or something like that. I saw it posted about. Never looked into it.

I also know that Dolly Parton was nominated for the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. She politely declined the nomination because the RnRHoF has shunned many popular bands for some reason or another, and because she has never been a rock musician. They ignored her decline and inducted her anyway. So, she made a rock album. It's mostly covers. They're mostly decent. Literally no one asked for a Dolly Parton rock album, and yet it exists.

I'm here for the song she wrote for Whitney Houston, that was featured in her film The Bodyguard, which I watched because Kevin Costner was in it, and because he was awesome in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Field of Dreams, and Dances With Wolves. I bought that soundtrack — it was my first or second compact disc album, the other being Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell — and listened to it religiously. I later found out that Dolly Parton wrote the first song on it. So, respect for that. And for a life well lived. But I'm not gonna lie to you and say I always was a fan of her music. I wasn't. Still, rest in peace.

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[–] 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 child)

I really dig your opening paragraph. Mad respect for the self honesty there

Edit: though you have a misconception.

This song wasn't written for Whitney Houston. Dolly wrote it when she was stepping out on her own as a musician after working for/with Porter Wagoner. If she wrote it for anyone, it was for him, and it was a long time before The Bodyguard

Iirc, it was Kevin Costner that advocated for I will always love you, but don't trust my memory enough to quote that as fact. Coulda been someone else involved with the movie. But they needed something special for the movie, and IWALY was what they went with.

Dolly later said that it became Whitney's song though. Or something similar, signifying that she loved her version and didn't mind it being the better known one once it hit. I think that's why some folks get the idea she wrote it for Whitney.

Dolly gets a lot of deserved love for her singing, and plenty for her songwriting. But she definitely stands up with the best songwriters of her generation and doesn't get quite the degree of recognition for it that I think she should. I put her right up there with Kristofferson, Prine and that sort. Folks that can make musical poetry that transcends genre.

Sorry. I'm a tad emotional about her going.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 week ago

    Yeah, I read that later. That was always my misconception, that she wrote the song for Whitney Houston, but you're right, I read later yesterday that it was written years before and for whom. He was her manager? Something like that.

    What I read went on to say that Dolly took the royalties she got from Whitney Houston covering her song and built some kind of social building in a Black neighborhood and called it the house Whitney built.

    I definitely went and read more about her throughout the day.

    For further clarification... what I post isn't fiction, but it's also not necessarily concrete fact. I could source everything I say, but when I share music, I'm sharing stories with it that I've heard or cultivated over the years. They may not be 100% accurate, but it's the stories that I associated with the music and they became part of the music. Some may say that's bullshit, but I think it's more like "don't let facts get in the way of a good story." The story may not be "good" to someone who knows the facts, but I only say it's "good" because the music is. If that makes any sense. I suppose, in other words, when it comes to the music, the objective facts matter less than the feelings behind them — however, I will never begrudge someone for setting the record straight. In fact, I appreciate it.

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