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Dolly Parton Sang “I Will Always Love You” A Cappella for Toby Keith
One country legend honored another during NBC's Toby Keith: American Icon special.
Dolly Parton has a simple, powerful message for her late friend, Toby Keith: She will always love him.
The "Jolene" singer recorded a video message for Keith as part of NBC's special Toby Keith: American Icon, a night celebrating the country legend, who died of cancer earlier this year. Read on to find out what she said, and what she sang.
Dolly Parton's song for Toby Keith
In a white and gold outfit, Parton told the camera during NBC's special, "They always called Merle Haggard the poet of the common man. Well, I believe Toby picked up that title from Merle for the next generation." She added, "Toby, just know that we will always love you," trilling the final few words to the tune of her well-known song "I Will Always Love You" a cappella.
Keith and Parton knew each other over many years. In 2019, Parton, Toby Keith and his wife Tricia Keith posed together backstage at the Opry. When the "Should've Been a Cowboy" singer died, Parton posted a statement to Instagram reading, "It’s always hard when we lose our brothers and sisters in country music. Toby Keith was one of the greats in every way. He will be missed, but his music and legacy will live on."
What to know about "I Will Always Love You"
Already an established musician, Parton recalled writing the tearful, heartbreaking "I Will Always Love You" on either the same day or week that she wrote the pleading, wry "Jolene." "I really wrote them within the same period of time, either that week, and since I write all the time, something almost every day, I've always kind of believed that they very well could have been on the same day that I wrote them, because they were back to back on the cassette," she told Virgin Radio U.K.
RELATED: The Amazing Story Behind "Jolene," Dolly Parton's Legendary Song: "I Was Jealous"
The song is an unusual breakup ballad. In the verses, the singer says that she has to leave, though the chorus makes it clear that it's not because of a lack of love. Parton was inspired to write the song when she parted ways with her former mentor and collaborator Porter Wagoner, who was instrumental in helping her early success when he brought her onto his show.
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Upon its release, "I Will Always Love You" was popular in the country world and among Parton's established fanbase. But it became a mega-hit 20 years later when Whitney Houston lent her powerful vocals to the song, recording a cover for her movie The Bodyguard. While Parton used her voice for emotionality and plaintive wistfulness, Houston's full-force belting took the track to a new level, hitting number-one around the globe.
