I was in the third grade when my teacher announced that President Kennedy had been shot. I was in the parking lot of an auto parts store in Englewood, Ohio when I heard on the radio that Elvis had died. I will always remember where I was when I learned the sad news that Dolly Parton had died.
The first time I saw Dolly was on The Porter Wagoner Show. For a long time, Wagoner’s female guest artist was Norma Jean. He always introduced her as “the pretty miss Norma Jean”. Then, one Saturday night there was a new guest singer. It was Dolly. Dolly was a young rising star who caught the attention of Wagoner. He knew she was an awesome talent.
The parting song that she wrote for Wagoner became a major hit. “I Will Always Love You” was a phenomenal hit for Parton but then became a mega hit when it was sung by Whitney Houston in the 1992 movie The Bodyguard. Houston’s version of the song has sold over 24 million copies worldwide and has over 800 million downloads on Spotify.
