When Dolly Parton composed and recorded a song in 1974 about her split from, and feelings for, her former partner Porter Wagoner, she was approached by Elvis Presley’s manager, Col. Tom Parker. Elvis would like to record her song, he told Dolly.

An Elvis Presley recording of any songwriter’s material would almost certainly propel that song into the charts and generate royalties for the writer. Earning “mailbox money,” income that an artist does not have to work for by going on the road or by doing heavy promotional tours, is something any songwriter aspires to. Not that Dolly needed help getting her song into the charts. Dolly’s recording was already on its way to the top of the country music chart for the first of two times. Still, the prospect of one of the most iconic American singers of the 20th century taking a stab at her song must have been enticing.

There’s one catch, though. Publishing rights are where the mailbox money is at in the music business, and Col. Tom Parker informed Dolly that Elvis takes half the publishing of any song he records. A bird in hand is better than two in the bush, right?

Not for Dolly Parton. She instructed Parker to tell Elvis that Dolly Parton keeps 100% of the publishing rights to all of her songs. So, essentially, “thanks, but no thanks.”

Elvis did not record “I Will Always Love You”.

But Whitney Houston did, nearly 20 years later in 1992, for a film she starred in called The Bodyguard. Houston’s version from the soundtrack spent 14 weeks at the top of the Pop Singles chart in the US, and became one of the best-selling singles of all time. And Dolly Parton kept 100% of the publishing and royalties.

WUMB will celebrate on of the most important songwriters of the past 60 years, Dolly Parton, on her 77th birthday throughout the day on Thursday, January 19th. Tune in to the Artist of the Day features in the 9 AM, noon, 3 PM, and 7 PM hours.