Dolly wrote the song as a way of saying goodbye to her singing partner, Porter Wagoner, and released it on her 1974 album "Jolene" (the last of her albums that Wagoner produced). The song's first appearance in a film was 1974's "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (which later spawned the popular sitcom "Alice"), where it played in the background of one scene. The song caught the attention of Elvis Presley, who wanted to record it. Unfortunately, he also wanted the rights to the song -- which Dolly refused to hand over -- so Presley never got a chance to sing it.
Dolly penned several new songs for "Whorehouse" to compensate for the storyline so drastically differing from the original play ("Sneakin' Around," "Down at the Chicken Ranch" which is heard in the trailer, and "Where Stallions Run," which is only seen in TV prints) and decided to include it in the film. Both her 1974 and 1982 recordings were #1 hits on the country charts but barely blipped on the pop charts. The song remained Dolly's signature and she closed each episode of her 1987-88 self-titled variety show on ABC with it.
Whitney then made it a ginormous hit in "The Bodyguard." This caused tabloids to concoct an imaginary rivalry between the two stars. Dolly's always quick to praise Houston and note she got a lot of residual money off it.
Dolly re-recorded it in 1995 as a duet with Vince Gill for her "Something Special" album, and this version also made the country charts (albeit not #1). The same year, it was also used in her "Heartsong" film which screens exclusively at a "living" theatre in Dollywood. The song went back to film in "Moulin Rouge" and "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (both versions modeled after Houston's interpretation of the song) and has been crooned and spoofed endlessly on TV. Then in 2008 Dolly re-recorded it once again, and released it as an i-tunes bonus track with her album "Backwoods Barbie."
And after writing all of that, I've realized I'm just a walking encyclopedia of useless information....
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filmbuff1974
15 years ago
"And after writing all of that, I've realized I'm just a walking encyclopedia of useless information.... "--VinnieRattolle
NO! That is NOT useless information. That was just awesome trivia. I had no idea just how much history that song had. Thanks for posting it!
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VinnieRattolle
15 years ago
No prob. I've nothing against Houston, but I've never liked her version and it really bugs me when people try to give her sole credit for the song. But no one rips off Dolly Parton more than... Dolly Parton.
More useless trivia: I mentioned she wrote "Where Stallions Run" for the film -- it was a ballad Burt Reynolds sang that was cut from the film which later surfaced in TV prints. Dolly recorded the song with slightly different lyrics ("Stallions" was specifically written to be sung by a man) and released it under the title "A Cowboy's Ways" on her 1983 album "Burlap & Satin." The album flopped. Apparently determined to make a hit out of it, Dolly scrapped all of the original lyrics and recorded it yet again in 1984 under the title "God Won't Get You," which appeared on the soundtrack for "Rhinestone" (and this version later resurfaced on some greatest hits albums).
Similarly, the song "More Than I Can Say" from her 1987 pop flop "Rainbow" was completely rewritten and became the title tune for her 1996 TV-movie "Unlikely Angel." Her 1976 album "New Harvest, First Gathering" featured the song "Light of a Clear Blue Morning," which was written about starting a new life after Porter Wagoner. In 1992, she re-recorded it and used it the anthem for her film "Straight Talk" (which found her character leaving her husband and starting a new life as a talk radio host).
Those are all the movie songs I can think of off the top of my head (not counting "9 to 5" -- she recorded a shorter rendition for the theme song of the sitcom that starred her sister Rachel), but there's dozens of others in her repertoire that she's revised, revamped and re-recorded. Can't think of another artist who's done that -- at least not with such frequency.
And it's knowing all of this kind of crap which extends far beyond Dolly Parton -- and being able to spout it off with 99.999% accuracy without double-checking -- that makes me a walking encyclopedia of useless information... er... trivia.
http://vinnierattolle.blogspot.com/
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filmbuff1974
15 years ago
"But no one rips off Dolly Parton more than... Dolly Parton."-- VinnieRattolle
Actually, your post describes a very savvy business women. Each individual song is a separate product and she markets them again and again. She does this by repackaging them in different films and albums and in the case of Whitney Houston, she "franchised" the song. It's no wonder that Dolly Parton is such a successful and wealthy songstress. This new generation of recording "artists" can't hold a candle to Dolly Parton or her generation!
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