Kevin Costner will never forget the thankfulness Dolly Parton showed him after the success of The Bodyguard and the iconic cover that was featured within it.
Just in case you aren’t familiar with the story, one of the most successful covers of all time is the Dolly Parton song that Whitney Houston tackled for The Bodyguard. It’s a little tune called “I Will Always Love You.” Ever heard of it? The Queen of Country released it in 1974, and Whitney Houston gave the song a second wind (not that it needed it) in 1992, when the talented vocalist recorded her version for the thriller/romance that she and Costner starred in.
Costner was actually the one to push for Whitney Houston to cover the Dolly Parton hit.
Obviously, that ended up being a spectacular idea. It topped the charts in 34 different countries, and it’s still the best-selling single by a female artist ever.
So when Men’s Journal asked Costner if either of the artists – Dolly or Whitney – thanked him for making that push, the Yellowstone actor revealed that Houston was initially hesitant to record it:
“I don’t recall Whitney thanking me for the song idea. We had a very unique relationship. She didn’t really need to do that. She was so grateful. Listen, she’s one of the greatest that ever did it, and for her to have a song that captured the world’s attention, I was happy for her.
She was a little bit… in the beginning, ‘I don’t know, this little country song, Kev.’ I said, ‘This could work for us.’ I guess when I told her she’d have to sing it a cappella, then she was really going, ‘Oh my God.’
I said, ‘But don’t forget this is for a movie. Don’t be so sure it can’t play on the radio, but for a movie, this is how we’re going to do it.’”
It ended up working quite well on the radio.
As to whether or not Costner ever heard from Dolly Parton about the cover of her hit song, the 71-year-old recalled a unique moment where they crossed paths and the “Jolene” singer expressed gratitude towards him for pushing to have “I Will Always Love You” featured in The Bodyguard.
After all, Parton made millions upon millions of dollars in royalties since she maintained the publishing and writing rights to the song:
“Dolly did take a moment. We ran into each other, and it was a very unique moment. I cannot begin to even tell you what we said to each other, but it was classic. It was warm. It was typical Dolly, and it was really hilariously funny. But she took the moment and time to thank me.
That’s not saying Whitney didn’t thank me. Just, we had so much going on. I mean, my promise to Whitney was she would look good in this film. And that meant everything. That meant I couldn’t give her a silly song. I wanted her to look great. And so now, we’re paired together in a movie forever.”
Costner also took a moment out of the interview to share how much he loved Dolly Parton, and everything that her story represented.
The Oscar-winning actor even said he felt as though he and Dolly had a lot in common, with their career stubbornness (some call it sticktuitiveness) being the main connection point:
“The things that happened were just so really sweet. I mean, this is a classic American success story. Little blonde girl who wants to sing her songs, difficult to operate in a man’s world, music world’s very tough, put her foot down and said she wanted to own her songs.
Dolly and I had a lot in common. A level of stubbornness about what it was we did and who we would do it for, and I really respect her.”
I’ve got a feeling that respect was mutual.
Before you go, feel free to fire up both versions of the song that will undoubtedly stand the test of time:
“I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston
