Dolly shared how Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom Parker had quite the demand for the track.
Speaking previously on Living and Learning with Reba McEntire, Dolly said: “It didn’t have anything to do with Elvis. I loved Elvis. It was Colonel Tom Parker, his manager, who was brilliant. You can’t take that way from people. He did all right by him.”
However, the country star was reluctant to give away her own song like that. She said: “But, I already had a No. 1 song, I Will Always Love You. That was the most important copyright I had in my publishing company. So I was so excited, I told everybody. They had called me that Elvis was recording it, and if I wanted to come to the studio. Elvis wanted to meet me and all that.”
That evening, before the session, Colonel Tom Parker called her up. Elvis’ manager said to Dolly: “You know, we don’t record anything with Elvis unless we have the publishing, or at least half the publishing.”
READ MORE: Priscilla Presley slams claim she gave away Elvis’ possessions