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Country icon Dolly Parton shared an unexpected tidbit about one of her favorite investments during an episode of Watch What Happens Live–and it surprisingly involves the legendary queen of R&B Whitney Houston.
Parton opened up to Andy Cohen about how she used the coins she collected in songwriting royalties from Whitney to give back to Black families in Nashville.
“I bought a property in what was the Black area of town and it was mostly just Black families and people that lived around there and it was just off the beaten path from 16th Avenue, the “9 to 5″ crooner explained.
“It was a whole strip mall, and I thought this is the perfect place for me to be, considering it was Whitney, so I just thought, ‘This is great, I’m just going to be down here with her people, who are my people as well,” she added.
Parton purchased the 6,317-square-foot Mission-style complex in Nashville in February 1997, according to property records. Located in Nashville’s historically black neighborhood formally known as Sevier Park, a local historian by the name of David Ewing told The Washington Post that it was daring of Parton to invest in the area at a time where many recording artists would not even have considering purchasing property there.
Whitney’s classic hit “I Will Always Love You” was originally written and sung by Parton back in 1967. The song appeared on her album Jolene in 1974 and instantly skyrocketed to the number one spot on country music charts. Years later, Houston recorded her version of the song for the film The Bodyguard in 1992. The film’s soundtrack ended up winning a Grammy for Album of the year in 1993.
Parton told the Tennessean that her “heart almost popped” when she heard Whitney’s powerful vocals.
“It was such an overwhelming feeling to hear it done so great, with such a great and huge production, and with her voice. That was amazing,” she shared at the time.
