"I Will Always Love You," later popularized by Whitney Houston, is an iconic song in music history.
But contrary to popular belief, the lyrics center on the end of a professional relationship, rather than a romantic one.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Parton appeared with her mentor Porter Wagoner on his eponymous TV show. But when it came time for Parton to spearhead her own career, Wagoner was not happy, and a rift started forming.
"There was a lot of grief and heartache there, and he just wasn't listening to my reasoning for my going," Parton told CMT in 2011. "I thought, 'Well, why don't you do what you do best? Why don't you just write this song?'"
Parton penned "I Will Always Love You" later that day and sang it to him the next.
"He started crying," Parton told the Tennessean in 2015. "When I finished, he said, 'Well, hell! If you feel that strong about it, just go on — providing I get to produce that record because that's the best song you ever wrote.'"
The country lament "Jolene," one of Parton's biggest hits, is a tale of flirtation slightly inspired by a bank teller who set her eyes on Parton's husband, Carl Dean — who Parton said also loved the attention.
"It was kinda like a running joke between us — when I was saying, 'Hell, you're spending a lot of time at the bank. I don't believe we've got that kind of money,'" Parton told NPR in 2008. "So it's really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one."
In that same interview, Parton said the song's name came to her when she met a fan with red hair and green eyes, which she incorporated into the song's lyrics.
"I said, 'Well, you're the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?' And she said, 'Jolene,'" Parton recalled. " … I said, 'That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I'm going to write a song about that.'"
Back in the 1990s, Billy Ray Cyrus hit it big with "Achy Breaky Heart" and was the opener for some of Parton's shows. He also appeared in her video for "Romeo."
Parton said the two connected because of their country roots, and so he asked his longtime friend to be his daughter's godmother.
"We never did do a big ceremony, but I'm so proud of her, love her and she's just like one of my own," Parton told "Good Morning America" star Robin Roberts in 2009.
In addition to staying close to the pop singer, Parton guest-starred on the Disney Channel sitcom "Hannah Montana" as the titular character's godmother.
Before Houston shattered records with her remake of Parton's "I Will Always Love You" for "The Bodyguard" (1992) soundtrack, the "King of Rock and Roll" wanted to sing it.
Parton said Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, once contacted her to discuss his client possibly covering the song, but the deal fell apart after Parton realized that she would have to relinquish 50% of the publishing royalties.
"I cried all night. I mean, it was like the worst thing. You know, it's like, 'Oh, my God … Elvis Presley,'" Parton told CMT in 2006. "And other people were saying, 'You're nuts. It's Elvis Presley. I mean, hell, I'd give him all of it.'"
"I said, 'I can't do that. Something in my heart says, don't do that,'" she added.
It's traditional to have cake on birthdays, but according to Maggie Jones' reporting for USA Today, Parton is partial to pie.
"I don't eat much cake. I usually have pie on my birthday," Parton wrote in an email. "My favorite pie is chess pie. That is 'chess' not CHEST pie."
Parton described herself as "flashy" and "flamboyant" during a 2019 interview with Elle, adding, "Had I not been a girl, I definitely would have been a drag queen."
But when she had the chance to embrace the glamour during a lookalike contest where she just needed to be herself, Parton lost.
"At a Halloween contest years ago on Santa Monica Boulevard where all the guys were dressed up like me, and I just overexaggerated my look and went in and just walked up on stage … I didn't win," she said in the 2009 interview with Roberts. "I didn't even come in close, I don't think."
Parton's tattoos are something of an urban legend, with fans speculating if she had any and why she'd hide them. But in a 2020 interview with People magazine, she cleared up some of the confusion.
She said she was sick for a while, and her feeding tube and other procedures left scars that she decided to cover up with ribbon, bow, and butterfly tattoos, among others.
"I do have some tattoos, that's true. But they're tasteful. I'm not a tattoo girl," Parton said. "My tattoos are pretty, they're artful and they usually started out to cover some scar, not to make a big statement."
