Dolly Parton will always love Whitney Houston and her new noble revelation is proof of that.
During an appearance on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” this week, the singer and songwriter revealed that she’s been using royalties that she’s collected from Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You” — which was originally sung by Parton — to invest in a Black Tennessee community, TMZ reports.
In her interview with Cohen, she went on to explain how she purchased “my big office complex down in Nashville” and decided to buy the property in honor of the area’s Black community and Houston’s legacy.
“I bought a property down in what was the Black area of town, and it was mostly just Black families and people that lived around there,” she said. “And it was off the beaten path from 16th avenue and I thought, ‘Well I am going to buy this place, the whole strip mall.’ And thought, ‘This is the perfect place for me to be,’ considering it was Whitney.”
“So I just thought this was great, I’m just gonna be down here with her people, who are my people as well,” she continued. “And so I just love the fact that I spent that money on a complex. And I think, ‘This is the house that Whitney built.'”
According to Forbes, Houston’s cover of Parton’s song — which became known as one of the best-selling singles of all time — earned the country music legend $10 million throughout the 1990s and continues to rake in bank for her even decades later. Now all the money made off the hit song is now being used to build up a Nashville community in Houston’s name.
Houston always had a knack for recreating others’ songs and making them her own. But who knew years later that she’d be able to pass down those royalties to help a new generation out even in her absence? That’s a true testament to what the value of Black creativity can accomplish for years to come.
