Dolly Parton on the heartfelt purchase she made with ‘I Will Always Love You’ royalties

On Watch What Happens Live Thursday, country legend Dolly Parton revealed the impressive purchase she made with royalties made from “I Will Always Love You.” The 1973 song of hers was covered by Whitney Houston in 1992, and became a massive hit on the soundtrack for Houston’s film, The Bodyguard. Parton reportedly made $10 million in royalties from the song in the 90’s, and continues to make money from it to this day.

“I bought my big office complex down in Nashville” Parton said. “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. 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.”

Parton has always spoken very highly of Houston and her version of the song, saying that she had to pull off the road to avoid crashing because she was so moved the first time she heard it. “So I just thought this was great,” Parton continued. “I’m just gonna be down here with her people, who are my people as well. 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.’”