This week in 1974 Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You hit number 1 on the US Country chart. Dolly wrote the ballad of undying platonic love for her longtime mentor, Porter Wagoner, with whom she recorded 13 duet albums before she decided to part ways.
Nearly two decades later, Whitney Houston’s version of the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the best-selling singles of all time.
American country music singer and songwriter Chris Janson has charted multiple singles on the “Billboard Hot Country Songs” and “Country Airplay” charts in the USA. He has now come to our attention at RadiJohan by bringing together a couple of iconic talents on his new single, which appears on the singer’s upcoming album, The Outlaw Side of Me, due out 16 June. 21 Forever features contributions by Dolly Parton and “Guns N’ Roses” guitarist Slash. The song is about growing up and making better choices as you get older and, hopefully, wiser.
21 Forever by Chris Janson, Featuring Dolly Parton and Slash, is new this week on RadiJohan.
Gonna Be You is a song written by legendary songwriter Dianne Warren for the sports comedy movie 80 For Brady. Dolly Parton has teamed up with fellow megastars Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan, Belinda Carlisle and Blondie’s Debbie Harry for the feel-good song about deep friendship. The movie is based on the true story of a group of friends who take a trip to the Super Bowl in 2017 to see their hero, NFL quarterback Tom Brady, play.
80 For Brady hits theaters in the USA today. Gonna be you, by Dolly and her friends, is new this week on RadiJohan.
This month in 1978 Dolly Parton became the first country singer to pose for Playboy. She appeared on the cover of the October issue wearing a Playboy bunny outfit (complete with ears) but had refused to pose nude for the magazine. She did the photo shoot for a different kind of exposure as she was looking to break through to a wider audience. It worked, as two years later she starred in the movie 9 To 5 and scored a number 1 USA Hot 100 hit with the title song. As for why she didn’t “get naked,” Dolly said, “I’m not that brave, nor do I look that good.”