Dolly Parton’s songwriting helped create landmark chart successes for Whitney Houston and Beyoncé, illustrating how her songs have crossed genres and generations. Billboard highlights Houston’s 1992 version of “I Will Always Love You” and Beyoncé’s 2024 reworking of “Jolene” as notably different interpretations that brought Parton’s work to new audiences.

Houston recorded “I Will Always Love You” for The Bodyguard after another proposed cover was rejected; her slower, a cappella-led version spent a then-record 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won two Grammys. Beyoncé turned “Jolene” from a plea into a warning for Cowboy Carter, sending it to No. 7 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on Hot Country Songs; Parton said she appreciated the reinterpretation.