NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Some of Dolly Parton's most iconic songs — "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" — were recorded in Nashville on Music Row.
In 1973, Parton recorded both songs at RCA Studio A, two tracks that became some of the most enduring in country music history.
"Dolly came to Nashville with a dream and did some of her most important work right here," philanthropist Aubrey Preston said.
"Just the idea that standing right there close to where you're at right here is the place where she was here a few years ago and marked that was the area where she sang Jolene and I Will Always Love You in the same 24-hour period," Preston said.
Studio A is not a place where you can hide. With its lofted ceilings and acoustic wood paneling, it holds a space for raw, emotional, authentic music.
"It's an incredibly powerful place to just stand here," Preston said. "You're hearing room sound, you're hearing the wave music originally came up because of the sound, because of the environment."
In 2014 — 41 years after Parton recorded those tracks — Studio A was set to be demolished. Preston stepped in to help stop that, helping to save the music, the space, and the place where it all happened.
"For those open to the power of places, that alone would justify a reason to save the building, aside from all the other amazing things that happened here," Preston said.
"It's a sad moment, also a happy moment in celebrating her," he said.
Parton's smile still shines through pictures hanging throughout the hallways of Studio A.
It is the way she spoke through the chords of a song that will remind us some places hold more than memories — they hold sounds that will echo through generations.
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Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com
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