dolly parton. oh, my gosh. >> dolly p. >> jimmy: oh my gosh.parton. >> i could not love her more. >> jimmy: i love dolly parton. >> she's amazing. she's so funny, so cool. >> jimmy: she's funny, she can sing -- >> quick witted. >> jimmy: -- she's gorgeous, super fast. >> all my uncles have a crush on her. >> jimmy: yeah. >> i mean, they call me, "so, how is it going?" more importantly, "how is dolly parton?" >> jimmy: yeah, yeah, yeah, how's dolly? >> get your 14-year-old mind out of the gutter. >> jimmy: yeah, yeah, yeah. where did you shoot the movie? >> we shot it in atlanta earlier this year, and it was really great. like, we got a lot of fan support. cause you know, it's about this, you know, choir that competes in these gospel competitions, i.e., the "joyful noise" competitions. and they come from kind of a depressed town, going through tough times with the recession. and i get appointed choir director after chris christopherson's character has a heart attack. and that's dolly parton's character's husband, so she thinks she should get the

>> reporter: dolly parton who presented a grammy award to houston offered this "mine is only one of thetney houston." more than a voice she was the inspiration to a new generation. >> whitney and i'll be like -- ♪ i want to dance with somebody ♪ >> reporter: and from mariah carey. ♪ >> reporter: who joined forces with houston after once rivaling her on the pop charts she tweeted, "she will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth." then there was this from barbra streisand "how sad her gifts could not bring her the same happiness they brought us." a chorus of mourning for the loss of one of the greats. ♪ >> reporter: linsey davis, abc news, new york. >>> our thanks to linsey tonight and we'll be back with the other headlines of this sunday in just a moment. [ male announcer ] from the soups you know and love come soups that you'll love getting to know. new slow kettle style soups from campbell's. extraordinary taste sensations crafted from premium ingredients. slow kettle. new from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. [ roger ] tell me you have good

>> reporter: dolly parton who presented a grammy award to houston offered this, "mine is only one ofthe death of whitney houston." more than a voice, she was the inspiration to a new generation. >> you're talking about whitney here, and i'd be like -- ♪ i want to dance with somebody ♪ >> reporter: and from mariah carey. ♪ tennessee >> reporter: who joined forces with houston after once rivaling her on the pop charts, she tweeted, "she will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth." and then there was this from barbra streisand, "how sad her gifts could not bring her the same happiness they brought us." a chorus of mourning for the loss of one of the greats. ♪ >> reporter: linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> our thanks to linsey tonight and later on tonight in this broadcast, that incredible moment when whitney houston took our breath away pulling our nation together. that's later here. but we do move on tonight to other news, and on this sunday, the catholic church delivered a new message to the president saying his change of course on birth control s

. >> a lot of people remember that dolly parton wrote the original song "i will always love you."houston. does that mean if people were to go on itunes thinking they are supporting whitney houston and her family, it will go to dolly parton? >> yeah, dolly parton has been very open and honest about buying lots of wigs from the earnings she made off the song and she's going to make a lot more money. but none of it will go to bobbi kristina, unfortunately. we have to see what the estate has. >> a sad, sad tale. nice to see you this morning. thank you. >> thank you. >>> here's a look at other stories in the news this morning, tensions rising between iran and israel over diplomats in other countries. an israeli cabinet members says israel will settle scores after a suspected iranian man tossed a bomb on a taxi in thailand that bounced back injuring him. this comes a day after balk attacks in india and georgia targeted israeli diplomats. israel blames iran for carrying out the attacks. >>> an intense encounter at sea between u.s. forces and iranian smugglers in the strait of hormuz. sev

>> kevin kostner had not spoken but, you know, it's kevin kostner who chose the dolly parton song "i" with about a week to go then foster built the arrangement and of course it became a big hit but it was his idea to go with that song. >> wow. did not know that. >> thanks so much. we'll see you later. >>> red hot after her performance at the super bowl this morning, tickets for madonna's concert at the verizon center went on sale. didn't take long to sell out. the material girl will perform in washington on sunday, september 23rd. the fans who didn't get the tickets are in luck. just as cane from hot 99.5 predicted last tuesday the verizon center quickly announced a second show for monday night, september 24th. those tickets go on sale next tuesday morning at 10:00. >>> love triumphed over action at the box office this weekend. "the vow" starring rachel mcadams and channing tatum took top honors raking in $42 million in its debut. landing a close second with $39.3 million was denzel washington and ryan williams' action thriller "safe house." not far behind that was "journey to the my

the same for i will always love you which was a dolly parton song and she made it number one.about it. at the staples center, people ever paying tribute there tonight. what are you hearing? >> what i am hearing is how floored people were when the announcement came. they were in rehearsals. it's an important night the saturday before the grammys. they work hard putting on the best show they can. when the word came, the energy was sucked out of the room. it was stone cold quiet. someone said they saw rihanna walking around very, very somber and quiet. they are preparing for the show and it will go on. a forever for chris brown and others is attending the show. the music business is a tough business. express to us the level of respect that whit me houston had with her peers. >> she had an effect on people young and old. not a person that didn't like her through the ups and downs. she was a great inspiration to all and a tree legend has been taken from us today. >> when you take your seat tomorrow night and they remember whitney, what is going to go through your mind emotionally?

dolly parton of course, i will always love you. illions of hearts broken over the death of whitney houston. i will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and i can truly say from the bottom of my heart, whitney, i will always love you, you will be missed, signed dolly parton. one more, mariah carey tweeting in tonight, responding and she says "i am so sad." i have the wrong one up. mariah carey says "heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend, the incomparable miss whitney houston. my heart felt condolences to whitney's family and to all of her millions of fans throughout the world. she will never be forgotten and is one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth." this is just coming in. some of it i'm reading very small type off my blackberry. this is from the recording academy. the recording academy is saying here "six time grammy winner whitney houston was one of the word's greatest pop singers of all time who leaves behind a robust musical library. we extend our deep

>> reporter: dolly parton, who presented a grammy award to houston, offered this. one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of whitney houston." more than a voice, she was the inspiration for a new generation. >> talking about whitney. and i'd be like -- ♪ i wanna dance with somebody >> reporter: and from mariah carey -- ♪ and it's easy to give in who joined forces with houston after once rivaling her on the pop charts. she tweeted, "she will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth." and then there was this from barbra streisand. "how sad her gifts could not bring her the same happiness they brought us." a chorus of mourning for the loss of one of the greats. ♪ linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> i think barbra's statement swaz so profound. also her mother cissy released a statement overt weekend saying, "we are devastated by the loss of our beloved whitney. this is an unimaginable tragedy and we will miss her greatly. we appreciate the outpouring of love and support from her fans and her friends." a mother deeply in grie

the same for i will always love you which was a dolly parton song and she made it number one. at the staples center, people ever paying tribute there tonight. what are you hearing? >> what i am hearing is how floored people were when the announcement came. they were in rehearsals. it's an important night the saturday before the grammys. they work hard putting on the best show they can. when the word came, the energy was sucked out of the room. it was stone cold quiet. someone said they saw rihanna walking around very, very somber and quiet. they are preparing for the show and it will go on. a forever for chris brown and others is attending the show. the music business is a tough business. express to us the level of respect that whit me houston had with her peers. >> she had an effect on people young and old. not a person that didn't like her through the ups and downs. she was a great inspiration to all and a tree legend has been taken from us today. >> when you take your seat tomorrow night and they remember whitney, what is going to go through your mind emotionally? it will b

. >> when she first performed that song for the movie "the body guard," dolly parton was so gracious.rote that song but whitney is the one who made it a big hit. ♪ and i will always love you ♪ >>> it's a game of chance, and a diy valentine note. see how to make this crash and love card. >>> so we've got an elephant and a rino. what's going on here? >> i think it was a dance class. >> that's one theory. see t ♪ >>> times are tough, but you still want to make presents for your loved ones on special days like today. >> today i'm going to show you you a creative spin on the traditional valentine's day card. >> she shows you didn't different creative ways to do things. >> this is a scratch-off valentine's day card. >> create any card with any message. >> be mine. and, of course, the only answer that my valentine can respond with is yes. yes is going to be the message that i'm going to cover with my scratch-off paint. >> you cover up the part you want them to scratch off and you reveal with this technique. >> to make scratch-off paint, two parts paint to one part dish soap. dish soap is the

film's co-star kevin costner came to the rescue, suggesting a then lesser known song written by dolly partonit, "i will always love you." i heard it and i immediately heard the finished record in my brain along with the key change and the big boom. ♪ and i ♪ and i will always i ran to her trailer because i was so excited. i said, whitney, i've got it, i've got it, i've got it. i played it for her. of course, she -- her face lit up because she knew, and i knew, that i had nailed it. >> foster and houston would go on to win three grammys that year. >> thank you, david, for such a great production. i mean, we did it, we did it together. >> the experience forged a friendship that lasted through the years. he produced one of her last recordings, "i didn't know my own strength." written by diane warren. >> i didn't talk to her about it. i was just doing it myself, thinking what she'd want to say, what she'd feel. i crashed down and i tumbled but did i not crumble. i got through all the pain . i didn't know my own strength. ♪ i got through all the pain ♪ i didn't know my own strength ♪ >> tonight,

the same for i will always love you which was a dolly parton song and she made it number one.about it. at the staples center, people ever paying tribute there tonight. what are you hearing? >> what i am hearing is how floored people were when the announcement came. they were in rehearsals. it's an important night the saturday before the grammys. they work hard putting on the best show they can. when the word came, the energy was sucked out of the room. it was stone cold quiet. someone said they saw rihanna walking around very, very somber and quiet. they are preparing for the show and it will go on. a forever for chris brown and others is attending the show. the music business is a tough business. express to us the level of respect that whit me houston had with her peers. >> she had an effect on people young and old. not a person that didn't like her through the ups and downs. she was a great inspiration to all and a tree legend has been taken from us today. >> when you take your seat tomorrow night and they remember whitney, what is going to go through your mind emotionally?

the person who made the most money off that song was dolly parton.a george benson song from the '70s. >>. >> and if you are not the produce -- >> you down the make the money. >> thanks for joining us, lola. they say the party must go on, it does, but it will never be the same without whitney houston. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now.

so you know, at the end of the day, dolly parton may have written and originally recorded that song, tye comer, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> we are following breaking news out of los angeles tonight, the death of whitney houston at the age of 48. many questions swirling. of course, the grammys are tomorrow. a lot of questions. people in disbelief. we will continue to follow this breaking story. we'll be right back. you're watching msnbc. ♪ i will always love you ♪ you, my darling, you ♪ bittersweet memories [ woman speaking indistinctly over radio ] home protector plus from liberty mutual insurance... [ alarm blaring ] where the cost to repair your home, replace what's inside, and stay somewhere else if you need to are covered. because you never know what lies around the corner. to learn more, visit libertymutual.com today. >>> welcome back. you have been watching ms nbc's coverage of a tragedy breaking out of l.a. tonight. the death of whitney houston at the age of 48. she died at that time beverly hilton hours ago. tonight was the night of a big pregrammy event hosted

with pop hits and then went on to fame with a movie, with "the bodyguard" and did a remake of dolly parton's song "i will always love you," it rose to the top of the charts. we are just getting conformatirn confirmation. it is sad news. we will continue with the news. 48 years old. it is one of the greatest voices of all time pup see her there with recording extraordinaire clive davis, who handled her career so deftly for a long time, who tried to bring her back and tried to guide her. but whitney, as we know, had a battle with drugs, to her own admission, alcohol to her own admission and we know that famous quote from the abc diane sawyer interview "crack is whack." she said she made too much money to do crack cocaine and had an issue with cocaine. whitney houston 48 years old has died. we learned from kristen foster, we had been seeing reports coming in from the internet and cnn wanted to get it confirm because when you report something like this, you want to be absolutely sure. whitney houston, again, had a string of hits. he hit the bill board 100s "saving all my love for you," remember

>> reporter: dolly parton offered this.of hearts broken over the death of whitney houston." more than a voice, she was the inspiration of a new generation. >> and i would be like "oh i will dance with somebody." >> reporter: and from mariah carey who joined forces with houston after once rivaling her on the pop charts, she tweeted "she will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth." and then there was this from barba barbara streisand. "how sad her gifts could not bring her the same they brought us." a chorus of mourning for the loss of one of the greats. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> her greatest album is now the number one downloaded album on itunes. >>> despite the demons, you remember the talent and the love and the memories. certainly, one of the best to ever stand in front of a mike. absolutely a real talent.

of course, the song written by dolly parton, first sung by dolly parton and made famous by whitney houstonmovie "the bodyguard." she did a fabulous job. everyone was moved by it. there were reports that jennifer hudson during rehearsal on sunday and saturday was sobbing during rehearsals and she did look emotional when she walked off stage but she did a fabulous job and you know, people saying today that perhaps whitney houston -- she would have made whitney houston proud because she did such a fabulo job. >> she said whitney houston was her hero and to put that together in less than 24 hours, amazing. >> elizabeth, what do we know about whitney's last public appearance? >> reporter: on thursday, she partied pretty hard, we hear. she actually got in a fight with an x factor finalist and then showed up on friday to rehearsals here of monica and brandi and basically witnesses were saying she smelled of alcohol and cigarettes and she was acting erratically and doing hand stands by the swimming pool. so bizarre behavior, but you know, we're going to find out what the toxicology reports -- real

all" ♪ and i will always >> reporter: perhaps her crowning achievement was her 1992 cover of dolly parton'swill always love you" from her film "the body guard" with kevin costner. whitney houston was born into a musical family in newark, new jersey, in 1963. her talent was discovered at an early age and signed by arista records in 1983. her first two albums brought seven consecutive number one hits, surpassing a record set by the beatles and begys ♪ i want to dance >> reporter: she went on to become music's most awarded female artist of all time according to the guinness book of world records and won six grammys, two emmys, 16 billboard music awards and 23 american music awards and was named female artist of the decade at the soul train music awards in 2000. but her career stalled as she struggled with drugs and alcohol and stormy relationship with bobby brown became tabloid fodder. she filed for divorce in 2006. in 2009, a comeback. housto released her first studio album in seven years. it debuted at number one on the billboard charts. >> it humbled me and it kind of like kind of like said

we opened the program with the recording from dolly parton. i will always love you.ely such a pure and powerful voice. >> i remember when that voice started to get playied on the radio. it stayed on top the charts for months and monthses. it was an amazing record to watch that record take that ride. >> jeff fox, wbls radio personality and long-time friend of whitney houston. it is good to talk to you. >> you, too, thank you so much. >> okay, we'll go to jimmie green former president of the women's center and welcome to you today. it is a somber day, a day of reflections and as we celebrate the life of whitney houston, let me ask you for your thoughtots special connection that she had with the fans. why do you think that so many people could relate to her as a human being and a celebrity. good morning, uma. thanks for having me. listening to your previous guest, those were the stories and that's why she was able to connect with her fan community so much. and no matter how much she rose as a model and an accomplished singer and a very talented actress, she did still ke

dolly parton who wrote the hit i will always love you said i will always be grateful and in awe of theformance she did on my song and i can truly say from the bottom of my heart, whitney, i will always love you. barbra streisand said she had everything, beauty, voice, how sad it could not bring her the same happiness. >>> mariah carey said she will never be forgotten was one of the most beautiful voices to grace the earth. more on the passing of whitney later in this broadcast. >>> in politic, in washington, president obama submits his budget for the 2013 fiscal year to congress. it calls for $4 trillion in spending cuts. $1.5 trillion in new taxes mostly by allowing the bush era tax cuts to expire the end of the year. for families with an annual income of $250,000 or more. $110 billion in short term job stimulus spending. the budget is sure to be hotly debated as the elections approach as is the white house position on contraception and religious institutions over the weekend. rick santorum had harsh words for the president and mitt romney. whit johnson reports. >> despite a distant f

. >> she was in "the bodyguard" and "i will always love you" written by dolly parton and she said sheed by whitney houston's rendition of her song, we all whether. whitney houston at the age of 48. we'll have more on "good morning america" 1/2 sorry to bring you the bad news tonight. i'm sorry to bring you the bad news tonight. /2 sorry to bring the bad news tonight. i'm sorry to bring you the bad news tonight. 2 sorry to bring y the bad news tonight. i'm sorry to bring you the bad news tonight. sorry to bring you >> good evening. >> first tonight we have developing news. pop star whitney houston has died. the details are still coming in right now. her publicist confirmed the 48-year-old singer died this morning. she didn't give any details on the cause. houston reigned as the pop music queen in the 80s and 90s. end of her career drug use took its toll on her voice. >> thousands are gathering to celebrate the year of the dragon at the chineser new -- chinese w year parade. >> reporter: we are where they are staging a lot of the pretty spectacular floats. you can see down market st

when you heard that song, i will always love you, dolly parton song that was spine of the movie "theite moving. >> there were about 1500 people inside the service, all invited guests. some of the heavyweights of the music and entertainment industry. people like clive davis who spoke, oprah winfrey was there. people in the neighborhood who did not get a chance to go inside have absolutely surrounded the new hope baptist church with balloons and flowers and candles. there is it waving in the wind. that whitney houston called home. mesmerizing the parishioners. let's check in with kelly wright. they are preparing to load whitney houston's casket -- or they just did so. they just did so. you see the pall bearers, marching away in procession. give us an update. >> kelly: we understand that whitney's body will go back tomorrow and tomorrow she will be buried next to her father. this not typical because you go right to the burial site. the way things have gone with this four hours of ceremony, because of the celebration of whitney life that could change but that is our understanding right n

. >> ♪ >>> singer jennifer hudson sang the dolly parton song that houston made into a hit.e'll have a live report from the grammy reports in los angeles in about 15 minutes. >>> in other news tonight, a convicted killer on death row told investigators there might be as many as 10 slims in a century old well. and that just may prove to be true. for a second day now investigators were back digging at the site and today they unearthed more human remains. maureen naylor live now near the town of lindon to tell us what was found today. >> reporter: after the rain moved in, crews moved out. but we met with the investigator who revealed that many items were found. this after a day of gruesome discovery around a 45 feet hole. >> small piles of dirt and you can see bones sticking out of them. it's a horrendous scene. >> reporter: today crews sifted through the dirt looking for any evidence that may have left here linking deaths to shermantine and herzog. >> there was a pair of women's shoes and a pair of women's sneakers with socks and bones coming out of them. >> reporter: several

perhaps her crowning achievement was her 1992 cover of dolly parton as i will always love you from the film the bodyguard with the kevin costner. she was born into a musical family in 1963. her talent was discovered at an early age and signed a two-year record label in 1983. her first two albums from its seventh consecutive no. 2 hits passing the beatles and the duties of. she went on to become music's most awarded female artist of all time according to the guinness book of world records. she was named female artist of the decade at the soul train music awards. her career stalled as she struggled with drugs and alcohol clarion she filed for divorce from of the round in 2006. in 2009, she had a comeback. her first studio album in seven years if it did you number one. >> i said, i want to do this just one more time. >> hurtful rear was reported leaf flag with vocal issues. she appeared in the movie sparkle and her sudden death shocked fans and musicians. >> i am absolutely devastated. she was undoubtedly one of the greatest of all times. one of the greatest forces in our lifetime. as if

the governor came by here, but about four days after the incident, dolly parton came by here in a blackdolly said to me, darling, thank you so much for what you did, god bless you, and i love you. it is instances like that that i draw upon to know that dwayne jackson, you're on the right track. >> reporter: needless to say a big dolly parton fan, but he believes he's on the right track and also expects to be far behind on the money category, but vows to make up for a lack of cash with an unconventional campaign. >> wouldn't be surprised if an unconventional campaign can get the job done. thanks very much, mary, for that story. >>> an existing treatment for other conditions could help people with always hypers disease. we have details of new research. >>> and caught on tape watching porn while in session. [ woman speaking indistinctly over radio ] home protector plus from liberty mutual insurance... [ alarm blaring ] where the cost to repair your home, replace what's inside, and stay somewhere else if you need to are covered. because you never know what lies around the corner. to learn m

. >> she crossed over to film with the film "the bodyguard" and soon written by dolly parton became ae hit but at her career soared her personal life took a steep dive. he marriage to bobby brown broke up amid rumors of violence and drug addiction. her fall was public and gritty. >> this is shocking news but not surprising. and it's been a real public decline for her, supermarket magazine cover photographs, oh, my gosh, look at her, 85 pounds. >> tony bennett reported on the same label as houston and says she'll be missed. >> it's tragic. it's terrible. she was just -- had a god-given gift of being a magnificent singer and great artist. >> joe sullivan said she should be remembered as a remarkable r&b singer. >> once again we're going learn the lesson that fame and wealth does not necessarily guarantee happiness. >> whit now houston was 48 years old and leaves behind her only child, bobbie christina, 17 years old. >> celebrities around the world are expressing condolences, on twitter, tony backton said she paved the way for every single in the music industry, and michael jackson's dau

. >> she crossed over into films and bodyguard and song run by dolly parton became a huge hit.s her career soared her personal life took a deep drive. she and bob ri brown broke up in 2007. she declared herself drug free in 2010. her fall was public and gritty. >> this is shocking news but it's not surprising. it's been a real public decline for her, supermarket magazine cover photographs, look at her, 85 pounds. >> tony bennett recorded on the same label as houston. >> to have this happen is so tragic. it's terrible. she was had god given gift of being magnificent singer. >> joel says whitney houston should be remembered as a remarkable singer and death is a tragic loss. >> we're going a lesson. fame and wealth cannot guarantee happiness. >> she leaves behind her own child bobby christina. >> carolyn: her ex-husband bobby brown learned the news as he was going on to stage in mississippi. he told the audience, i love you whitney. hardest thing for me to do is come on this stage. they have been tracking reaction to houston's death throughout the night. >> most of music royalty w

but when you listened to jennifer hudson sing that whitney song, and i couldn't -- >> it was a dolly parton >> right, right. written by dolly and she sang it. but it was one of those things when you watch that -- ♪ i will always love you i will always love you ♪ >> beautiful. >> you know, a very difficult position to be put in with very little notice. she handled it with great grace. >> yeah. >> she didn't oversing it. she didn't try to -- >> and i loved watching the grammys. i love the people who stand there and sing. >> yeah. >> no fire. no dancing. >> they don't need pyrotechnics. >> adele. just stood there and sang. it was awesome. jennifer hudson and adele. >> game over. and alicia keys and bonnie raitt. >> nothing against things on fire and flipping around, but, boy, you really see it when you see real talent like that. >> this is one of the first grammys in a long time that i enjoyed. i don't know why. >> yes. >> somebody was saying around here, i think it was keith, one of our dressers, saying lately he feels like he's one of those muppet guys, the two old guys that sit in the balco