Dolly Parton Used Whitney Houston Royalties to Invest in Black Community - TMZ

Dolly Parton threw down major dough she collected off the success of one of Whitney Houston's biggest hits -- a rendition of Dolly's, no doubt -- into a Black Tennessee community ...

More importantly, Dolly notes it was a part of town where mostly Black folks lived -- and she felt there was no better place to be, as it was among Whitney's people ...

It's unclear if Dolly developed more down there over the years ...

As many are pointing out -- that's just Dolly for ya.

One more thing worth mentioning re Whitney and Dolly -- during a Q&A segment from fans, one person asked if there were ever plans for Dolly to perform 'I Will Always' alongside Whitney, like in a duet version or something ...