I Will Always Love You

Background and composition

Country music singer-songwriter Dolly Parton wrote the song in 1973 for her one-time partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, from whom she was separating professionally after a seven-year partnership. She recorded it in RCA Studio B in Nashville on June 12, 1973.

Author Curtis W. Ellison stated that the song "speaks about the breakup of a relationship between a man and a woman that does not descend into unremitting domestic turmoil, but instead envisions parting with respect – because of the initiative of the woman". The country love track is set in a time signature of common time with a tempo of 66 beats per minute. (Larghetto/Adagio) Although Parton found much success with the song, many people are unaware of its origin; during an interview, Parton's manager Danny Nozel said that "one thing we found out from American Idol is that most people don't know that Dolly Parton wrote [the track]". During an interview on The Bobby Bones Show, Dolly Parton revealed that she wrote her signature song "Jolene" on the same day that she wrote "I Will Always Love You." Parton clarified later, "I don’t really know if they were written in the same night."

Several times (long before Whitney Houston recorded the song), Dolly Parton suggested to singer Patti LaBelle that she record "I Will Always Love You" because she felt LaBelle could have sung it so well. However, LaBelle admitted she kept putting off the opportunity to do so and later deeply regretted it after she heard Whitney Houston's rendition.

1974 version

"I Will Always Love You" was issued on March 18, 1974, as the second single from Parton's thirteenth solo studio album, Jolene (1974). During its original release in 1974, "I Will Always Love You" reached number four in Canada on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, becoming one of the best selling singles of 1974.

When the 1974 recording of the song reached number one on the country charts, Elvis Presley indicated that he wanted to record the song. Parton was interested until Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, told her that it was standard procedure for the songwriter to sign over half of the publishing rights to any song Elvis recorded. Parton refused. She recalls:I said, 'I'm really sorry,' and I cried all night. I mean, it was like the worst thing. You know, it's like, Oh, my God… Elvis Presley.' And other people were saying, 'You're nuts. It's Elvis Presley.' …I said, 'I can't do that. Something in my heart says, 'Don't do that. And I just didn't do it… He would have killed it. But anyway, so he didn't. Then when Whitney [Houston's version] came out, I made enough money to buy Graceland.

The song won Parton Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1975 CMA Awards.

Critical reception

In Curtis W. Ellison's book, Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to Heaven (1995), he stated: "In the early 1990s, when ambiguity in romantic relationships accompanies changing expectations for both men and women, this song demonstrates Dolly Parton's appeal as a songwriter in the pop music market."

Track listing

• 7" vinyl

1. "I Will Always Love You" – 2:53
2. "Lonely Comin' Down" – 3:09

Credits and personnel

• Dolly Parton – vocals, guitar
• Jimmy Colvard – guitar
• Chip Young – guitar
• Stu Basore – pedal steel guitar
• Bobby Dyson – bass
• Larrie Londin – drums
• Buck Trent – banjo
• Bobby Thompson – banjo
• Mack Magaha – fiddle
• Johnny Gimble – fiddle
• Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
• Dolores Edgin – background vocals
• Hershel Winginton – background vocals
• Joe Babcock – background vocals
• June Page – background vocals

Charts

Weekly

Year-End

1982 version

| A-side = "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind"

Parton re-recorded the song for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, released July 12, 1982, as the first single from the soundtrack album. The single eventually hit number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, earning Parton a rare distinction: reaching the number one position twice with the same song.

Critical reception

Billboard gave a positive review which said, "The first single from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas isn't the sort of brassy main theme normally used to launch a major movie musical: here Parton reinterprets one of her earliest exercises in pure pop writing, and while older fans may be divided over the breathier, more stylized reading she offers here, the song itself is still a lovely ballad with a soaring chorus." Cashbox also reviewed the single favorably, saying that "hoisted over a building arrangement, Parton's vocals have never been more convincing or moving. The single choice from her Hollywood flick, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the tune is sentiment wrapped in an appropriate package replete with strings, oboe and harp in addition to a delicate rhythm section."

Charts

Certifications

1995 version

| B-side = "Speakin' of the Devil" Parton recorded "I Will Always Love You" in 1995 as a duet with Vince Gill for her album, Something Special. Following an August 26 performance of the duet at the Grand Ole Opry which aired on TNN, radio stations began giving the duet unsolicited airplay, causing it to debut on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart at number 53. After a performance at the 29th Annual CMA Awards, the song was officially released as a single in November 1995, peaking at number 15. This marked the third time Parton had a top 20 hit with the song. The song was nominated at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals and was named Vocal Event of the Year at the 30th Annual CMA Awards.

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.

• Assa Dormi – concertmaster
• Paul Franklin – steel guitar
• Vince Gill – duet vocals
• Owen Hale – drums
• David Hungate – bass
• Brent Mason – guitar
• Terry McMillan – percussion
• Dale Oehler – string arrangements, conductor
• Dolly Parton – lead vocals
• Matt Rollings – piano
• Brent Rowan – guitar

Charts

Whitney Houston version

Main article: I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston recording)

| B-side =

• "Jesus Loves Me"
• "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
• Pop
• soul
• R&B

In 1992, American singer and actress Whitney Houston recorded a new arrangement of "I Will Always Love You" for the soundtrack to The Bodyguard, her film debut. Houston's cover of "I Will Always Love You" received widespread acclaim from music critics, being now regarded as one of her "signature* songs. The single spent 14 weeks at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100, which at the time was a record. Houston's "I Will Always Love You" was also a massive international hit, topping the singles charts in almost every country, including the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, where it spent 13 weeks at the top. The single ruled the summit position for ten weeks in Australia, five weeks in Austria, seven weeks for Belgium, eight weeks in France, six weeks in Germany, eight weeks in Ireland, six weeks in the Netherlands, fourteen weeks in New Zealand, nine weeks in Norway, one week in Spain and Uruguay, six weeks in Sweden, eight weeks in Switzerland, and ten weeks in the UK.

"I Will Always Love You" won the 1994 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Houston's third win in the latter category after earlier wins in 1986 and 1988. In addition, it received Favorite Pop/Rock Single and Favorite Soul/R&B Single awards at the 21st American Music Awards, which was the first record by a solo female artist to win both categories. "I Will Always Love You" won two Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1993 for International Song of the Year, and a 1994 International Song of the Year Special Award for Japanese sales of over one million units. In 2020, "I Will Always Love You" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2021, "I Will Always Love You" was listed at number 94 on the updated list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2023, "I Will Always Love You" was listed at number 60 on Billboard's list of the 500 Best Pop Songs of All Time, Houston's second highest-ranked song on the list. Parton herself publicly stated she liked Houston's cover of her song better than her own.

Sarah Washington version

| B-side = Body Heat

• Garage house
• hi-NRG
• Almighty
• ZYX Music
• Martyn Norris
• Richard Cottle British singer Sarah Washington released a dance-cover of "I Will Always Love You" in August 1993. It is produced by Martyn Norris and Richard Cottle, and became her highest-charting hit, reaching number three in Spain, number 12 in the UK, number 15 in Ireland, and number 32 in Sweden. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it peaked at number 44 in September 1993. It was released on Almighty Records, which described Washington as "an eager young hopeful" and cited her "sensational studio performance" as being key to the ultimate success of the track, also giving credit to London radio station 95.8 Capital FM and its heavy rotation of the song. A black-and-white music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Max Abbiss-Biro. In 2006, Almighty Records released an 11-mixes package of "I Will Always Love You".

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard magazine commented, "There are no less than nine dance music covers of the Whitney Houston megahit 'I Will Always Love You'. So far, only Sarah Washington's hi-NRG rendering on Almighty Records is worth a spin." In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "If anything this new version adds a little more to the song, and at least proves it had genuine soul to start with. Top 10 for sure." Chris Roberts from Melody Maker added, "And now you can shake a tailfeather to it as well." Alan Jones from Music Week gave it a score of four out of five, complimenting "a sinewy garage groove with a powerful vocal from the Donna Summer school of disco divas." Stephen Dalton from NME felt the record "hop, skip and pump along with a breezy, good-natured charm." In his weekly dance column, James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update described it as a "'I Will Survive'-ish" remake.

Track listings

• CD single (Dance Mix), UK (1993)

1. "I Will Always Love You" (The Dolly Mix) – 6:20
2. "I Will Always Love You" (7" Edit) – 5:25
3. "I Will Always Love You" (Mighty Mix) – 7:26
4. "Body Heat" – 4:38

• CD single (Dance Mix), Scandinavia (1993)

1. "I Will Always Love You" (7" Edit) – 5:27
2. "I Will Always Love You" (12" Original Mix) – 7:27

• CD single (Dance Mix), Australia (1993)

1. "I Will Always Love You" (7" Edit)
2. "I Will Always Love You" (12" Original Mix)
3. "I Will Always Love You" (Luv'd Up Mix)
4. "Body Heat"

Charts

Kristin Chenoweth version

"I Will Always Love You" was covered by American actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth as a duet with Dolly Parton. It was released on August 9, 2019, as the first single from Chenoweth's album, For the Girls.

Background

Chenoweth reflected on recording "I Will Always Love You" with ET Online, saying "it is a song I've loved since I was a child." She went on to say, "I used to think, 'One day I'm gonna sing that song.' Little did I know that I'd get to sing it with the queen herself."

Other versions

The song found further chart success as part of the "Forever Country" medley, created in 2016 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Country Music Association Awards. The medley also features "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "On the Road Again". Parton performs on the medley, along with 29 other country music artists. The medley debuted at number one on the Billboard US Hot Country Songs chart and number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 8, 2016.

In 2002, English pop singer Rik Waller took his own version of "I Will Always Love You" into the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 6. It was his debut single and the first released from his debut studio album From Now..., after his taking part in the Pop Idol series.

In 2024, Swedish singer and lead vocalist of the band Skid Row, Erik Gronwall, released a version of the song on his YouTube account. His version is more of reminiscent of Whitney Houston's version. Produced by Greenwall Entertainment AB.

References

References

1. "Dolly Parton remembers writing 'I Will Always Love You'". The Tennessean.
2. DeKnock, Jan. (January 15, 1993). "Whitney Houston Hits 4th 'Triple'". [[Tribune Company]].
3. (January 12, 2022). "Whitney Houston Joins Taylor Swift And Mariah Carey In An Extremely Rare Musical Feat". Forbes.
4. (January 12, 1993). "RIAA certification for "I Will Always Love You" single". The [[Recording Industry Association of America]].
5. (April 11, 1998). "RIAA Certs Show Power of 'Titanic'".
6. Trust, Gary. (August 28, 2009). "Battle of the Divas, Round 3".
7. (January 13, 2022). "Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' Is Certified Diamond by RIAA". Billboard.
8. (August 23, 2024). "'I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU': WHITNEY HOUSTON REACHES A NEW MUSICAL MILESTONE". [[Black Enterprise]].
9. (March 14, 2024). ""I Will Always Love You", anche dopo cinquant'anni". [[Il Post]].
10. (28 May 2021). "Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1992". Official Charts.
11. "Whitney Houston".
12. "Rock On The Net: Grammy Awards: Record of the Year".
13. (September 1, 2015). "Linda Ronstadt – I Will Always Love You".
14. (February 14, 2012). "12 Things You Didn't Know About 'I Will Always Love You'".
15. "I Will Always Love You by Kenny Rogers".
16. (October 19, 2017). "14-Year-Old LeAnn Rimes Blows Crowd Away With Rare 'I Will Always Love You'".
17. (2016-10-06). "Christina Grimmie's Beautifully Haunting Performance Of 'I Will Always Love You'".
18. (August 13, 2020). "BMI Presents Dolly Parton With 7 "Million-Air" Certificates".
19. (1995). "Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to Heaven". Univ. Press of Mississippi.
20. (September 1999). "Dolly Part I Will Always Love You – Digital Sheet Music". [[Hal Leonard Corporation]].
21. (22 July 2011). "The Words and Music of Dolly Parton: Getting to Know Country's "Iron Butterfly": Getting to Know Country's "Iron Butterfly"". ABC-CLIO.
22. (March 1, 2019). "Dolly Parton Wrote 'Jolene' and 'I Will Always Love You' in One Day".
23. Palma, Bethania. (October 25, 2019). "Did Dolly Parton write 'Jolene' and 'I Will Always Love You' in one day?".
24. (March 4, 2022). "Dolly Parton debunks tale of writing 'Jolene,' 'I Will Always Love You' on same day". Lexington Herald Leader.
25. (July 1, 2015). "Patti Says She Regrets Turning Down These 2 Major Hits, Missing Millions".
26. (2003). "Rock N Roll Gold Rush: A Singles Un-Cyclopedia". Algora Publishing.
27. "This Day in Music History – June 8th". CBS Radio.
28. "The Surprising Backstory of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You'". WOS Inc..
29. (2003). "The Rough Guide to Cult Pop". Rough Guides.
30. (1974). "I Will Always Love You". RCA Records.
31. (April 16, 2013). "Introduction – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca.
32. Overall Popularity Top. "Charts".
33. "Billboard Hot Country Songs - Year-End Charts (1974)".
34. (July 24, 1982). "Top Single Picks". Billboard.
35. (July 24, 1982). "Reviews". Cashbox.
36. Kent, David. (2006). "Australian Chart Book: 1993–2005". Australian Chart Book.
37. (October 30, 1982). "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada".
38. "CASH BOX Top 100 Pop Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 18, 1982".
39. "Dolly Parton 'Shattered' when Whitney Houston Funeral Included 'I Will Always Love You' - ABC News".
40. Brown, Helen. (February 16, 2012). "Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton: why 'I Will Always Love You' is Whitney's ultimate song". [[Daily Telegraph.
41. (November 28, 1992). "''Billboard'' Hot 100 Singles chart listing for the week of 28 November 1992". Billboard.
42. Fred Bronson. (November 19, 1994). "Chart Beat: Another Lucky 13 For Boyz II Men". Billboard.
43. "Number Ones in 1993". take40.com.
44. "'I Will Always Love You' on Austrian Singels Chart". austriancharts.at.
45. (February 27, 1992). "'I Will Always Love You' on Belgian VRT Top 30 chart". top30-2.radio2.be.
46. "'I Will Always Love You' on French Singles Chart". lescharts.com.
47. (January 25, 1993). "Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You". [[Media Control Charts]].
48. "'I Will Always Love You' on Irish Singles Chart". [[Irish Recorded Music Association]].
49. "'I Will Always Love You' on Dutch Singles Chart". dutchcharts.nl.
50. ""I Will Always Love You" on New Zealand's Singles Chart". charts.nz.
51. "'I Will Always Love You' on Norwegian Singles Chart". norwegiancharts.com.
52. "'I Will Always Love You' on Swedish Singles Chart". swedishcharts.com.
53. "'I Will Always Love You' on Swiss Singles Chart". hitparade.ch.
54. (December 5, 1992). "'I Will Always Love You' on UK Singles Chart". [[The Official Charts Company]].
55. Steve McClure. (March 26, 1994). "Wands Takes Top Honors at Japan Gold Disc Awards". Billboard.
56. (March 25, 2020). "National Recording Registry Class Produces Ultimate 'Stay at Home' Playlist". [[Library of Congress]].
57. (September 15, 2021). "I Will Always Love You ranked No. 94 on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs List".
58. (October 19, 2023). "Best Pop Songs of All Time: 500 Hits That Appeared on the Hot 100".
59. (July 31, 1993). "New Releases: Singles".
60. Jones, Alan. (July 24, 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles".
61. Flick, Larry. (March 6, 1993). ["DanceTRAX"]({{Google books).
62. "Sarah Washington: I Will Always Love You".
63. "Sarah Washington - I Will Always Love You music video 1933". Eurokdj.com.
64. Masterton, James. (August 8, 1993). "Week Ending August 14th 1993".
65. Roberts, Chris. (August 14, 1993). "Singles".
66. Dalton, Stephen. (August 14, 1993). "Singles".
67. Hamilton, James. (August 7, 1993). "Dj directory".
68. (September 4, 1993). "Eurochart Hot 100".
69. "Search > Sarah Washington".
70. (March 13, 1993). "Top 10 Sales in Europe".
71. "Sarah Washington – I Will Always Love You".
72. "Artist discography".
73. (September 4, 1993). "The Airplay Chart".
74. (August 14, 1993). "Dance Singles".
75. (July 24, 1993). "The ''RM'' Club Chart".
76. (August 9, 2019). "I Will Always Love You by Kristin Chenoweth & Dolly Parton on Amazon Music - Amazon.com".
77. (August 9, 2019). "I Will Always Love You - Single by Kristin Chenoweth, Dolly Parton".
78. (August 9, 2019). "I Will Always Love You (Single) by Kristin Chenoweth & Dolly Parton".
79. (August 8, 2019). "Kristin Chenoweth and Dolly Parton Duet on 'I Will Always Love You'".
80. Gary Trust. (September 26, 2016). "'Forever Country' Debuts at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs".
81. Roberts, David (2006). ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 590. {{ISBN. 1-904994-10-5