Whitney Houston, ‘I Will Always Love You’: The Complete History of a Classic

Whitney Houston
‘I Will Always Love You’

Highest UK Top 40 position:
Number One on November 29, 1992

1. If I should stay

If you were a Country fan in the 1960s—and if you owned a TV—your weekly schedule revolved around The Porter Wagoner Show.

Porter Wagoner was a country legend, known to fans as Mr Grand Ole Opry. His weekly half-hour broadcast offered country, gospel, comedy, and star guests, all supported by Wagoner’s loyal musical ensemble.

The most beloved member of that ensemble was singer Norma Jean Beasler, who had been part of the show from the start. But Norma Jean decided to get married and settle down, which meant that Wagoner needed a replacement.

On September 5th, 1969, Porter introduced the newest member of the team: “pretty little miss Dolly Parton.”

The audience hated her.

Norma Jean had been a gentle girl-next-door type, and suddenly here was brash, brassy Dolly, all cheeky smiles, with a mountain of platinum blonde hair and a voice so loud it rattled the bleachers.

In her autobiography, Dolly said that her first weeks as a Wagonerette were hell. Crowds would boo her and call for Norma Jean, and Porter himself had to beg them to give her a chance.

They warmed to her, eventually, and Dolly became the breakout star. By 1972, she had outgrown the ensemble. Although she owed her career to Wagoner so much, it was time to say goodbye.

Leaving the nest is always bittersweet. Parton was at the peak of her songwriting powers, so she channelled that emotion into a ballad, writing about how hard it was to leave, and how grateful she was, and how she will always love him.

In a 2017 interview, Dolly said that she wrote ‘I Will Always Love You’ and ‘Jolene’ in the same day.

She casually remarked, “that was a good writing day.”

2. That is all I’m taking with me

Dolly scored a Number One in the country charts with ‘I Will Always Love You’ in the spring of 74. But, the previous year, someone else had tried to take it from her.

In 1973, Colonel Tom Parker called Dolly to say that Elvis Presley loved the song and wanted to cut his own version. Just one catch: she would have to sign 50% of the publishing rights over to The King (and, presumably, Colonel Tom.)

Dolly says she agonised over this decision. Working with Elvis was a huge honour, and could be her gateway to the pop charts. Giving away half of your song, however, was an outrageous imposition.

She said no. Elvis never recorded it, although legend has it that he sang it to Priscilla after their divorce.

Many others did cover the song, including Linda Rondstadt who slightly truncated the lyrics (take note—this will come up again.)

‘I Will Always Love You’ didn’t make the pop charts until 1982, when a new version was released with vocals by… Dolly Parton.

Dolly and Burt Reynolds starred in the screen adaptation of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, a bawdy musical comedy that had been a Broadway hit. Parton wrote some original songs to complement the existing score, and deployed a short version of ‘I Will Always Love You’ during an emotional scene with Reynolds.

3. I hope life treats you kind

The excellent podcast Black Girl Songbook did an episode about Whitney’s performance at the 1991 Superbowl, where her ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ caused something of a cultural earthquake.

I won’t try to summarise this podcast because there’s a lot of important stuff about Whitney’s blackness that I’m not qualified to discuss. If you have 25 spare minutes, it’s worth a listen:

If not, then at least have a listen to that performance:

Whitney’s voice is a unique blend of power and control. People often focus on the power—she’s sometimes accused of having inspired the generation of scream-singers that dominated the late 90s pop chart and wailed their way through The X Factor auditions.

And yes, Whitney liked to belt ‘em out. But she had astonishing control, even at her loudest. The Superbowl performance showcased her impeccable technique, something that hadn’t always stood out on her pop records.

In the early 90s, Whitney decided to give acting a shot, making her debut in romantic thriller The Bodyguard. She played a pop diva, which doesn’t sound like a stretch, but she also pretended to be attracted to Kevin Costner, for which she deserves an Oscar.

The Bodyguard’s producers knew this was a chance for a blockbuster soundtrack. Some of the original songs in the movie were monster hits—‘I Have Nothing’, ‘I’m Every Woman’ and ‘Queen Of The Night’—but the thing still needed a showstopper, a guaranteed global Number One.

And they knew the perfect song…

Jimmy Ruffin’s ‘What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted’

4. But above all this

Don’t get me wrong. ‘What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted’ is one of the greatest songs of all time, and I’m sure Whitney would have sung the hell out of it. Would it have become an era-defining, career-defining hit though?

David Foster knew it wouldn’t. Kevin Costner handpicked Foster to be The Bodyguard’s musical producer, and Foster’s biggest contribution was to gently sabotage the ‘What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted’ sessions long enough for everyone to figure out the obvious: they needed a different song.

Kevin Costner was a big Linda Ronstadt fan, so he suggested her version of ‘I Will Always Love You’. Once Whitney heard it, she knew it was the one.

Foster phoned Dolly to secure the rights, and Parton was enthusiastic—until she heard that they were using the Linda Rondstadt version. Foster said:

[Dolly] gave me the lyrics to the final verse over the phone — ”And I wish you joy and happiness” — right before I went downstairs. We had to call an audible at the last minute and make the song, like, 40 seconds longer after the director had already worked it out. But that last verse is so important. Can you imagine that song without that lyric?

Dolly’s intervention allowed Whitney to create one of the most iconic moments in any 90s song. You know the bit. Whitney uses Dolly’s extra lines to ascend, driving the song upwards until she pauses on the word “love”.

And then, silence. Almost three seconds of silence, apart from the decay of the strings in the background. It’s like being in a Cessna that’s hit the ceiling and stalled.

A big Eastenders drumbeat—thump—and then the vertiginous drop into an explosive, epic vocal run. You have to listen to her sing it live to appreciate the sheer skill and artistry of this part. It’s an extraordinary technical achievement, as impressive as the most complex Hendrix guitar solo.

Dolly said she first heard Whitney’s version on her car’s radio. When Whitney dropped into that big finale, Dolly was so overwhelmed that she almost crashed.

5. All you’ve dreamed of

Dolly Parton has made at least $10 million from Whitney’s version of her song.

In 2020, she told an enchanting story about what happened with that money:

“I bought my big office complex down in Nashville. I bought a property down in what was the Black area of town, and it was mostly just Black families and people that lived around there.

“And it was off the beaten path from 16th Avenue. And I thought, ‘Well, I am going to buy this place, the whole strip mall.’ I thought, ‘This is the perfect place for me to be,’ considering it was Whitney.

“And so I just love the fact that I spent that money on a complex. And I think, ‘this is the house that Whitney built.’”

This interview came out around the time of the post-George Floyd social turmoil. Dolly had already come out in favour of #BlackLivesMatter, which was a bold move for someone with such a white, conservative audience.

“The house that Whitney built” was a powerful line. The story went viral in a big way and helped build the growing myth of St Dolly of Parton. There may be more to this story, but a lot of people would rather not dig too deeply. We’re short on saints right now.

Whitney was gone at this point, having died in 2012 after a long struggle with addiction. Her funeral was a star-studded affair with performances from the likes of Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys. None of them, however, dared to touch ‘I Will Always Love You’. Whitney’s recording was played in church as they carried her coffin away.

Dolly wrote the song. Elvis tried to steal it. But now, and forevermore, ‘I Will Always Love You’ belongs to Whitney Houston.

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