I Will Always Love You

"I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Her country version of the track was released in 1974 as a single and was written as a farewell to her former partner and mentor of seven years, Porter Wagoner, following Parton's decision to pursue a solo career. The song was dedicated in Judy Garland's memory.

Parton's version of "I Will Always Love You" was a commercial success. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart twice. It first reached number one in June 1974, and then in October 1982, with her re-recording on the soundtrack of the movie version of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Thus, she achieved the number one position twice with the same song, a rare feat that Chubby Checker had done previously with "The Twist" becoming number one in 1960 and again in 1962.

Whitney Houston recorded her version of the song for the 1992 film The Bodyguard. Her single spent 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and is one of the best-selling singles of all time. It also holds the record for being the best-selling single by a woman in music history. Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You" re-entered the charts in 2012 after her death, making it the second single ever to reach the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 in separate chart runs. The song has been recorded by many other artists including Linda Ronstadt, John Doe, Amber Riley and LeAnn Rimes.

Today, it is one of most popular sad songs in the world, behind The Power of Love by Jennifer Rush and Love Survives by Irene Cara and Freddie Jackson.