Princewill Pius
Strangely enough, Dolly Parton’s original version of “I Will Always Love You” wasn’t the impetus for Whitney Houston’s cover. In fact, the cover originated from two unlikely sources: actor Kevin Costner and rock star Linda Ronstadt.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the song that became the apotheosis of Houston’s career was never originally intended to be on The Bodyguard‘s soundtrack. Houston had originally planned on covering the 1966 Motown ballad “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” by singer Jimmy Ruffin, but her plans were foiled after production caught word that the same song was set to be used for the score of the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. Scrambling to find a replacement, co-star Kevin Costner offered up a version of “I Will Always Love You” covered by another performer in 1975 — the aforementioned Ronstadt. With Parton’s blessing, the team moved forward, per CMT News.
Houston drew from both Ronstadt and Parton’s versions for her cover, and the resulting song ended up being the perfect fit for the film. As The Hollywood Reporter’‘s Joe Levy put it, “the doomed romance of the lyric, and the way it’s at pains to find good wishes in sadness, fit the interracial Romeo-and-Juliet love story of the film much better.”
Besides Ronstadt and Houston, a number of artists have tried their luck at their own versions of the soulful ode, including country singers Kenny Rogers and LeAnn Rimes and pop icon Beyoncé.
Written by: Nicki
