The Top-10 Songs of All (My) Time, #3: “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston

You learned when I revealed my #4 song that I love a love song. Now you’re going to learn I love vocals. Like watching someone win gold in the 200-meter dash at the Olympics or watching Michael Jordan play in the ’80s and win dunk contests … the reason we all line up, pay money, and pack into arenas is because we marvel at people who can do things we could never, ever do. 

Whitney Houston’s voice, in my opinion, is top-3 of all time. Maybe top-2. Definitely top-5. Wherever you rank her among all-timers, for me, this was the 2nd-greatest vocal performance ever. Whitney’s own performance of the national anthem at the Super Bowl in 1991 is probably #3. And while we’re listing things, I’m gonna put it out there … Mariah Carey on SNL in 1990 singing “Vision of Love” … before she was THE Mariah Carey … is hands down the most ridiculous LIVE vocal acrobatic performance you’ll never see and hear. Watch it here and even tho this Blog entry is about “I Will Always Love You”, I’ve put Mariah on SNL performance at the end.

“I Will Always Love You” was a single off the Whitney-only soundtrack for the movie “The Bodyguard.” A good(ish) movie in 1992, but a bad movie now that history has had it’s way with it. But the soundtrack … and this song … made history. 

Released as the debut single in November 1992, the same month “The Bodyguard” came out in theaters, the song was a phenomenon, spending a record 14 weeks at #1. It was Whitney Houston at the height of her vocal powers and her career. The song was originally written and recorded by Dolly Parton, and it’s OK if you like Dolly’s version. Who doesn’t love Dolly Parton? Some people will actually say, “I like Dolly’s version better,” and that’s like saying you like Beethoven, but you really like it better when played on a kazoo. Most people, when they heard Whitney’s “I Will Always Love You” didn’t even realize Dolly had a version. In fact, Dolly herself says all she knew was a movie studio wanted to buy the song and the first time she heard Whitney’s version was on the radio and Dolly didn’t recoginze it at first, and when Dolly finally put it together that this big, beautiful, stripped down ballad was her own song, she says she nearly drove off the road. 

Dolly Parton is an American treasure and does NOT lie. So I believe it. 

But why is it my #3? Remember, the entire point of my Top-10 Songs of all (My) Time is that “all-time lists” are subjective. This song is amazing for all the reasons I’ve listed above, but for me, it absolutely follows the “who you are is where you were when” or “what you love is where you were when.” 

This movie came out in November of 1992. I started dating Kathy (now my wife) in June 1992. We both started our Sophomore year at Michigan State in September of 1992. So, when we were home for Christmas break, which would be Christmas 1992, we went on a date and saw “The Bodyguard.”  That’s what dates were in 1992. We’d go to the movies. 

While at college, there’s alotta “hanging out.”  You go to parties. Hang at each other’s dorms. Walk to class together. But formal “dates” don’t really happen at college. Neither of us had a car up at college. So as college kids, we don’t go anywhere like a date. No going out to dinner. No going to a movie. Plus, college kids are busy … we both were. Greek life. Jobs. Classes. I guess you could say at college you’re kinda “going steady.” It’s fun, don’t get me wrong. 

So, while we were home for Christmas, we had cars and we went on a “date” … and saw “The Bodyguard” and it was romantic and we held hands. At 19 years old in 1992, that was pretty serious stuff. The movie was big and dramatic and a perfect ’90s date movie and while I know the song is about a woman telling a man to get out of her life even though she’ll always love him … kinda of a heartbreaking, break-up song … the title spoke to what I was starting to feel … that I would always love Kathy. Plus, when a song spends 14 weeks at #1, and we were in the golden era of Top-40 radio and the heydays of MTV, this song was everywhere all the time. I was falling in love. I was thinking about always being in love with Kathy. 

Until . . . 

Neither Kathy or I can remember exactly what was said or what happened, but for three weeks in the spring of 1993, because of Greek Week, we decided to “take a break.”

Oh, you can bet this song, probably no longer at #1 … hit home.

Again … this time-apart lasted all of three weeks, but the song hit me as I was falling in love with Kathy, for the three weeks we were figuring things out, and then forever after. 

I love this song. I’ve sung it so many times, I can lip sync it to perfection. 

And Iiiiiiiiii … I … iiiiiiiii … will always love this soooooong. And I’ll always love Whitney Houston. This song was so big it might’ve been too big and the beginning of her downfall. She only had one more #1 after that.

And THAT is #3.  Bet you can’t wait for #2 and #1 … oh … stay tuned. 

OK … and because I promised it … here’s Mariah Carey on SNL in 1990. Just wearin’ pants and boots. Just singing hoping someday to be a really, really big star. Absolutely amazing.