52 years ago today, on June 12, 1973, Dolly Parton recorded one of the most iconic songs of all time. It was on this day that Parton recorded "I Will Always Love You." The song has for decades since then been used as a love song, but it wasn't romance that inspired Parton to write the song. Instead, it was Parton's way of bidding farewell to Porter Wagoner.
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At the time, Parton was part of Wagoner's eponymous The Porter Wagoner Show. A great opportunity, Parton realize that she was ready to be out on her own, and not be tethered to a weekly TV show.
"How am I gonna make him understand how much I appreciate everything, but that I have to go?" Parton recalls thinking, to The Tennessean. "So I went home and I thought, 'Well, what do you do best? You write songs.' So I sat down and I wrote this song."
Parton told Wagoner she would stay with him for five years. At seven years, he was still trying to convince Parton to stay. At the time Parton didn't want to damage their relationship, but knew in her heart it was time to leave.
"I took it back to the office the next day," Parton recounts. "I said, 'Porter, sit down. I've written something I think you need to hear.' I started singing 'I Will Always Love You,' and he started crying. When I finished, he said, 'Well, hell! If you feel that strong about it, just go on — providing I get to produce that record because that's the best song you ever wrote.'"
Dolly Parton's Reaction to Whitney Houston's Version of 'I Will Always Love You'
Numerous artists have covered "I Will Always Love You" in the decades since Parton released it. But none have ever blown Parton away like Whitney Houston. Houston sang it for the blockbuster film, The Bodyguard, out in 1992.
"The first time that I heard Whitney's version, I just about wrecked my car," the Country Music Hall of Fame member recalls. "I was actually driving from my office back to my Brentwood house. I had sent the song to Whitney's people. ... I was heading home, and all of a sudden, I had the radio on, and I just heard the a cappella part, 'If I should stay...' It kind of got my attention, but it hadn't registered yet. And I thought, 'What?' All of a sudden, she went into the chorus, and I thought, 'Oh my God! This is 'I Will Always Love You!'"
