With all due respect to Sylwia Grzeszczak and Aretha Franklin and Connie Talbot as well as to Michael Ball, Elizabeth Cook, Linda Ronstadt and one of my all time favorite singers Lara Fabian and to Chris Cornell and the woman who made it famous Whitney Houston and the other zillion people who have sung it, you have all come up just a little short. Even this Chinese kid did a great job but yet again, like they said in A Knight’s Tale– You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting.
In my opinion the very best version of “I will Always Love You” by country music superstar and legend Dolly Parton is this version by Josh Weathers at The Kessler Theater in Dallas, Texas in July 2011.
As sad as this song is really, even though it is not about two lovers or a marriage breaking up, the version by Josh Weathers is absolutely amazing and makes me smile.
Dolly Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” for her one-time partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, from whom she was professionally splitting. She recorded it on June 13, 1973 and it was released a year later on June 6, 1974 as the second single from her thirteenth solo studio album, Jolene. Since then a zillion people have sung it. But few have done it as well as Josh Weathers even though Whitney Houston recorded a version for the 1992 film The Bodyguard starring Kevin Costner. Her version ended up becoming one of the best selling singles of all time. I wonder how it would have done if Elvis recorded it like he wanted to.
Check out Josh Weathers here and follow him on Twitter.
Do you have a favorite version of “I Will Always Love You”? Is there another example of a cover song you think is better than the original? Let me know in the comments below.
Bonus round:
What is the connection between Saddam Hussein and “I Will Always Love You”?
420 points for the first person to leave the correct answer in the comments.