45 single, Side A. RCA Victor (APB0-0234) (1974)
Image credit: walter at 45cat.com
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"I Will Always Love You" is a single by Dolly Parton. It was released on March 11, 1974, by RCA Victor as the second single from Dolly's thirteenth solo studio album, Jolene. It was written by Dolly and produced by Bob Ferguson. The single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, becoming Dolly's third song to top the chart. The song has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007.
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Track listing
Side A
- I Will Always Love You (Dolly Parton) 2:53
- Lonely Comin' Down (Porter Wagoner) 3:09
Cashbox advertisement, May 11, 1974.
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BackgroundBy 1973, Porter had begun to urge Dolly to write about more than her East Tennessee home and the rapidly vanishing rural lifestyle. Porter later told CMT, "I had a pretty long talk with her about it. I said, 'Dolly, the people who live in Idaho and Canada don't care if you're mama's got an old black kettle or if your dad has working boots. They know about love. You need to write some love songs."
That was on Dolly's mind one night while she was sitting by the fireplace at her home in Antioch, Tennessee. She had decided to write a song of farewell, which ended up being "I Will Always Love You". Dolly told CMT, "I absolutely remember where I was sitting, the time of night and everything. I was having so much trouble leaving Porter's show...We'd had great success, [but] we had a lot of problems. We didn't get along very well, but we loved each other, too...But he wouldn't hear me out. He just couldn't listen to me, and so I thought, 'The only way I'm gonna express what I feel and have him understand is to write a song.' I wrote it in a couple of hours. It just felt so right to get it all out. And while I was at it, I wrote "Jolene". A lot of people don't know that I wrote those two songs on the same night, the same writing session." The next day Dolly went to Porter's office and sang "I Will Always Love You" for him. Porter told her she could go, as long as he could produce that song. They performed their last show together in June 1974, although Porter continued to produce Dolly's albums through 1976's All I Can Do. |
Recording
"I Will Always Love You" was recorded on June 12, 1973, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. "Lonely Comin' Down" was recorded on May 3, 1972, and had previously been released on the 1972 album, My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner, and on the Jolene album in 1973.
Audio
Critical reception
The single was reviewed in the March 23, 1974 issue of Billboard magazine. The review said, "Perhaps the prettiest song she's ever done. It's from her Jolene album, which was a smash, and this shows Dolly's versatility to the hilt."
Cashbox also reviewed the album in their March 23, 1974 issue. They said the single "will be sure to put the pretty lady firmly back on the hit path." The review described the song as "a delicate and fragile ballad," while noting Dolly's "sensitive" vocals and the song's "fine lyric." The publication felt the song would "make a sure-fire top ten chart item."
Cashbox also reviewed the album in their March 23, 1974 issue. They said the single "will be sure to put the pretty lady firmly back on the hit path." The review described the song as "a delicate and fragile ballad," while noting Dolly's "sensitive" vocals and the song's "fine lyric." The publication felt the song would "make a sure-fire top ten chart item."
Billboard review, March 23, 1974.
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Cashbox review, March 23, 1974.
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Commercial performance
"I Will Always Love You" debuted at number 87 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated April 6, 1974. It peaked at number one on the chart dated June 8, its tenth week on the chart. It charted for 15 weeks. It also peaked at number one on the Cashbox Country Singles chart. The single peaked at number four in Canada on the RPM Country Singles chart.
Accolades
"I Will Always Love You" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. It received the Country Award from BMI in 1975 and a Million-Air Award in 2020 for over ten million broadcast performances. It was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on October 29, 2021, for 1,000,000 certified units. It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry on December 25, 2020, for sales of 200,000 copies.
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the 2009 box set, Dolly ("I Will Always Love You").
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