Thursday, May 16, 2013

Original vs Remake: Dolly & Whitney


Following on from my first Original vs Remake the End Dance Scene of Footloose here,
 I thought we might do a song for this round: 
Dolly Parton & Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You".

Dolly wrote the song and released it in 1974. Her version is really beautiful and heartfelt.
Whitney recorded the song as a big ballad for The Bodyguard soundtrack released in 1992.

I cried my eyes out at the movie theatre when Whitney sang this song at the end of
The Bodyguard.
I'm not talking a little tear running down my face.
I'm talking sobbing, choking, had to 'bury my face in my jumper' kind of howling.
Not quite sure what brought on the tears - was it the scene, the song, The Costner or perhaps
just the drop in sugar levels from the bag of Maltesers, and SuperSize Coke I had consumed earlier?
Perhaps we'll never know.

So while both versions are great and original versions are generally hard to beat,
I have to go with Whitney and The Bodyguard on this one.

Remake for me.


Your thoughts - Original or Remake?






19 comments:

  1. Wowzer! On Monday, I showed my 19yo son both versions of this song on Youtube!

    They loathe the Whitney version with "her howling yooooo" Their words.

    I admire both versions but can relate to Whitney's version, and the scenes of Costner doing boring "official" function protection details brings back some very old memories of a lost love.

    Mind you, you can never tell your kids all the stories of your life but you can broadcast it on the 'net!

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    Replies
    1. Lol - so true. Yes, there is def something about that last shot of The Costner on duty at that function that gets me every time. Love that could never truly be and all that jazz.
      That's you and me for Whitney!

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  2. Replies
    1. Another for Whitney! Nice one Eveangeline. : )

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  3. Remake for me, Dolly Parton's voice is annoying LOL

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Vicky! Four for the remake. The song def suited the big ballad treatment. : )

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  4. Did you see this? Brilliant! http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/may/14/flight-emergency-landing-whitney-houston-song

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh dear! She was still going even when being led off the plane!
      The crew and passengers will never want to hear the song again.
      Thanks for the link Vicki!

      Delete
  5. That is one of the most difficult questions I've been asked in a while. I love both versions actually, but since I'm a die-hard Dolly fan, and since we share a figure type, I'm going for the lady in the wig.

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    Replies
    1. One for Dolly! Nice one. I am a big Dolly fan too. : )

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  6. Love Dolly,a fav, but that song was made for Whitney.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Simmone! It's the beautiful intro and the way the song builds on Whitney's version that I love. I've read that Dolly was completely blown away by, and loved Whitney's version when she first heard it on the radio driving in her car.

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  7. Dolly for me. I never knew it wasnt Whitney's original. To think of all the money she made off Dolly's song! I hate when a singer gets all the cudos for a song thats been released before. Dont get me wrong, I love a good cover version..... but only if it stands alone and is unique. Dont sing it in the same way as if you can do it better, al la Skinny Love. Sorry....pet hate for me!

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    Replies
    1. No need to worry Pollos! Dolly owns all the rights to her songs, and never gives up copyright. Even Elvis wanted to cover "I Will Always Love You", but his management demanded 50% of all the publishing rights. Dolly ended up refusing. In 1992 Whitney's label agreed to her terms and the cover version was recorded. Dolly made 6 million off the new version and presented Whitney with the winning Grammy award for the song. Here is the clip of that Grammy presentation - so great to see them together. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMiew21OFdw
      : )

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    2. Info from an interview on Oprah.com with Dolly. : )

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  8. 50 AND COUNTING... I need more info on the lost love. Did he look like Kevin? Was he a bodyguard? Did he cut one of your scarves in half with his sword? Whitney for me...

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    Replies
    1. Ahhh you make me laugh. But I agree, we absolutely must hear more from 50 and counting on this one...

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  9. Replies
    1. Another one for Dolly! Thanks Sister Outlaws : )

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