"I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career,[1] the country single was released in 1974. The song was a commercial success for Parton, twice reaching the top spot of the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart: first in June 1974, then again in October 1982, with a re-recording for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas soundtrack. Whitney Houston recorded a Pop-ballad arrangement of the song for the 1992 film The Bodyguard. Houston's version peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks.[2] The single was certified diamond by the RIAA, making Houston's first diamond single, the third female artist who had both a diamond single and a diamond album,[3] and becoming the best-selling single by a woman in the U.S.[4][5][6][7] The song was a global success, topping the charts in almost all countries. With over 20 million copies sold worldwide, it became the best-selling single of all time by a female solo artist.[8] It was also the world's best-selling single of 1992.[9] Houston won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female[10] in 1994 for "I Will Always Love You".[11] Houston also won a Grammy Award for Album Of The Year for The Bodyguard - Original Soundtrack Album.[10]