"I'll Always Love You" is a song by American singer

Taylor Dayne Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman; March 7, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 1987 after her debut single " Tell It to My Heart". Dayne achieved six additional U.S. top-10 singles, including "Love Will ...

and the third single from her debut album, ''Tell It to My Heart''. Dayne was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Female R&B Vocal for her performance on "I'll Always Love You" in 1989. The song was also nominated for Best R&B Song that year.

Background

The song is a romantic ballad, showcasing Dayne's softer side—after the first two singles released were mainly

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Lab ...

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

tracks—paving her way to the

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

charts. It features sensuous love lyrics accompanied by a saxophone instrumental performed by

Richie Cannata Richie Cannata (born March 3, 1949) is an American music producer, saxophonist, keyboardist and studio owner. He is most notable for playing saxophone in Billy Joel's band alongside Liberty DeVitto, Russell Javors, and Doug Stegmeyer. After lea ...

, who has played for other mainstream acts, including the

Billy Joel Band The Billy Joel Band is the band that backs singer-songwriter and pianist Billy Joel on both studio and live recordings. The band began with the recording of his first album as a solo artist in 1971; it stabilized around 1975 and underwent severa ...

Charts

This single was her first crossover hit, being her first song on the

radio format and her only song to chart on the R&B chart. It reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 during both of the weeks that "

Don't Worry, Be Happy "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a 1988 song by American musician Bobby McFerrin, released as the first single from his fourth album, '' Simple Pleasures'' (1988). It was the first ''a cappella'' song to reach number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 c ...

", by

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...

, held the number-one spot (the weeks ending September 24 and October 1, 1988). "I'll Always Love You" stayed in the Hot 100 for 30 weeks, the longest time for any Hot 100 entry released in 1988. It also held the number-two spot on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart for two weeks, behind "

One Good Woman "One Good Woman" is a popular song from 1988 by Peter Cetera, formerly the lead singer of the rock band Chicago. Cetera co-wrote and co-produced the track with Patrick Leonard, and the song was included on Cetera's 1988 album ''One More Story''. ...

", by

Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His ...

. "I'll Always Love You" was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA).

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Covers

*In 1988, Filipina singer

Sharon Cuneta Sharon Gamboa Cuneta-Pangilinan ( , ; born January 6, 1966) is a Filipino actress, singer, television host, and socialite. Regarded as one of the most successful and highest-earning individuals in the Philippine entertainment industry, she has ...

covered her version and featured on her comedy movie, ''Jack & Jill Sa America'' released by VIVA Entertainment in the Philippines. *In 1989,

Tito Nieves Humberto "Tito" Nieves (born June 4, 1959; also known "El Pavarotti de la Salsa") is a Puerto Rican musician who became one of the leading salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s. Born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, and raised in the Unite ...

Released a Salsa version which is on his album, ''Yo Quiero Cantar''.

Popular culture

In 2012, Dayne performed this song live on ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internati ...

'', using it to serenade comedian

Tig Notaro Mathilde O'Callaghan "Tig" Notaro (born March 24, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, radio contributor, and actress. She is known for her deadpan comedy. Her acclaimed album ''Live'' was nominated in 2014 for the Grammy Award for Be ...

, who, every time she had previously encountered Dayne, used to greet her by saying, "Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you, but I just have to tell you. I love your voice."

References

1988 singles Taylor Dayne songs Tito Nieves songs Song recordings produced by Ric Wake 1988 songs Arista Records singles Contemporary R&B ballads Pop ballads 1980s ballads {{1980s-pop-song-stub