Well, I've known for a long time that "I Will Always Love You" is really a Dolly Parton song (from 1973).
But I didn't know it in 1992, when Whitney Houston melted my heartstrings into a little puddle on the cinema floor, singing it from the very depths of her soul to Kevin Costner in "The Bodyguard", nor for the record 14 weeks it topped the charts, nor for a long time after that.
I also knew there was no way I could possibly pull off ***that ***song, so on I moved to easier pickings for this week.
But when, looking for 696 ideas, I was reminded that Whitney sang the entire first verse a cappella, I investigated. (Which I just learned was Kevin Costner's idea! The things you learn on the Seasons!)
Turns out if you drop the key(s) from A & B just four half steps to F & G, it's not only quite playable, but it's almost even singable by the very not Whitney Houston-y likes of me.
I did my best to capture as many of Whitney's soaring melismas as I felt I could credibly replicate.
Featuring the new 8-string, which still needs a strap … and a name!
