who sang i will always love you first

The song "I Will Always Love You" was originally written and first recorded by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton in 1973. Dolly Parton wrote the song as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner when she decided to pursue a solo career. Her version was released as a country single in 1974 and became a commercial success. Later, Whitney Houston recorded a famous pop-ballad cover of the song in 1992 for the film The Bodyguard. Whitney Houston's rendition became one of the best-selling singles of all time, but the original first singer of "I Will Always Love You" was Dolly Parton.