The Bodyguard is the
soundtrack from the
movie of the same name, released on
November 17,
1992, on
Arista Records and features six songs by
Whitney Houston, as well as songs from various other noted artists of the time. The album was co-executive produced by Whitney Houston and
Clive Davis. Upon the sixth week after its release, the soundtrack became the first album to sell more than a million copies in a single week. The soundtrack later went on to win a
Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it 17x Platinum on
November 1,
1999, denoting shipments of 17 million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling soundtrack album of all-time in the U.S. It has sold over 42 million copies, and is the best-selling soundtrack of all time, worldwide.
Production history
The project served as Whitney Houston's first as executive producer. As a result, she had full control as to what was part of the soundtrack. Houston was to record "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted", however, when they found out another film was going to use it, they had to start from scrap to find a song for the final scene. Costner, a fan of country, thought of doing Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You". While recording the album, Houston was asked to use a studio band. She refused, insisting on using her touring band. The project also allowed Houston to include a gospel recording in an album for the first time. She co-produced and arranged the music for "Jesus Loves Me" with Bebe Winans. Houston also got a chance to pay tribute to Chaka Khan for allowing her to sing back up for her in the 70s.
Reception
The album is most notable for Whitney Houston's cover of "
I Will Always Love You", originally written and recorded by
Dolly Parton. The song received wide airplay, appealing to the
R&B,
Adult Contemporary and
Soul radio markets, and is also considered Houston's
signature song. The single spent 14 weeks at number one on the
Billboard Hot 100. The strength of the single helped the soundtrack album sustain the number-one spot on the Billboard 200 for 20 weeks. The album also featured the hits "I Have Nothing", "I'm Every Woman" (a
Chaka Khan cover), "Run to You", and "Queen of the Night", all sung by Houston.
Both "Run to You" and "I Have Nothing" were nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Music - Original Song, but lost out to "A Whole New World" from the
animated film Aladdin. The other nominees were "Friend Like Me" from
Aladdin and "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" from
The Mambo Kings. The same two songs from the soundtrack were nominated for
Grammy Awards in the "Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television" category.
Track listing
Charts and certifications
Singles
See also
